Monthly Archives: November 2009

26
Nov
The Merry Riana Show – featuring Sylvester Sim

With Sylvester Sim, Singapore Idol Season 1 Runner Up

 

With Sylvester Sim, Singapore Idol Season 1 Runner Up

 

Turning into an Idol

 

“American Idol”, “Britain Got Talent”, and “So You Think You can Dance”, all of which are familiar reality shows that became great hits and exceeds beyond the description of being popular in America. Everyone tune in to these reality shows is an indication of one thing – dreams of becoming an Idol. People are using this kind of channel to release their desire, showcase their talents, and realize their dreams.

 

And not only is this happening in America or Europe, this irresistible Idol “wind” has blown towards Asia, particularly in Singapore as well. “Project Superstar” and “Singapore Idol” are clear examples of such reality shows, and MediaCorp has successfully held seasons after seasons for these programs, attracting tens of thousands of people to go for the auditions in being part of the shows.

 

 

I was pleased to have Sylvester Sim, or widely known as Sly by his fans, to do this audio interview. If you are one of those budding talents, and would probably love to know more about the life of being an Idol contestant, you may want to hear from his sharing, learning more about life as Sylvester Sim of Singapore Idol Season 1.

 

Sly was the first runner-up of Singapore Idol Season 1 and he has also released his debut album “Take Flight” in April 2005. In this album, much of the production is handled by Sly, from singing to composing, and 9 out of the 11 tracks in this debut album actually came from Sly himself. It was tough in recording for his album, but hard work pays off as the album was sold more than 15,000 copies in Singapore.

 

Sly’s favourite song in the album is a mandarin song called “所以” where this is the song that he wrote solely by himself from composition of music to lyrics. “所以 is a very simple song which is really from my heart, and it’s just plain and easy. And surprisingly, the song is quite popular on the net as well,” he said. This song was also widely known and popular in China, where everywhere you can hear his song and even ringing in the phones of people in China.  

Born with an acute sense of musicality, Sly has already involved himself much in the music industry, doing stage performing as a band even before the competition. Thus, going for an audition for Idol wasn’t as nerve-wrecking for Sly. At the young age of merely 12, Sly has already started to pick up guitar. From there, he went on to compose his own songs and pick up singing as well.

 

Sly joined the Singapore Idol Competition with a desire of wanting to gain more exposure for his songs, wanting share his songs to more people and have them knowing what he is writing. Being in the top 2 of Idol Season 1 was an unexpected surprise for Sly.

 

Life being an Idol changed Sly’s lifestyle during the period of competition. He had to learn to cope with the sudden swarm of attention of the public and the sudden twist of turning into an overnight star. “It’s like today I might be going downstairs in my shorts eating Char Kway Teow, and the next day everyone is like saying ‘look at him’. So we got to learn how to handle this on our own in a quick way, and that’s the biggest change in my life” he said. However, being happy-go-lucky by nature, it makes it easier for Sly when bad publicities crossed his path, as he chose to handle it in a happier way.

 

Years after his competition in Idol, Sly is still following down the music path, where recently, he has changed his style from rocker, that everyone associates him with, to a more Hip-hop and R&B style. He is very much into dancing now, and is taking up dance classes. The reason for his change – It’s the trend in music. He said, “I believe everyone is not listening to rock anymore. It’s more into dance music, R&B. This is what is popular. So, even songs that I write nowadays are more R&B and Hip Hop, which is what people like to listen, because I think as a composer, I can’t write things that I like and others can’t accept. I have to go for what they like and make them accept. And when they like my songs, I can put a little more of my style inside so that that will make it more unique”.

 

In time to come, Sly would like to his own album more established to himself and maintaining a more stable life by writing songs for artiste, taking up a more supporting role in the entertainment industry.

 

Being in a ‘flowery’ world of entertainment industry, Sylvester’s definition of ‘gorgeous’ can be simply described as attractive. To him, the person may not be particularly good-looking, but he or she must possess the X-factor or charisma to attract people around him or her. “I like someone who really dares to showcase their talent, and maybe like someone who can sing, dance, who has a similar talent to me” Sly said. The kind of attractive girl that Sly is looking at? The answer is the talented Korean singer, BoA.

 

For those who are still hesitating whether to be part of the Idol series, Sly’s advice to you is to go ahead as we only lived once! Take a step out and begin to realize your dreams now. For the supporters of Sly, or even those who want to know more about Sylvester Sim, you can now contact him through St James, as Sly would be performing there every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

 

Click on the pucture below if you want to listen to Sly singing LIVE in my audio interview with him.

 

The Merry Riana Show featuring Sylvester Sim

26
Nov
Thank you All, My Early Christmas Gift to all of you =)

Time really flies, before we know it, today is already the Grand Finals. =) There are just so many things that I still want to share with all of you. Recently I’ve done a few more audio interviews with many outstanding people. Looking forward to upload it for you guys…

 

Being part of 50 Female Gorgeous People is something that I will definitely remember for the rest of my life. I feel honored and at the same time grateful to be given this opportunity.

 

I have a long list of various people that I want to say THANK YOU. But since I only have less than 30 mins to get ready and go to zouk, (reporting time is 2pm, and time now is 12.58) I'm just going to keep it short first. Will continue the rest after the BIG PARTY tonight.

 

A HUGE THANK YOU to FEMALE MAGAZINE and ALL the SPONSORS  

 

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS A REALITY FOR ME

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS A REALITY FOR ME

 

Also, not to forget HUGE THANK YOU for all of you who has voted for me, and reading my blog =)  

 

I have this special early Christmas gift for everyone of you. This song is personally sung by me. No, I’m not a professional singer, but I LOVE to sing, and about 2 years ago, I was inspired to produce a Christmas CD which can be used by the churches and other organizations to raise funds for their causes now and in the future. What followed next was nothing short of a miracle.  

 

To know more about Project: A Christmas Gift, you can visit  

www.AChristmasGift.com.sg     or      www.merryriana.co.id/pages/contribution/6     

 

Well, I really hope you’ll enjoy the song. (click on the picture for you to listen to the song)

Click on the Picture to listen to the song

 

Especially for my fellow Gorgeous People…  Thank you for your kind friendship See you guys later!    

 

 

25
Nov
Sylvester Sim in Merry Riana Show

25
Nov
Faith

When was the last time you prayed? ….

 

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Seriously! Was it just a few minutes ago? Was it this morning before you go to work? Was it last week? or Was it many years ago until you can't even remember?    

 

Well, if you already answer my 1st question, then help me to answer my 2nd question. What did you pray for?   …    

Did you pray for a good health? Did you pray for you to have more strength? Did you pray for wisdom? etc…  

 

Now my 3rd questions …  

Have you ever thought that maybe, we don't really need to ask for all those things?  

Maybe we already have all those things. Maybe everything that mentioned above are already within us. When God created us, He created us with wisdom, strength, knowledge, and all the positiveness that a person could ever have. So when we already have all those things, does it mean that we don't need to pray anymore?   Definitely not. We still need to pray, but instead of asking for those things mentioned above, I believe the most important thing for us to ask is to have FAITH.  

 

One of my mentors recently shared this analogy with me. He said that we are similar like TVs. When you see a TV that is not on, you will not be able to see anything, or hear anything. But you actually know that everything is actually inside the TV: the movie, the sound, the motion picture, etc. There are many channels that you can access and there are many things that you can enjoy. All you need to do is to turn on the TV.  

 

Similarly like our lives. We as an individuals are full of potential, everything is already inside us, but we need to have FAITH to 'on' it and to be able to see it.  

 

Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible  

 

So remember, the next time you pray. Ask for FAITH !  

 

 

25
Nov
Four Blessed Looks

The FOUR BLESSED LOOKS:

 

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Look back and Thank God

Look forward and Trust God

Look around and Serve God

Look within and Find God

 

 

 

 

24
Nov
Project Pay It Forward @ Ngee Ann Poly

Just did another of my Project: Pay It Forward last Friday.

 

This project was launched because of my passion to share my experiences with other young people. Although I am regularly engaged to conduct professional trainings in the region, I have pledged my time to conduct free Talks for institutions/schools/clubs whose members are young people aged 15-35.

 

During this 60-minutes Talk, I share my personal success journey – from school into the business world.

So last Friday, I went to Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

 

 

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I’m happy to see so much energy and enthusiasm that they had during my talk. Knowing that they have been benefited from my sharing has definitely made my day =)

 

Me and some of the students =)

 

Me and some of the students =)

 

To know more about Project: Pay It Forward, visit www.merryriana.co.id

 

Last but not least,

 

“True Success in life is not measured by how much money you make, but how much of a difference you make in the life of others”  

 

 

 

 

24
Nov
A Lady Of Style and Substance – Interview by Diva

I was about to write my blog today, then someone smsed me and told me that I was featured inside the www.divaasia.com (http://www.divaasia.com/article/6241)  

 

What a good news! I did the interview with Diva not long ago and was looking forward for the article. Therefore when I received the sms, first thing that I did was to read the article ! It is a very well-written article. Thank you DIVA =) and thank you FEMALE for this opportunity.  

 

  Merry Riana - diva

 

Tue, Nov 24, 2009 Diva

 

A LADY OF STYLE AND SUBSTANCE

 

Only 29 this year, she not that much older than the 49 other Female Gorgeous People but she has had some remarkable firsts in her life. Merry Riana made her first million at age 26, and later went on to publish her first book. She gave birth to her first child when she was 28, and now she is participating in a personality contest for the first time. When the entrepreneur/ author/ trainer first got scouted by the organiser, she wrote on her blog entry stating that she was very flattered and said: "Never in my imagination or plan would I ever stepped into this side of life whereby I'd be one of the 50 Most Gorgeous People." (But seriously we cannot think of a reason why not?)

When asked to describe herself in five words, Merry conveniently breaks down her five-letter name: Motivating, Entertaining, Remarkable, Radiant, and Youthful. We found out from her blog that while her first name Merry means 'happy', apparently 'Ria', the first part of her last name, actually means cheerful in Bahasa Indonesia. Could that explain why she's always exuding joy and brimming with positivity? When asked if she had a nickname, incidentally it was also 'Merry'.

The live wire told us the reason why people call her that is because she is really a happy person. "It is very difficult for you to catch me not smiling," she adds. But it is not her smile that Merry finds is the most gorgeous body part. "My eyes. I agree with the saying, 'Your eyes are the windows to your soul'. "Through my eyes, others will know, and most importantly feel, who I really am."

Her formula for looking good? The beauty told us that it is "simply by feeling good." Merry also believes that there are no ugly girls, only lazy girls. "I believe every girl can be beautiful, if only they take a little effort on their part. And being beautiful does not have to be expensive too. Even with a simple budget, you'll be able to get a hold of great stuff to beautify yourself. "Most importantly, always remember that beauty is generated inside, and then it flows out. So, make sure you feel good at all time!"

Looks aside, Merry has a purpose for being in the competition. She wants to be of "style with substance" and through blogging, she hopes to positively add value to others by dropping the occassional quotes of inspiration. Get to know Merry better with the rest of the interview below:  

 

Tell us about your favourite hobby / area of interest.
Previously, my favorite hobby is watching inspirational movies with my husband. But ever since I had my first baby girl, my number one hobby is to spend time with her.  

Name one strength and weakness about yourself.
My biggest strength is my personality. I'm so blessed to be able to enjoy the privilege of making a difference and impacting many lives through my books, seminars, TV shows, etc. My weakness is my workaholic attitude towards life. When I'm doing what I'm passionate about, I lose track of time. I do my best to balance this and maintain my health by always making sure that I have enough sleep and by exercising regularly.  

Tell us about your relationship with your husband.
I am very blessed to have met someone who shares the same faith, believes in the same vision, and has the same passion about life. And at the same time, he really complements me as a person. That to me is the criteria of my ideal partner.  

Tell us about your profession. Is it ideal for you?
I am an entrepreneur, trainer, and author. I'm running my own businesses in 3 different areas: Training & Consultancy, Financial Services, and Non-Profit. At the same time, I'm fortunate to have my book "A Gift From A Friend" which became a best-seller in Singapore and Indonesia when I first published it in 2006. This is definitely an ideal job for me because I have the freedom to do what I love. I always believe that you must do what you love, and then success will follow.  

What is your internet guilty pleasure?
I just started blogging and set up a Facebook account since middle of this year, and I'm now spending more and more time on the Internet.  

Her life motto?
Touching hearts, changing lives.    

 


23
Nov
A Cozy Affair with Jasmine Tye

a cozyaffair with jasmine

 

Jasmine started singing when she was 8 years old. When the Singapore Idol first started in 2004, Jasmine already wanted to participate. Unfortunately at that time she was too young to join. So when the registration for Singapore Idols season 2 was opened, she didn’t need to think twice to sign up. From audition, She climbed herself up top 50, to top 10 finalist, to top 5, and finally she was the 2nd runner up.

 

If you are wondering, What is she currently busy with? Jasmine is currently busy preparing for her upcoming concert “A cozy Affair”. This is a join effort between Jasmine and a group of her friends. Jasmine will be singing her own self-composed songs and remix versions of billboard covers. In this 1 hour concert, she will also be collaborating with other artists to bring you a mix of bilingual songs, dances and other surprise acts.

 

Her former Singapore Idols friends will be there to support her too. Here’s the details: Date : Wednesday, 2nd December 2009 Time : 8pm – 9pm Place : Marine Parade Theatrette. The concert itself happened to be the same day with Jasmine’s birthday ! :) And moreover, the profits from the concert will be donated to charity. Ticket is $25 and it’s selling fast !!

 

So wait no more, you can email Jasmine at jasminetye.tye87@gmail.com to book the tickets NOW !!

I’ll upload my complete article from my interview with Jasmine in the next post.

In the meantime, below is part of my Audio interview with her. (You can actually listen to her singing LIVE for you in this audio interview)
Just click the picture

 

click the picture to listen to the audio interview

 

click the picture to listen to the audio interview

 

22
Nov
Jasmine Tye in Merry Riana Show

21
Nov
CHRISTMAS Light Up =)

Christmas is coming !! Yeah..

Here are more photos along Orchard Road (all taken with CANON EOS 5D)

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Orchard ION is so grand rite?

And the Christmas Tree is so special…

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Not only it is HUGE….

but look closer…

you can actually go 'inside' this GIANT CHRISTMAS TREE =)

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Wondering what is inside?

Well.. here it is….

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SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL =)

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Also.. if you are walking down Orchard Road and thinking what kind of christmas gift you want to get for yourself this year?

Well.. how about an ALL-NEW SUBARU LEGACY car ?

….

for FREE !!

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According to what is stated there

you just need to sms 'wisma' to 9734 4058 or visit inspireawe.sg

and participate in their lucky draw.

For me, actually I never won any lucky draw in my whole life…

but who knows..

you are luckier than me :) hahaha..

 

Anyway.. I would like to end my post with something for you to ponder about.

"Friends are like STREETLIGHTS along the road. They don't make the distance any shorter. But they LIGHT-UP the path and make the walk worthwhile"

 

Hope you can spend time walking down Orchard Road,

enjoying their amazing Christmas – StreetLights with your friends this weekend.

I'm sure it'll light up your night ! =)