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My AF2 Top 12 Ranking

The 6 AF2 finalists, from left: 'Budak Rap' Adam, 'Pesona Bintang' Linda, 'Pelajar Contoh' Zahid, 'Power House' Farah, 'Innocent' Kaer & 'Teddy Bear' Bob.. So who will emerge as the ultimate champion..?? AFUNDI FARAH & ZAHID ..!!

1 – Zahid

During the early season of show, he was clearly not one of the front-runners.. his votes were always among the bottom ranking.. and I found this quite surprising coz I found him a very talented & versatile singer even after the 2nd concert.. his voice is crystal-clear & he can do almost everything with his voice.. and fortunate enough, somehow, he slowly managed to pull the crowd with his entertaining & consistent performances week after week without even one disappointing performance.. who can forget the ever memorable Where Is The Love (Black Eyed Peas), Cinta Sakti (Def-Gab-C) & the most recent Cek Mek Molek (Dato’ M Daud Kilau).. and one will have to admit that he actually stole some of the other students’ performances for example Bob’s Alhamdulillah (Too Phat) & Adam’s Tipah Tertipu (Ruffedge).. all in all, Zahid is not only an excellent & versatile singer, but he’s also a natural born performer & a great entertainer.. I believe he gained a lot of experience with his band Power-house.. Zahid is an all-rounder, he can sing, he can dance, he can act, play music, rap, make jokes spontaneously… what more could you ask for in an entertainer? So what if he doesn’t have Kaer’s charming looks, or Adam’s perfect figure… what’s more important is he manages to carry himself as Zahid with his own persona.. definitely a pure talent to watch look out for… just wait & see people…

2 – Farah

God Gracious.. this girl is blessed with such powerful voice! You can give her any type of song and I’ll guarantee you she’ll nail it like a pro.. Farah is definitely my favourite of all female contestants.. but it seems that not all agree with me.. her votes were always ranked among the bottom which makes her look un-popular compared to other students like Linda or Mas, and even Zarina.. is it becoz of her childish attitude? Or is it that her personality is not outsanding enough like the ‘Star Persona’ Linda? Whatever the reasons are, somehow she managed to survive until the final concert which is quite surprising.. I believe her votes come from intelligent people who vote for her based on her outstanding performances every single week.. (like me.. hehe!) it shows that when the final votes were revealed she often ranked among the top.. well done voters..! anyway, talking about her singing ability, she’s like the female version of Zahid, the most versatile female singer next to Zarina…. She can sing powerful pop ballads (Janji Manismu – Aishah), English oldies (Dancing Queen – Abba), up-tempo R&B fused kinda song (Jangan Kau Mimpi – Siti Sarah), power slow-rock number (Mengapa – Nicky Astria) and she did quite well singing a traditional song (Ya Maulai – Siti Nurhaliza) though there’s still much room for improvements.. her weakness points are the low registers & falsettos.. but I thought she managed to overcome some of her weaknesses when performing Mengapa.. that performance was flawless.. if she put more effort in improving her vocals, I strongly believe that one day she will be a strong contender in the Best Female Vocalist category at the AIM awards.. she has a distinct voice which sets her apart from other female singers in Malaysia.. not only Adnan Abu Hassan & Siti Hajar complements on her vocal prowess, but even our pop darling, Siti Nurhaliza acknowledged her powerful vocals! Now that’s an achievement for an AF student!!

3 – Bob

In terms of vocal-wise, no doubt Bob is the best male contestant in AF2.. his range is very wide, from the low to the high register.. full of energy and power.. his growling techniques are perfect.. his vocal embellishments are always in good control especially doing ethnic & traditional Malay numbers like Wajah Kesayangan Hamba (Hail Amir) & Tanya Sama Itu Hud-hud (M Nasir).. his improvisations for each songs in making his own always captivates me.. but the only thing that separates him from Zahid is that he tends to oversing the song given which sometimes can be irritating to the listeners.. he’s very experimental with his vocals that sometimes it’s out-of-control you can hear pitching problems here & there.. but regardless of these minor glitches, I still love his voice.. powerful yet full of sweetness.. just one advice, don’t be overconfident & try to overdo the song.. I’m sure he’ll put out an excellent album one day.. so u people out there, don’t just look on the outside.. I know it’s big.. but look at the talent inside which is much bigger..!

4 – Zarina

When she was eliminated from at the 6th AF2 concert, I wasn’t there to witness it live.. I only had the chance to watch the repeat a week after.. and even watching the repeat which I already knew the result, I actually burst into tears watching her leave the academy.. Zarina’s performances always had an impact on me.. although she’s not the best contestant, but I admire her attitude.. her hardworking & dedication to overcome her weaknesses everytime given a difficult task (think My Immortal – Evanescance, Pulangkan – Misha & Penantian – Bienda) is truly inspiring.. she deserves to be the exemplary to all students, same goes to Zahid.. Zarina is a very talented young lady.. it’s not easy to find younger generation who not only can sing contemporary songs, but also excels in traditional number – ghazal, zapin, keroncong.. her elimination was a big lost to AF2.. but I believe she has the charisma & capabilities to make it big in the outside world.. don’t worry Zarina, I’ll always be behind you! AFMASUK ZARINA !!! (I’m sad that she doesn’t make it to the final 6.. nevertheless, all 6 of them deserves the spot.. though I had to give Adam a 2nd thought.. not quite sure actually!!)

5 – Linda

From what I observed in the diaries, it seems like Linda is Ramli MS’s favourite student.. I can see why.. not only does she have the looks & personality, but her vocal range is amazing! Her key is even one note higher than Farah’s.. but unlike Farah whose vocals are much more aggressive, Linda’s voice is quite fragile & lacks the power in it.. she can hit all the high notes effortlessly, but without enough energy.. when she hits the high register, it’s like she’s doing falsetto which is not.. and compared to Zahid, Farah & Bob, Linda has not been consistent enough throughout the season.. to me, her only 2 good performances were Leaving On A Jet Plane (Chantal) and Panti Asuhan (Hetty Koes Endang) which were flawless.. the rest were just average and below par.. her performance of Bunga Melor showcases her weaknesses in vocal embellishments.. it’s quite disappointing coz she has such an amazing voice but doesn’t use it to maximum.. anyhow, with her wide range and extra talents in music (she can play guitar like a pro), plus her bonus good looks, I’m sure she has a bright future ahead of her.. she just needs to take more vocal lessons and polish it.. all the best Linda!

6 – Kaer

Kaer has a nice, soothing, easy-listening type of voice which can make you melt right away.. especially when doing ballads.. I was mesmerized with his 1st & 2nd performances.. I was amazed by how he made Januari (Glenn) & Ikhlas Tapi Jauh (Zainal Abidin) like his own.. it’s like listening to a totally different song.. but it was a downhill after the 3rd concert.. it looks that he has lost his confidence & shows more of his weaknesses as a non-versatile singer.. he tends to overdo each song he’s given.. improvisations are good, but sometime it’s over the top.. he only managed to wow me doing R&B soul kinda song.. I wasn’t even impressed with his rendition of Mentera Semerah Padi (M Nasir) eventhough most people say it’s a comeback for him.. I think that anybody given that song, with that kind of choreography will put out a performance full of energy.. the song itself has an energy of its own.. he’s lucky coz with a good choreograph & fantastic stage presence, his flaws were forgotten anyway, despite his fading voice which doesn’t match the song’s energy.. no doubt Kaer has a great voice and is an intelligent & excellent singer, but only to a limited extent – singing R&B soul & jazz numbers.. his falsettos are perfect for these kind of songs.. if he work harder, he surely can give Hazami or even Anuar Zain a run for their money..!

7 – Edlin

My dear Edlin, why in the world were you eliminated so early..? I’m so pissed off that she was denied the chance & enough time to show her true capabilities.. I actually saw great potentials in her voice.. her vocal embellishments are excellent.. too bad the songs given to her doesn’t really showcase her true potentials especially the unchallenging Bintang Hati (Amy Mastura).. she should’ve been given more challenging songs like Mariah Carey’s.. I heard her sing Mariah’s Hero & Without You on Trek Selebriti & Muzik@Ria & she nailed it very well..! God, this girls can sing..! it’s a total mistake that she was the 1st one out this season..

8 – Anding

A true performer.. he performs well in both ballads & up-tempo songs.. each time he’s up on stage, he conveys the emotions of the songs through his facial expression & body language.. his vocals were also quite good, despite several pitching problems here & there.. needs to work more on his high register and falsettos.. given more training, he can be a good singer & performer.. furthermore, his background knowledge on performing arts helps him performs well on stage.. I believe his future lies in the entertainment business.. just give him a chance & time and he’ll prove it to the critics!

9 – Adam

Hmm.. to tell you the truth, I don’t like Adam even a little bit.. don’t get me wrong.. I don’t hate Adam.. it’s just a matter of preference.. I don’t prefer his voice, style of singing, image, personality etc etc.. he doesn’t even have his own identity!! to me, he doesn’t deserves to be in the final 6.. his vocal controls are weak.. he lacks originality (he sounds every inch like Yusry).. his performances were inconsistent.. he lacks the confidence (remember when he cried when he got a song which he dislikes and had to be consoled by everybody??!! Is he a man or what??!!).. and furthermore, he’s not versatile.. he can only rap, dance and sing like an average singer.. then what the hell is he still doing there?? The answer is easy.. becoz of his cutesy wutsy lil’ image which attracts all the female viewers.. well, the thing is, he actually have the voice & can really sing.. but he needs to create his own identity & originality.. only then people will see him as a respectable artiste..

10 – Nurul

Why do you always look so sick girl..! Nurul have a lovely pretty voice which excels in old-contemporaries songs such as Sejakku Bertemu Padamu (Sanisah Huri) & Seri Dewi Malam (Sharifah Aini).. her vocal embellishments are perfect for these type of songs.. like Kaer, Nurul’s voice only goes well with certain genres.. but she needs to brush up more on vocal control & her pitching.. coz whenever she performs, her voice seems so weak & shaky and her pitching is all over the place.. to make it in the music industry, a nice & pretty voice is not enough.. she needs to be trained more on techniques & skills to establish herself as a singer.. or else, Nurul will only be labeled as just a cute girl with a pretty voice..

11 – Fitri

Actually, Fitri does have a nice voice, but his range is very limited and just average.. not much can be explored with his voice.. but I admire his dedication in putting a lot of effort which clearly shows improvements as the show progresses.. his last performance, Bayangan Tarimu is undoubtly his best.. highly entertaining & his vocals wasn’t too bad in this song.. but to compete with the rest, he still have a lot to catch up.. but I believe he can make it coz he have the ability to put out an outstanding showmanship on-stage provided he improve more on vocals..

12 – Mas

Mmm… I don’t even know how to start with this girl.. ok, to tell u the truth, I was actually one of her fan at the beginning.. but only until the 3rd concert.. when I first heard her voice in the 1st concert, she truly blew me away.. I thought this girl has a powerful husky voice.. I loved the uniqueness in her tone.. but as the show progresses, she shows more of her weaknesses than her strength.. the only thing we get every single week is forgotten lyrics & steps, and uncontrolled vocals.. her pitching is all over the place.. not an inch of improvement... like what Misha Omar said, she hasn’t done enough yet to put that pure tone of hers to where it should be.. Mas, the people already loves u.. u have an enormous amount of support out here.. so please put that talent to good use.. and only when that time comes, I’ll be happy to be your fan once again!!!

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To all students of AF2, you guys are the best among thousands of hopefuls.. each and every single one of you has brought us joy & laughter throughout your amazing journey.. you guys are already a winner.. i wish you guys all the best and don't waste your talents and the opportunities that lies ahead of you.. the world out there is much more challenging than what you have faced in the academy.. just have a little faith in you & the world is yours..!!