Singapore Idol
| Singapore Idol | |
| Singapore Idol Finalists (with dates of elimination) | |
| Season 1 (2004) | |
| Muhammad Taufik Batisah | Winner |
| Sylvester Sim | 1 December |
| Olinda Cho | 19 November |
| Daphne Khoo | 12 November |
| Leandra Veronica Rasiah | 5 November |
| Christopher Michael Lee | 29 October |
| Maia Lee | 22 October |
| Jerry Ong | 15 October |
| David Yeo | 8 October |
| Beverly Lim Morata | 1 October |
| Jessea K. Thyidor | 1 October |
| Candice Foo | withdrawn |
| Season 2 (2006) | |
| Mathilda D'Silva | |
| Joakim Gomez | |
| Emilee Kang | |
| Jonathan Leong | |
| Jay Lim | |
| Nurul Maideen | |
| Hady Mirza | |
| Gayle Nerva | |
| Rahimah Rahim | |
| Norman Then | |
| Paul Twohill | |
| Jasmine Tye | |
Singapore Idol is a television show on Channel 5 of MediaCorp TV. It is a contest to find the best young singer in Singapore. Like others in the Idol series, it is modelled after Pop Idol. The judges are Dick Lee, Florence Lian, Douglas Oliverio (replaced by Jacintha Abisheganaden in season 2) and Ken Lim. The show is hosted by Gurmit Singh and Daniel Ong. The show is produced by MediaCorp Studios and FremantleMedia Operations BV.
Season 1 (2004)
Season 1 of Singapore Idol premiered on the National Day of Singapore (9 August) in 2004. This season produced a few memorable, albeit notorious, performers during the audition round. They included Skyy Sia aka Bananaman, who wore a mask of watermelon and bananas; Kelvin Sim, who accompanied his very bad rendition of Fool's Garden's "Lemon Tree" with a dance that rivalled that of William Hung; Patrick Khoo, who literally whispered George Michael's "Careless Whisper"; and Steven Lim, who stripped down to a pair of yellow swimming trunks.
As with other shows in the Idol series, the viewers' votes decide who goes on to the next round. This sometimes produces controversial results. In the third preliminary round, Jerry Ong, whose singing was described by judge Florence Lian as being constipated, was voted through to the finals, beating favourites Beverly Lim Morata and Nur Hasanah (Nana).
In a bigger upset, Jeassea K. Thyidor, considered by many to be a frontrunner in the competition, was eliminated in the very first round of the finals by a margin of a mere 200 votes. Her premature exit was variously attributed to her guarded persona, complacency of her supporters and her nationality (she was originally from Canada).
In the final showdown held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 1 December, 2004, Muhammad Taufik Batisah beat Sylvester Sim with 62% of the votes to become the first Singapore Idol. Both received recording deals from Sony BMG. Taufik's album, Blessings, was released on 17 January 2005. Sylvester's album, Take Flight, was released in 8 April 2005. Another one of the finalists, Maia Lee, also released an album titled Emotionally Advised on 20 August 2005.
Season 2 (2006)
Audition for season 2 was held on 11 February 2006 at *Scape in Orchard Road and was extended twice due to overwhelming response - 12 February at the same location and 19 February in Toa Payoh. The season premiered on 21 May. Dick Lee, Florence Lian and Ken Lim return as judges while Douglas Oliverio is replaced by Jacintha Abisheganaden. After widespread criticism of his hosting abilities in season 1, Gurmit Singh is paired with Daniel Ong as co-hosts for season 2. Ex-contestant Daphne Khoo hosts Singapore Idol On Demand, an online subscription-based service that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the show.
A day after the results for Piano Show #4 was annouced, MediaCorp revealed that a computer glitch in the voting process had sent Mathilda D'Silva into the top 12 instead of Nurul Maideen. Mathilda was placed in the wildcard show and was subsequently voted into the finals.