From ‘He was disrespectful’, 21 Aug 2010, Speakup, The New Paper
(Sebastian Tan): …His (Sean Kingston) no-show last Saturday night left the other four artistes – Steve Appleton, Jody Williams, Jessica Mauboy and Tabitha Nauser – to sing the first YOG theme song, Everyone.
If this is true (skipping YOG to join Justin Bieber on tour), I think he was being very disrespectful to both the International Olympic Committee and Singapore, the host country of the inaugural YOG. Kingston should be taken to task for this.
Perhaps, he could be banned from singing any future Olympic theme songs or any theme songs of major sports meets in the future. Better yet, could his part in the YOG theme song be ‘deleted’ and replaced by another worthy male singer? It would be insulting to have that video clip include him for posterity.
His face dropped
According to Sean Kingston’s twitter,
Due to circumstances beyond my control I was unable to attend the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Youth Olympics is Singapore….
This music industry is all business but I refuse to let my singapore fans suffer I LOVE U ALL And trust me Being Apart Of The YOG Ment A lot
So he admits that his absence was a business decision (but of course it is, he’s a megasuperstar for god’s sake, and who could resist tagging along with Justin Bieber on his tour). In the first place, his willingness to be a background singer to Singapore Idol Tabitha Nauser was dubious, this coming from someone with international hits like ‘Beautiful Girl’ and the awful porn-sounding ‘Face Drop’. Let’s be realistic here, as much as Sean loves his fans as he claims, his real job as dictated by his agents and producers, is to make records, go on tours and make tons of money, not attend an event where he’s merely a footnote and not the headlining presence that he deserves.
From ‘TV presenters should be more professional’, 21 Aug 2010, Speakup, The New Paper
(Ye Moxing):…They (YOG TV presenters Divian Nair and Candice Miller)will do well to cut back on the overly informal camaraderie.
First, cut out the incessant banter, the ribbing and nudging. Bear in mind, folks, you are on national TV, not on a programme like Teens Central or over the radio. All the gesturing is distracting to viewers.
Divian, in particular, is annoyingly casual: He even sat cross-legged on the sofa in the opening ceremony segment. Did he think he was at a campfire or a club meeting?
Second, there’s the overly positive spin given to the Games, particularly for the members of Team Singapore. Perhaps, the presenters were briefed to do so to spur our youth to aspire and excel.
However, their always positive spiel is surreal and too saccharine. Take the taekwondo final in which Christopher Lee lost 1-12 to his Korean opponent.
Divian’s comment was that it was ‘unfortunate’. If you ask me, the 1-12 loss was more than merely unfortunate – it was a drubbing.
…Candice’s nightly ‘rah-rah’ to viewers – to cheer on our YOG athletes – can be irritating, schoolgirlish, even.
Warming up for the Oh yeah oh yeah cheer
I don’t take too kindly to people who start their sentences with ‘Bear in mind, folks’. But despite not following the antics of these presenters myself, and seeing how the YOG was intended from the beginning (manga mascots, YOG cheer) to be an elaborate exercise in juvenile behaviour, is such act-cute posturing any surprise at all? As for the ‘unfortunate’ comment, Divian is free to use whatever euphemism he likes in place of the more accurate ‘thrashing’. Bear in mind, Moxing, that the athlete’s parents and grandparents are watching, that these are kids under dual pressure of sports and studies, and that this is just the first YOG ever, so just cut the presenters and kids some slack already. You can’t expect Singaporean hosts to be coldly neutral when they announce gaping scoreline margins, and credit must be given for their enthusiasm, mock or not, to rev up an event with an already flagging viewership.
Filed under: 2010, Local radio DJs, Local TV shows, Music/music videos, Sports Tagged: | candice miller, divian nair, Local radio DJs, local TV, local TV hosts, sean kingston, YOG, YOG theme song
