Idol 4: Vote or veto?

THE average viewership of Singapore Idol this season was already a dismal 182,000 – less than half of the figure for its 2004 debut.

And now the Sezairi-Sylvia tug-of-war has resulted in a disgruntled audience rife with protests against the show’s supposed third of a kind.

Will their dissatisfaction be catalyst to the fall of a future run?

A poll conducted amongst 25 viewers of this season shows it is likely to be so.

As a viewer of Singapore Idol 3, will you watch Singapore Idol 4?

Sixty-four per cent of Singapore Idol 3 viewers will not watch the fourth installment if it airs, many of them citing “another male, Malay Idol” as the major turnoff.

A Kayse in Point: marketing executive Ms Ho Choi Leng, 37, who has been following the Idol series since its inaugural cycle.

Said Ms Ho, “The winners all share the same image. They are young, boyish, and we can’t help but notice, Malay – not as a race, but as a characteristic.

“Competition is becoming irrelevant because three Idols who are so alike one another is really just one time too many.”

Echoing her sentiments, sales promoter Mr Daniel Fong, 29, thinks that the recent crowning adds “a less than desirable tag to the title,” which has “lost its prestige.”

Do you think people will watch Singapore Idol 4?

He is part of the 76 per cent of viewers polled who do not think people will watch a Singapore Idol 4.

“It’s become uninteresting because it’s predictable. If I do tune in to the next season, it would be during the finale to see if the new Idol fits the mould of his three predecessors,” he said.

However, Miss Shermaine Lim, 22, a university undergraduate, of minority vote will continue watching Singapore Idol because success in the music industry is also “based largely on popularity.”

Said Miss Lim, “To do well as an artiste, you must depend on the number of so called “votes” you get, which is the approval of the public.

“The voting component therefore creates a very realistic scenario, that’s why I like to watch it.”

But to others, this “public” is poorly represented by the voting population.

Deterred from voting

IT executive Mr Steven Koh, 33, reckons there are too few Singaporeans concerned with voting to stand for those who do have an Idol they support.

As such, he believes that the programme has become limited to finalists who belong to a community with “strong cultural values to show their support,” and will thus produce “cookie-cutter” Singapore Idols.

Said Mr Koh, “The past seasons have proven that the local culture cannot support this programme because most Singaporeans are passive audiences.

“We don’t really participate, and now that more people are unhappy about the results, it will deter them from voting if there’s another round.”

Student Vanessa Tay, 18, is part of the 64 per cent of Singapore Idol 3 viewers who will not continue watching Singapore Idol 4.

Singapore Idol 2009, Sezairi Sezali (right), whose win has sparked off waves of protest against the show, and first runner-up Sylvia Ratonel (Photo credit: Mr Lim)