Malaysian Idol Finale happens this weekend in Genting!

Don’t miss it! The Grand Final of Malaysian Idol 2 happens this Friday and Saturday at Genting Arena of Stars. The Idol craze continues and the search for the next Malaysian Idol will climax with a two-part grand finale featuring the two remaining Malaysian Idol finalists at the Arena of Stars, Genting Highlands on September 23-24. The final showdown is the culmination of a grueling four-month hunt for the next Malaysian Idol, involving over 9,000 aspirants who turned up for the nationwide auditions, and thereafter the Theatre Elimination round, the Workshop rounds before the Spectacular stages for the 11 finalists. “We are all geared up for the final showdown and it’s going to be a very close and nail-biting finish”, said Ahmad Izham Omar, Chief Operating Officer of 8TV at a press conference to announce details of the Grand Finale. Once again BOTH 8TV and TV3 will be airing the final shows at the same time. The Grand Finale show, a two-hour special, will be held at 9 pm on the 23rd of September. The Results Show will feature special performances culminating in the crowning of the very first Malaysian Idol. This will be aired on Saturday, 24th September at 9 pm. “There will also be something extra for people who watch on 8TV,” Izham continued. “On 8TV, we start the fun and excitement 30 minutes earlier, with exclusive shows on both days that feature behind-the-scenes footage, red carpet celebrity arrivals, not-to-be-missed special performances and much more! In fact, after the Results is announced on Saturday, 8TV viewers will be able to see a LIVE press conference! This is really reality TV at its best!” The voting window for the Malaysian Idol Grand Finale will open at 11 pm after the Friday show on the 23rd of September and will close 10 minutes into the Results show at 9:10 pm on Saturday the 24th of September. To vote, just key in VOTE, NICK of the contestants and send it to 33722. Viewers can also vote by calling a number assigned to each contestant. “The Idol phenomenon continues,” said Izham on the growing TV ratings of Malaysian Idol which peaked with an overwhelming 3.4 million viewers on 8TV and TV3 combined during the Spectacular stages and a cumulative of almost 15 million viewers for season 2 to date. Admissions to the Arena of Stars is free and tickets can be obtained from the official website www.malaysianidol.com.my and also through 8TV shows namely the 8TV Quickie and the 8 E-News. Tickets are also available via HITZ.FM and in other numerous media contests. You can also get tickets from the 8-Team, 8TV’s street team. For details on the 8Team’s whereabouts this coming week, you can log on to www.8tv.com.my or e-mail them at 8team@8tv.com.my. There are also tickets available for myTV3 members. Full details on tickets listing can be found on www.malaysianidol.com.my. The performances at the Grand Finale will be accompanied by a live band led by the renowned musician Aubrey Suwito who has assembled a stellar of ‘who’s who’ cast of Malaysian musicians including Shah Slam, Hilary Ng and Andy Peterson. The music will be augmented by a string section featuring some of the finest string players in Malaysia. The Malaysian Idol Grand Finale stage will also have a very different look this year. Not only will it be an enormous stage (about 116 feet X 66 feet) with different levels, but this year the stage has a more organic look, with water motifs and lines that change colours and textures with the lights. The focus of the stage will be the gigantic 30-foot screen which will be illuminated with state-of-the-art graphics. The idols will sing 3 songs each, one judges’ choice, one personal choice and one theme song. The theme song is titled ‘Mimpi’ and it was written by Pot Amir of Innuendo.