Singapore Idol - Season 3 (2009)

Season 3 (2009)

On December 15, 2008, Mediacorp mentioned in its free-circulating-paper, TODAY, that Singapore Idol Season 3 would be one of the new programmes for 2009. The third installment comes three years after the previous.

Registration for Singapore Idol 3 officially started on 1 May 2009, and the season premiered right after the National Day Parade segment on August 9, 2009, 8.30 PM on Channel 5.

Returning host Gurmit Singh co-hosted with Singapore Idol 2 winner Hady Mirza, replacing Season 2's Daniel Ong. The returning judges were Dick Lee, Florence Lian and Ken Lim, with Jacintha Abisheganaden leaving the show.

The Top 100 were put up at Orchid Country Club for a week of intense auditions and training. They were then reduced to a Top 76 for a group round, Top 54 for an Idol first where the contestants write and compose a duet and perform it, then the Top 40 of sang-off at Caldecott Hill. Top 24 consisted of half the contestants (6 guys and 6 girls) performing each night on 2 separate Piano Shows for a spot in the Top 12. The Results Show was screened 30 minutes after the Performance Show. Voting began at the start of the Piano round, and closed at 9.45 PM (later extended to 10 PM and finally to 10.15 PM). The Top 3 public vote-getters, regardless of gender, advanced together with 3 of the judges choices per episode. Coincidentally, all the contestants who made it to the next round by public voting were male. There was no Wildcard round, unlike the previous two seasons.

After the Top 12 was revealed during the second Piano Show results segment, the judges announced that Mae Sta Maria would join the 12 and form a surprise Top 13. The season has received mixed to negative feedback from fans due to the new rulings (absence of the Wildcard round, lack of a gender cap and voting at the start of the show rather than at the end).

It was revealed on 14 September that MJ Kuok, who had gotten into the finals by public voting after Piano Show 1, had withdrawn from the competition on September 11, citing "personal reasons". The news was confirmed in 8 Days Magazine. He was then replaced by Nurul Huda from Piano Show 1. It was revealed that she had received the next highest number of public votes out of all the other eliminated contestants.

This season also introduced the "Judges' Save", similar to American Idol Season 8, which could be used only when the judges unanimously decide to save an eliminated contestant up to and until the Top 5. The save was ultimately not used, when the judges decided not to save Faizal Isa, who was eliminated in 5th place. In retrospect, except for the Top 13 Results Show, where Gurmit explicitly asked the judges if they wanted to save Syltra Lee, the judges' save was hardly, if only briefly, mentioned.

Another first for the franchise was a surprise non-elimination round during the Top 4 Results Show on 25 November, similar to American Idol Season 6, although, unlike the American version where the bottom group was never revealed, Charles and Tabitha were revealed to be the bottom two.

The order for the final performance show was decided by a coin toss immediately after the Top 3 elimination show. Sylvia won and decided to go first. The Grand Finale, unlike Season 2, was not a two-night event. The performance was aired at 8PM and the results show at 10PM. It was held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium with a full capacity of 12,000. The special guest was international recording artist Charice where she performed 3 songs which included her first single Note to God. The Singapore Idol stage will be torn down from the MediaCorp studio permanently thereafter.

This season was abound with controversy. During the Top 8 and 7, while the judges claimed both nights as "girls' nights", the girls filled up the bottom groups. This resulted in extensive media promotion for the females left in the competition, and the idea of a female idol was fueled by both the judges and the episodic trailers. However, the last male standing in the Final 3, Sezairi Sezali, still ultimately won, receiving 61% of the votes cast in the finale. While Sylvia became the first female to make it to the finals, Sezairi's win makes all three Singapore Idol winners young Malay males.