YeinJee's Asian Journal

The third season of The Amazing Race Asia (TARA) is set to premier on September 11, 2008 on AXN Asia. The franchisee of the popular US reality show is gaining popularity among Asians since making their debut in late 2006 and is back for good.

Hardcore Amazing Race fans might not like TARA for the fact that they are overusing celebrity participants to boost the ratings, as some fans felt that reality shows are meant for ‘real’ people.

Regardless, the strategy seems to be working well for AXN. The likes of Thai actress Paula Taylor and Pinoy model Marc Nelson seemed to gain lots of interest for the race in season two… and it’s not surprising to see that TARA3 is loaded with celebs’ participants yet again.

Among the notable celebrities are Malaysian TV hostess Bernie Chan and actress-producer Ida Nerina, Australian-Filipino model Geoff Rodriguez and Russian-Canadian Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova who run for the Thais (her husband is famous Thai tennis star Paradorn Srichaphan) etc.

The fun part for me about TARA is the variety of people from different nations. The ‘usual suspects’ are from Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

A Korean pair is joining the race for the first time in TARA history… gone were the Indonesian, Japanese and Australian team, which I hope they will be back again next season.

Allan Wu again the host. Hoping for a good race and entertaining show.

The 6th annual MTV Asia Awards was held last Saturday (Aug 2) at Arena of Stars in Genting, Malaysia. I watched the delayed telecast at home… a decent show.

Don’t bother too much about the results though; their awards have always been dubious and it seems like the ‘tradition’ will continue to be preserved…

Favourite Music Artist Awards from Asia

Favourite Artist of Mainland China - Li Yu Chun
Favourite Artist of Hong Kong - Leo Ku
Favourite Artist of Indonesia - Yovie & Nuno
Favourite Artist of Korea - Super Junior
Favourite Artist of Malaysia - Nicholas Teo
Favourite Artist of Philippines - Chicosci
Favourite Artist of Singapore - Stefanie Sun
Favourite Artist of Taiwan - Show Lo
Favourite Artist of Thailand - TOR+ Saksit

International Music Awards

Favourite International Artist of Asia - Linkin Park
Best Hook-up - Timbaland feat. OneRepublic - “Apologize”
The Innovation Award - Radiohead
Breakthrough Artist - Leona Lewis
Video Star - 30 Seconds to Mars - “A Beautiful Lie”
Bring Da House Down - Muse - Muse Asia Tour (Jan 2007)
edc Style Award - Panic at the Disco
Knockout Award - The Click Five
Inspiration Award - Karen Mok

Watch some of the live performances on Mtv Asia.

World Drums Festival 2008 is running from July 26 to August 2 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event was first held in December 2007, and it seems like the Malaysian organisers are keen to make it an annual show.

World Drums Festival showcases traditional (and fusion) drum-shows from around the world. The 2008 series features performers from Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Venezuela. Not really covering every part of the world yet, but it’s an international show nonetheless, and a pretty good one.

Went to a road show at Berjaya Times Square on Wednesday with KC and took some pics; photo quality rather poor due to dim lighting and my limited photography skills…

World Drums Festival (Festival Gendang Sedunia) 2008 at Berjaya Time Square

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Malaysian authorities had cancelled the concert-permit for Indonesian singer Inul Daratista following protests from some Islamic groups.

The concert was scheduled to be held last weekend in Kuala Lumpur before being cancelled at the very last minute. Some Islamic groups were protesting against the concert… the major reason was that the concert was ‘erotic’. Obviously they won.

Inul is controversial with her suggestive dance moves which she called it the ‘Goyang Inul’ or ‘Gerak Gerudi’ (literally ‘drilling moves’). I’ll leave it for your own interpretation of how ‘erotic’ she is with the below video…

Some trace-back… Pussycat Dolls were fined when they held their concert in Malaysia last time, Gwen Stefani was told to cover up and Linkin Park were told not to ‘shout’.

Beyonce was smart enough to cancel her concert before the authorities could shut her door. Lots of other artists probably won’t consider having a concert in Malaysia at all.

Hong Kong celebrity couple Tony Leung and Carina Lau is getting married after 19-years into relationship. The couple hinted about their marriage a few months ago, but never released much details to the public… leaving plenty of rooms for speculations.

An old photo of Carina and Tony

The hottest rumour is that they would tie their knots on July 21 in a private wedding ceremony; while another suggests that the wedding would be held in October with truck-load of celebrity guests.

Wedding in Bhutan?

While July 21 seems almost certain as wedding date, the venue for the wedding is still a relative mystery… rumours shifted from Bali to a private island in Thailand, and now to Bhutan.

It’s reported that one of the invited guests, veteran entertainer Eric Tsang, has confirmed the location to be in Bhutan… so, it could very well be a perfect guess this time.

Both Tony and Carina are devoted Buddhist… and Bhutan, being a Buddhist country, seems like a logical choice for their wedding venue.

Besides, Bhutan is famous for its strict regulations on foreign visitors, which sounds like another good reasons to have celebrity weddings there… Tony and Carina won’t need to worry much about paparazzi, as unwanted media would find it difficult to be granted entries during that period.

Regardless of dates and venue, it’s good to see them getting married finally. Congrats.

MTV Asia Awards (MAA) 2008 is coming to Malaysia.

MAA, one of the most popular pop events in Asia, is making its debut in Malaysia. The show will be held at the Arena of Stars in Genting City of Entertainment, Malaysia, on August 2, and will be hosted by Jared Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars.

There will be nine regional favourite artist awards and seven international awards to be presented. Among the nominees are Avril Lavigne & Justin Timberlake & Leona Lewis (International), Chris Li (China), Andy Lau & Eason Chan & Joey Yung (Hong Kong), Big Bang & Suju & Wondergirls (Korea), Nic Teo & Siti Nurhaliza (Malaysia), Stefanie Sun (Singapore), Jolin Tsai & S.H.E (Taiwan) etc.

As far as I know, none of the celebrities have confirmed their attendance yet, but judging from the past experiences, most of the winners were pretty supportive of the show… it’s one of the largest of its kind in Asia after all.

It’s not easy to get a ticket though; it’s something that money can’t buy. The fans have to get the tickets via contests by voting for their favourite artists [details]… the fans need some luck obviously.

Karen Mok is going to co-host the event with Jared Leto. Electrico, Jabbawockeez, Leona Lewis, Li Yuchun, OneRepublic, Panic at the Disco, Pussycat Dolls, Super Junior, Stefanie Sun, The Click Five and The Script have confirmed their appearances.

Update - the winners.

Malay version for one of the Beijing Olympic theme songs, sang by mostly Malaysian artists and a few from Indonesia and Singapore. [Hat tip to Quachee]

Among the singers are Michael Wong, Daniel Lee, David Arumugam, Ning Baizura, Gary Chaw, Dayang Nurfaizah, Maya Karin, Penny Tai, Faizal Tahir and Jaclyn Victor etc.

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