June 30, 2006
By Angelene Wong
The Idol dream may be over for Geraldine, Primero and Siew Woon but they are wasting no time in letting their other starry aspirations be known. And psst… you might just catch a glimpse of Primero's dishy derriere!
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It is 9am in the morning. All is quiet in the MediaCorp canteen except for the dragging of chairs by the cleaner uncle who is hard at work preparing our familiar chomping ground for lunchtime madness.
Over a leisurely breakfast, ousted Wildcard hopefuls Geraldine, Primero and Siew Woon are beginning to feel the drastic difference 12 hours make.
Says Siew Woon, “It's a sudden transition from being busy, stressed out, and having fun to … doing nothing.”
When asked if it was back to normal life for them, Primero quips: “Sort of …Now we can sing anywhere we like and not be scolded. Ha ha ha!”
Twelve hours ago, they were still hanging on to their ray of hope for a few more months of life in the fastlane – photoshoots, press interviews, rehearsals, dress fittings, stress, and sleeplessness - should they have continued their Singapore Idol journey into the Top 12.
But that life was not meant to be. At the Wildcard Results show last night, the three had their Idol dreams cut short when they were booted off the competition. Mathilda, Gayle, Norman and a tearful Jay eventually joined the other eight Idols in the Top 12. Read story here.
It was a result all three had expected and they are very happy for the four whom they say deserved to be through.
Siew Woon: “When all three of us were on stage, I was praying that Jay would get in. I was very happy for him cos' he really wanted it. He's always been so supportive. He's a singing teacher and he coaches us even though it's a competition. He's very selfless.”
Like Jay who shed tears of joy on stage, the three ousted Idols also shed tears but of sadness at leaving the competition.
“ When I went backstage, I was fine at first. I started crying cos' I started thinking of myself ‘the journey's over'. I felt bad for crying and for feeling that way. But I was happy once I found out that the other four had gotten in.” says Primero.
A more dramatic Geraldine says gesturing: “I was out with my friends having supper (after the results show). I look like I was very happy but all out of a sudden, I just cried. I think I cried enough water to drown many ants!”
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For Siew Woon, her chirpy disposition cracked when the producers stuck a camera in her face and began asking her about leaving all the friendships behind.
"Actually I was ok but the producers made me cry lah ! They put the camera in my face ‘So Siew Woon, tell us how you feel?' Then they started to say all the sentimental stuff. Oh you will never see us again, you'll never go through all this again.”
The thought of leaving best friend and Top 12-er Jasmine made Siew Woon burst into tears. “I wanted to join Jasmine but cannot lah. I wish her all the best and she must take care of herself.”
Primero and Siew Woon went on to chow the night away with the previously ousted Idols at Adam Road hawker centre. They binged on all the greasiest zhe cha they could find like sambal kang kong, barbequed sting ray and sinful supper delights like Indian mutton chops and mee goreng.
While the two cheered themselves up with food, Geraldine stayed behind and basked in the adoration of her devoted fans who had waited for her outside the gates of MediaCorp. She complied with requests for her e-mail address, pictures and even became a human jukebox belting out song requests on the spot from her faithful fans - “I sang more than 10 songs that night!”
Though their Idol journey has ended, the three are keen on making their careers in the entertainment scene.
Bubbly Siew Woon is now awaiting admission into Mass Communication studies at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). She tells us she is interested in journalism but at the same time she doesn't mind working behind the scenes in production though she has seen it for herself in Singapore Idol, how hectic it can get. “Everyone just goes home at 4am and come back at 7am… It's quite scary but I don't mind trying it out.”
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When asked about acting and modelling offers, their faces light up and they are unabashed about their starry ambitions. With eye-candy mugs, they no doubt have great potential in this business.
“I am interested in photoshoots and I don't mind being on radio or a model,” Geraldine voices aloud.
Primero, who will be resuming his mass communication studies part-time is also considering taking acting, singing drama classes to enrich himself.
“I just wanna improve myself.. If something comes along, I'll take it. Hopefully MediaCorp approaches. That will be cool.”
We then put them to the newbie-litmus test for aspiring artistes. Kissing and nudity on screen or photoshoots - will they shun away from them?
Kissing is fine but not without seeking their families' approval first, say Geraldine and Siew Woon but they will draw the line at nudity.
At this point, Primero cuts in with his own personal take. “ If they ask you to run around for a comedy… that's different right? They show only your butt… like Mr Bean.”
And he continues on, piquing our interest whether there is indeed a sexy beast in him.
“I'm a fun guy… anything goes if the story requires you to show your butt…you show your butt. But anything else that is too sexual and begins to look like porno, then it's a no-no. Of course, you got to draw the line.”
Before he fires our imagination any further, we end off the interview by asking if there's anything they want to tell their fans, family and friends.
Says Geraldine to her fans: “Thank you so much for voting. Thank you for waiting at reception till 3/4am for us to come out. Thank you for everything really. Thank you for your support!”
Siew Woon thanks her choir mates for all their support. “I wanna thank my family and friends. They have been doing a lot for me. They have given me a lot of advice and support. I would like to give a shout-out to my choir mates for their support. I'm very grateful to them even though they know that if I get through, I won't be able to join them for international choir competition. And of course all the fans for their support and thanks for waiting for me at reception and ging me liang teh (cooling tea). I am very touched lah!”
For Primero, his family and girlfriend have been his greatest support and supporters. His girlfriend Sally saw him through the difficult time in the competition and helped in any way she could such as arranging seating for his family and friends so that he can concentrate on his performance. When he was out, she could not hold back her tears. “She bawled cos' she knew I wanted this so much but at the same time, she's happy for me cos' she knows it's gonna open a lot of doors. SI is a big opportunity.”
He would also like to thank his sister who went to lengths to get the votes coming in. “My sister who is overseas even called her friend to vote for me. And she will pay her friend back. I'm really touched.”
“Most importantly, I would like to thank the fans who supported me from day 1. Though some of them even gave me a nickname – Primero-arrogano - I would still like to thank them for supporting me through the Piano show to Wildcard show.”
