Listeners Idol boosts KFM's popularity
The contestants: Listeners Idol 2008 participants with DJ Zureen (front row, third from right) at the KFM studio during the Hari Raya gathering. The second round was aired during the first week of Syawal and the positions of the five winners were announced on October 7.Picture: Kristal FM
Saturday, October 11, 2008
SOMETHING different, something new was what DJ Zureen, a local deejay for one of the top radio station in Brunei, Kristal FM (KFM) was thinking of when she introduced Listeners Idol 2008, a special segment for the Hari Raya Aidil Fitri programmes.
"We had something similar last year but it was purely for entertainment. This year, we upgraded the programme by making it into a competition," said DJ Zureen, the producer of Listeners Idol.
The radio stations in Brunei create programmes especially for the festive season including KFM.
"Normally, we read SMS and greetings and I felt like I have to do something fresh and different that has never been done by other radio station," said DJ Zureen.
According to her, most of the station's fans and listeners were really into singing and all forms of entertainment.
"So I thought rather than just singing karaoke, why don't I make a competition to make people interested to join, make them more involved and boost the stations image and popularity," she added.
She attributed the idea behind her programme to KFM listeners and it was also one of the station's way to appreciate the listeners and the chatters who give endless support.
It was indeed a hit amongst their listeners as the programme involved the participation of KFM listeners—the participants were some of their loyal listeners and chatters on the station's livechat and the voting was open to members of the public. Participants were invited to sing their chosen songs and the winners were determined through the number of votes received.
The segment was open to everyone and it was aired during the last week of Ramadhan and five participants were eliminated during this period. The second round was aired in the first week of Syawal during Hari Raya celebrations and the positions of the five winners was announced on October 7.
The champion for Listeners Idol 2008 was Ak Kamarulzaman, 29, known as "Alex Ferguson" to KFM listeners/chatter who belted out Kupohon Restu Ayah Bonda, a number by another Malaysian artist, Mamat. Coming in second was Muhammad Fadillah, 24, known as "Tengku", who sang the classic festive song, Suatu Hari Di Hari Raya made popular by Malaysian artist M Nasir. In third place were two bestfriends, Dk Razalina and Siti Noorizzahwaty who were known as the duo "Victoria Secret & LoveDear" (VSLD) who chose to sing Berdua Lebih Baik by Indonesia artist, Acha Septriasa.
Alex Ferguson is quite new to the KFM world and started out as a loyal listener for four years before deciding to join livechat two years ago. The unique thing about KFM livechat is that listeners can listen to the radio show as well as chat and view the djs on duty.
"I didn't expect my votes to reach a thousand!" he said of his win. Unlike Tengku, Alex did not know who voted for him besides his family, sisters and close friends.
According to Alex, his song choice held no special meaning and it was just one of the songs he liked to listen to. "I did ask my friends for song options, the best type of song to sing that matches my voice," he said adding that he did not practise singing the song although he does enjoy singing in the shower.
"We only had one day of recording after breaking fast about two weeks after Ramadhan," said Tengku of the Listeners Idol rush.
It was not really a problem for him because he had practised singing the song by karaokeing at home, in anticipation of the competition.
"I chose the song just to try it out. My voice suits that of M Nasir's and am a fan of his," Tengku said of his song choice.
He has been an avid listener of KFM since 2000 when he was still in teens. He did not know any of the other listeners/chatters prior to the recording session and it was a great opportunity to get to know his idol, DJ Zureen and the other fans of KFM who he has been chatting with on the station's livechat.
He received a total of 924 votes and more than half was from his number one fan, his fiancee, Nadia who was named as the highest voter for Listeners Idol having sent in 636 votes. She won herself a two-day and one-night stay at the five-star hotel in Brunei, Empire Hotel and Country.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old Dk Razalina, the VS half of VSLD viewed the segment as somewhat of a challenge.
"It's wonderful and promotes a healthy competition amongst us. It also involves us listeners," said VS.
During the recording session, most of the listeners were nervous and herself not excluded, she said eventhough she has been through something similar years ago. She used to sing for shows on Radio Televisyen Brunei, the country's national broadcaster.
"We were each called into the studio to sing and some wanted the door to be closed and others wanted the lights to be switched off because they were shy and didn't want others to see them sing. However, there were some who were confident," VS described the experience.
Listeners Idol had generated a lot of interest as more of KFM listeners have expressed their desire to join in next year's programme after listening to this year's show.
"Everyone has already chosen their stand-by song for next year so it definitely got a good response," she said adding that it made the participants felt like a celebrity even if it was just for the festive season.
Next year, DJ Zureen says that she plans to make the show bigger by way of early promotion so that listeners from all four districts can take part. Also, the five winners will be asked to record a song collaboration. She was grateful to the sponsors who were willing to sponsor the prizes for the winners which included meal vouchers from Hi-Tea Buffet at Empire Hotel and Country Club, Raudati restaurant as well as a Hari Raya hamper from 24-7 Assist.
"I'm not really satisfied because I still need to improve. It (the show) would have been difficult to do without help from marketing and other crew. This programme brings the listeners and DJs closer and we have also organised some events with the participants like breaking fast and Hari Raya together."The Brunei Times
"We had something similar last year but it was purely for entertainment. This year, we upgraded the programme by making it into a competition," said DJ Zureen, the producer of Listeners Idol.
The radio stations in Brunei create programmes especially for the festive season including KFM.
"Normally, we read SMS and greetings and I felt like I have to do something fresh and different that has never been done by other radio station," said DJ Zureen.
According to her, most of the station's fans and listeners were really into singing and all forms of entertainment.
"So I thought rather than just singing karaoke, why don't I make a competition to make people interested to join, make them more involved and boost the stations image and popularity," she added.
She attributed the idea behind her programme to KFM listeners and it was also one of the station's way to appreciate the listeners and the chatters who give endless support.
It was indeed a hit amongst their listeners as the programme involved the participation of KFM listeners—the participants were some of their loyal listeners and chatters on the station's livechat and the voting was open to members of the public. Participants were invited to sing their chosen songs and the winners were determined through the number of votes received.
The segment was open to everyone and it was aired during the last week of Ramadhan and five participants were eliminated during this period. The second round was aired in the first week of Syawal during Hari Raya celebrations and the positions of the five winners was announced on October 7.
The champion for Listeners Idol 2008 was Ak Kamarulzaman, 29, known as "Alex Ferguson" to KFM listeners/chatter who belted out Kupohon Restu Ayah Bonda, a number by another Malaysian artist, Mamat. Coming in second was Muhammad Fadillah, 24, known as "Tengku", who sang the classic festive song, Suatu Hari Di Hari Raya made popular by Malaysian artist M Nasir. In third place were two bestfriends, Dk Razalina and Siti Noorizzahwaty who were known as the duo "Victoria Secret & LoveDear" (VSLD) who chose to sing Berdua Lebih Baik by Indonesia artist, Acha Septriasa.
Alex Ferguson is quite new to the KFM world and started out as a loyal listener for four years before deciding to join livechat two years ago. The unique thing about KFM livechat is that listeners can listen to the radio show as well as chat and view the djs on duty.
"I didn't expect my votes to reach a thousand!" he said of his win. Unlike Tengku, Alex did not know who voted for him besides his family, sisters and close friends.
According to Alex, his song choice held no special meaning and it was just one of the songs he liked to listen to. "I did ask my friends for song options, the best type of song to sing that matches my voice," he said adding that he did not practise singing the song although he does enjoy singing in the shower.
"We only had one day of recording after breaking fast about two weeks after Ramadhan," said Tengku of the Listeners Idol rush.
It was not really a problem for him because he had practised singing the song by karaokeing at home, in anticipation of the competition.
"I chose the song just to try it out. My voice suits that of M Nasir's and am a fan of his," Tengku said of his song choice.
He has been an avid listener of KFM since 2000 when he was still in teens. He did not know any of the other listeners/chatters prior to the recording session and it was a great opportunity to get to know his idol, DJ Zureen and the other fans of KFM who he has been chatting with on the station's livechat.
He received a total of 924 votes and more than half was from his number one fan, his fiancee, Nadia who was named as the highest voter for Listeners Idol having sent in 636 votes. She won herself a two-day and one-night stay at the five-star hotel in Brunei, Empire Hotel and Country.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old Dk Razalina, the VS half of VSLD viewed the segment as somewhat of a challenge.
"It's wonderful and promotes a healthy competition amongst us. It also involves us listeners," said VS.
During the recording session, most of the listeners were nervous and herself not excluded, she said eventhough she has been through something similar years ago. She used to sing for shows on Radio Televisyen Brunei, the country's national broadcaster.
"We were each called into the studio to sing and some wanted the door to be closed and others wanted the lights to be switched off because they were shy and didn't want others to see them sing. However, there were some who were confident," VS described the experience.
Listeners Idol had generated a lot of interest as more of KFM listeners have expressed their desire to join in next year's programme after listening to this year's show.
"Everyone has already chosen their stand-by song for next year so it definitely got a good response," she said adding that it made the participants felt like a celebrity even if it was just for the festive season.
Next year, DJ Zureen says that she plans to make the show bigger by way of early promotion so that listeners from all four districts can take part. Also, the five winners will be asked to record a song collaboration. She was grateful to the sponsors who were willing to sponsor the prizes for the winners which included meal vouchers from Hi-Tea Buffet at Empire Hotel and Country Club, Raudati restaurant as well as a Hari Raya hamper from 24-7 Assist.
"I'm not really satisfied because I still need to improve. It (the show) would have been difficult to do without help from marketing and other crew. This programme brings the listeners and DJs closer and we have also organised some events with the participants like breaking fast and Hari Raya together."The Brunei Times
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