mUShy
01-24-2003, 01:17 AM
extracted from http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/life
The (MTV) heat is on
by Tommy Wee
IT MAY be the biggest pop music event of the year for Singapore but American stars Shaggy and CoCo Lee are feeling no pressure to take rehearsals too seriously.
The scene at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Wednesday afternoon is one of controlled chaos.
Both Shaggy and Lee - this year's co-hosts of the MTV Asia Awards which takes place tonight - are walking calmly through the script with the aid of a tele-prompter.
Frazzled-looking production assistants scuttle about, barking into hands-free headsets and scribbling furiously on notepads.
Lee reads the lines to introduce Taiwanese heart-throb Jay Chou as 'Dragon Fist'. Shaggy responds in a frail, pseudo-female voice from the opposite end of the sprawling 40-m wide stage: 'Did somebody call me?'
He lapses into an excruciating, falsetto version of Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You, to the amusement of distracted onlookers.
Lee throws her head back, her laughter echoing in the empty stadium.
Not that the lack of a live audience bothers either Shaggy, the Jamaican multi-platinum-selling, self-confessed 'Mr Lover', or Hongkong-born, Los Angeles-based Lee.
They are as natural and easy-going as hosts can be.
Tonight, as the stadium is transformed into a hotbed of East-West pop culture, this pairing makes perfect sense.
HOTTER SHOW, HOTTER TALENTS
FOR the past 10 days, more then 250 lighting, sound and production crew members have made the stadium their home, working around the clock to stage the much-anticipated awards show.
Thanks to well-publicised contest giveaways and promotions via radio, television and MTV roadshows, all 8,000 free passes for the show have been taken.
'Expectations for the show are sky-high,' says MTV Asia president Frank Brown.
But then few would not jump at the chance to show up. With more than 100 international artistes in attendance - compared to 50 last year when the show made its debut - the spectacle promises to include a virtually unparallelled number of A-list pop stars.
The show will be edited for screening at 10 pm tonight on StarHub Channel 20 and again on Channel i at 6.30 pm tomorrow. The list of performers reads like a wish-list dreamt up by a pop fanatic: Hip-hop heavyweight Missy Elliott, pop-rocker Avril Lavigne, white-hot boyband Blue, Taiwanese R & B crooner Chou, Brit-pop icon Robbie Williams, Taiwanese popsters F4 and homegrown heroine Stefanie Sun.
Office administrator Cheryl Lim Hwee Sze, 26, spent two weekends clamouring for tickets at MTV roadshows at The Heeren. 'You don't get to see all these superstars every day. It's a very big deal,' she says.
Other names gracing the gala include British rockers Suede, Brit-moppets Atomic Kitten, members of US nu-metal band Linkin Park, Taiwanese songwriter David Tao, Bollywood screen-goddess Aishwarya Rai and Filipino singer Regine Velazquez.
Clearly, the success of last year's awards bash in February has had its effect.
Mr Brown says: 'We had difficulty last year trying to get artistes to come here. For US-based artistes, it means taking a whole week out of promotion time. 'But I think they're realising the great value in appearing on a show like this, which goes into more than 150 million households across Asia.'
MTV produces similar annual awards shows in Europe and America.
While last year's show in Singapore was marred for the 7,500-strong live audience by technical glitches, slow pacing and lapses of on-stage inactivity, MTV Asia promises this year's event will be tighter, slicker and more entertaining.
'We've got a dream line-up, with something for everybody,' says the show's executive producer, Mr David Flack
n
.
'The live audience won't miss a beat as
there will be entertainment segments even during stage changes and commercial breaks.'
In a new interactive element, SMS-happy members of the audience will be able to send congratulatory messages - which will be flashed on stage - to the stars. (See page 6)
While he declines to reveal figures, Mr Flack adds that this year's show is 50 per cent larger in production terms and in terms of the promotional blitz for it.
Toyota, Panasonic, Mastercard and Nokia have hopped onto the sponsorship bandwagon, as have event partners StarHub and the Singapore Tourism Board.
'We're reaching into the increasingly important youth market and MTV offers the perfect music platform,' says Toyota's Vince Socco, the Singapore marketing services department general manager.
The carmaker recently launched its 1,500-cc Vios saloon, with eye-catching print advertisements featuring Britney Spears.
And since November last year, the tourism board has organised special travel packages for overseas visitors which include passes to tonight's show.
In all, 420 packages - which translate into more than 1,000 tourists - have been snapped up in places such as China, Taiwan, Japan, Hongkong and South Korea.
'MTV is very hip and mass-market. It's an opportunity to pull in visitors,' says the board's assistant director, events marketing, Mr Oliver Chong, 34.
STARLIGHT, STARBRIGHT
PULLING the audience's strings at the stadium tonight will be down to Lee and Shaggy. Their timing and cue-reading charm will either make or break the show.
Asked to share their thoughts, both are candid. 'It's awesome to be given this honour,' chirps Lee, effervescent as pop soda. 'It'll be great fun.'
So how will the two generate on-stage chemistry?
Raising an eyebrow in mock-dismay and wrapping his arms around a giggly Lee, Shaggy replies: 'Chemistry? Can't you see what's going on between us, baby?'
Of course. The show is in good hands then.
The MTV Asia Awards 2003 begin at the Singapore Indoor Stadium at 7 pm tonight. Free fringe activities begin at 3 pm.Catch a delayed telecast of the show tonight at 10 pm on MTV Asia (StarHub Channel 20) and tomorrow at 6.30 pm on Channel i.
SURVIVING THE MTV AWARDS
......[snipped]
DO ...
Send your congratulatory SMS messages to the stars when they win awards. Just type 'maaselect', leave a space followed by your message and send it to either 79000 or 79797. Your messages to the stars will appear live on screen at the awards show itself today at 10 pm.
Visit the Singapore Indoor Stadium even if you do not have tickets for the awards. There are festivities happening outside the stadium from 3 pm, including DJ parties and game booths.
Catch the delayed telecast of the awards show tonight at 10 pm on MTV Asia (StarHub Channel 20) and tomorrow at 6.30 pm on Channel i.
SEEING STARS
HOSTS
Shaggy, CoCo Lee
PERFORMERS
Missy Elliott (United States)
Matchbox Twenty (United States)
Robbie Williams (Britain)
Blue (Britain)
Avril Lavigne (Canada)
Jay Chou (Taiwan)
F4 (Taiwan)
Ella (Malaysia)
Stefanie Sun (Singapore)
Ho Yeow Sun (Singapore)
CELEBRITY PRESENTERS
Suede (Britain)
Atomic Kitten (Britain)
Linkin Park band members
Chester and Joe (United States)
David Tao (Taiwan)
Aishwarya Rai (India)
Ho Yeow Sun (Singapore)
Anggun (Indonesia)
Kris Dayanti (Indonesian)
Kyla (Philippines)
Siti Nurhaliza (Malaysia)
Ogie Alcasid (Philippines)
Urban Xchange (Singapore)
Regine Velazquez (Philippines)
D2B (Thailand)
Silly Fools (Thailand)
Palmy (Thailand)
Parokya Ni Edgar (Philippines)
Slapshock (Philippines)
ALSO ATTENDING
Exists (Malaysia) Cokelat (Indonesia) Liza Hanim (Malay
sia) OAG
Malaysia) Peter Corp Dyrendal (Thailand) Sheila on 7 (Indonesia) Slank (Indonesia) Soul After 6 (Thailand) Adnan Sami (India
) j.t.l. (Korea)
----
gee how i wish i cld get a ticket!
anyway i've sent a SMS for Jay...let's hope he will win! :D[/b]
The (MTV) heat is on
by Tommy Wee
IT MAY be the biggest pop music event of the year for Singapore but American stars Shaggy and CoCo Lee are feeling no pressure to take rehearsals too seriously.
The scene at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Wednesday afternoon is one of controlled chaos.
Both Shaggy and Lee - this year's co-hosts of the MTV Asia Awards which takes place tonight - are walking calmly through the script with the aid of a tele-prompter.
Frazzled-looking production assistants scuttle about, barking into hands-free headsets and scribbling furiously on notepads.
Lee reads the lines to introduce Taiwanese heart-throb Jay Chou as 'Dragon Fist'. Shaggy responds in a frail, pseudo-female voice from the opposite end of the sprawling 40-m wide stage: 'Did somebody call me?'
He lapses into an excruciating, falsetto version of Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You, to the amusement of distracted onlookers.
Lee throws her head back, her laughter echoing in the empty stadium.
Not that the lack of a live audience bothers either Shaggy, the Jamaican multi-platinum-selling, self-confessed 'Mr Lover', or Hongkong-born, Los Angeles-based Lee.
They are as natural and easy-going as hosts can be.
Tonight, as the stadium is transformed into a hotbed of East-West pop culture, this pairing makes perfect sense.
HOTTER SHOW, HOTTER TALENTS
FOR the past 10 days, more then 250 lighting, sound and production crew members have made the stadium their home, working around the clock to stage the much-anticipated awards show.
Thanks to well-publicised contest giveaways and promotions via radio, television and MTV roadshows, all 8,000 free passes for the show have been taken.
'Expectations for the show are sky-high,' says MTV Asia president Frank Brown.
But then few would not jump at the chance to show up. With more than 100 international artistes in attendance - compared to 50 last year when the show made its debut - the spectacle promises to include a virtually unparallelled number of A-list pop stars.
The show will be edited for screening at 10 pm tonight on StarHub Channel 20 and again on Channel i at 6.30 pm tomorrow. The list of performers reads like a wish-list dreamt up by a pop fanatic: Hip-hop heavyweight Missy Elliott, pop-rocker Avril Lavigne, white-hot boyband Blue, Taiwanese R & B crooner Chou, Brit-pop icon Robbie Williams, Taiwanese popsters F4 and homegrown heroine Stefanie Sun.
Office administrator Cheryl Lim Hwee Sze, 26, spent two weekends clamouring for tickets at MTV roadshows at The Heeren. 'You don't get to see all these superstars every day. It's a very big deal,' she says.
Other names gracing the gala include British rockers Suede, Brit-moppets Atomic Kitten, members of US nu-metal band Linkin Park, Taiwanese songwriter David Tao, Bollywood screen-goddess Aishwarya Rai and Filipino singer Regine Velazquez.
Clearly, the success of last year's awards bash in February has had its effect.
Mr Brown says: 'We had difficulty last year trying to get artistes to come here. For US-based artistes, it means taking a whole week out of promotion time. 'But I think they're realising the great value in appearing on a show like this, which goes into more than 150 million households across Asia.'
MTV produces similar annual awards shows in Europe and America.
While last year's show in Singapore was marred for the 7,500-strong live audience by technical glitches, slow pacing and lapses of on-stage inactivity, MTV Asia promises this year's event will be tighter, slicker and more entertaining.
'We've got a dream line-up, with something for everybody,' says the show's executive producer, Mr David Flack
n
.
'The live audience won't miss a beat as
there will be entertainment segments even during stage changes and commercial breaks.'
In a new interactive element, SMS-happy members of the audience will be able to send congratulatory messages - which will be flashed on stage - to the stars. (See page 6)
While he declines to reveal figures, Mr Flack adds that this year's show is 50 per cent larger in production terms and in terms of the promotional blitz for it.
Toyota, Panasonic, Mastercard and Nokia have hopped onto the sponsorship bandwagon, as have event partners StarHub and the Singapore Tourism Board.
'We're reaching into the increasingly important youth market and MTV offers the perfect music platform,' says Toyota's Vince Socco, the Singapore marketing services department general manager.
The carmaker recently launched its 1,500-cc Vios saloon, with eye-catching print advertisements featuring Britney Spears.
And since November last year, the tourism board has organised special travel packages for overseas visitors which include passes to tonight's show.
In all, 420 packages - which translate into more than 1,000 tourists - have been snapped up in places such as China, Taiwan, Japan, Hongkong and South Korea.
'MTV is very hip and mass-market. It's an opportunity to pull in visitors,' says the board's assistant director, events marketing, Mr Oliver Chong, 34.
STARLIGHT, STARBRIGHT
PULLING the audience's strings at the stadium tonight will be down to Lee and Shaggy. Their timing and cue-reading charm will either make or break the show.
Asked to share their thoughts, both are candid. 'It's awesome to be given this honour,' chirps Lee, effervescent as pop soda. 'It'll be great fun.'
So how will the two generate on-stage chemistry?
Raising an eyebrow in mock-dismay and wrapping his arms around a giggly Lee, Shaggy replies: 'Chemistry? Can't you see what's going on between us, baby?'
Of course. The show is in good hands then.
The MTV Asia Awards 2003 begin at the Singapore Indoor Stadium at 7 pm tonight. Free fringe activities begin at 3 pm.Catch a delayed telecast of the show tonight at 10 pm on MTV Asia (StarHub Channel 20) and tomorrow at 6.30 pm on Channel i.
SURVIVING THE MTV AWARDS
......[snipped]
DO ...
Send your congratulatory SMS messages to the stars when they win awards. Just type 'maaselect', leave a space followed by your message and send it to either 79000 or 79797. Your messages to the stars will appear live on screen at the awards show itself today at 10 pm.
Visit the Singapore Indoor Stadium even if you do not have tickets for the awards. There are festivities happening outside the stadium from 3 pm, including DJ parties and game booths.
Catch the delayed telecast of the awards show tonight at 10 pm on MTV Asia (StarHub Channel 20) and tomorrow at 6.30 pm on Channel i.
SEEING STARS
HOSTS
Shaggy, CoCo Lee
PERFORMERS
Missy Elliott (United States)
Matchbox Twenty (United States)
Robbie Williams (Britain)
Blue (Britain)
Avril Lavigne (Canada)
Jay Chou (Taiwan)
F4 (Taiwan)
Ella (Malaysia)
Stefanie Sun (Singapore)
Ho Yeow Sun (Singapore)
CELEBRITY PRESENTERS
Suede (Britain)
Atomic Kitten (Britain)
Linkin Park band members
Chester and Joe (United States)
David Tao (Taiwan)
Aishwarya Rai (India)
Ho Yeow Sun (Singapore)
Anggun (Indonesia)
Kris Dayanti (Indonesian)
Kyla (Philippines)
Siti Nurhaliza (Malaysia)
Ogie Alcasid (Philippines)
Urban Xchange (Singapore)
Regine Velazquez (Philippines)
D2B (Thailand)
Silly Fools (Thailand)
Palmy (Thailand)
Parokya Ni Edgar (Philippines)
Slapshock (Philippines)
ALSO ATTENDING
Exists (Malaysia) Cokelat (Indonesia) Liza Hanim (Malay
sia) OAG
Malaysia) Peter Corp Dyrendal (Thailand) Sheila on 7 (Indonesia) Slank (Indonesia) Soul After 6 (Thailand) Adnan Sami (India
) j.t.l. (Korea)
----
gee how i wish i cld get a ticket!
anyway i've sent a SMS for Jay...let's hope he will win! :D[/b]