MR2+ highlights

7 new songs, 7 singers, 1 mission - claim music for God

that was the tagline to the MR2+ finals.

and wo, to be part of it is truly indescribable. when i was young, i always dream that someday i can experience like Hillsong or Planetshakers do their concert or conference like what i see in DVD and that night, i feel i experience something out of the ordinary even though it look more like American Idol final.

So yea, here's my review..if you choose not to read on, then click somewhere else or alt-F4.

MR2+ stretches back from the month of July where the Faith Music open registration for both categories; singing and song composing. Anyway, there is actually good response to the singing competition while song composing was slow.

Fast forward abit, there were two weeks of singing competition ala American Idol style. As for song composing, the judges listened to demos and decide the best 6 songs. So how it became 7? it seems there are two songs shared the same marks, so in the end, we have 7 songs. Yes, this means 7 best singers were selected.

This is how the fun starts. The 7 best singers were suppose to choose any of the 7 best composed songs and present it on 18th October - final night. They then have the freedom to decide who are their band members, arranging the songs and etc. So ya, past few weeks each one of them have been busy practicing and arranging the song.

How was my day that day?

Saturday morning, 9am till 10am plus, i practice with the band specially setup for the emcees Hollie and my housemate Dore. Then all the full dress rehersal. I was involved in 3 different bands, first band setup for 1st Faith Music album presentation, then involved in the emcees' band and a performer's band. crazy yet fun.

Fast forward to the night time, the moment Dore shouted welcome, all the fun just rolls in. 1st FM album presentation was great, then 7 singers perform. CHARIS, signed under JonTse's label, performed while marks were counted. And boy, sometimes using minus one can be a big idea, halfway they were singing, the minus one screwed up but credit to CHARIS for being spontaneous.

Dore then let his hair down by singing. haha. suddenly we turned it into like some rock concert. results was then announced and wow, the song i involved in swept both categories.

in the end, the crowd were just awesome. atmosphere was just amazing. i guess everyone had fun. i hope everyone have seen that every hard work they put into this event, it finally paid off, no matter which area you have contributed.

Now let me tell you the story behind the success of the winning song SEDAR which swept both singing and song composing. it's meant for sharing, not for any other intention.

ermm, if you ask me why Joanne Sim choose this song, i duno honestly unless you did hear something from her video interview before her performance. And yes, it is the only BM song out of the 7 best songs. I be honest to say i didnt really want to care about her because while others have been rehersing already, she only came to Lafir like 2 weeks prior to the competition. She asked me to be involved in her band and advice her, but actually i was kinda reluctant. Then one day she dropby in the office, asked me once again but this time, Lafir also asked me. So in the end, i argeed to help.

From there, i didnt regret to help. We three then spent 90mins or so to arrange the song. I listened to the demo and that time i thought, wow, it's simple yet meaningful song..which it's an important point because it is what i want to bring out from the song. That meaningful and the worshipful feeling of it. Next thing we work on was her key. I asked her to sing and from there, actually i told her to change the key. Subsequently, Lafir showed me the chords since he was the person who played in the demo. From there, we worked on was the music. We nearly went for acoustic performance actually..until the last 30mins of the discussion, Lafir said we can try full band. After much thought, i say why not we try full band then.

The next practice, she brought in the full band..Gracy the drummer, Rick the bassist and two keyboardist Jovina and Gabriel. With the full band, more arrangement was done, well, can say everyone contributed in their thoughts in making it more presentable. First run thru of the song, I thought it was good. From there on, it was Gabriel who was responsible for making it more beautiful by adding few more chords to it. To cut the story short, the song itself was crafted beautifully in the end by everyone.

As you can see, it's not a one-man show..it's a team effort. A few people putting their ideas in and bringing on a song that hopely speaks to listeners. To experience all this is feeling an awesome and fun. So ya, when they announced the song SEDAR has won both singing and composing competition, i feel as though as i won it too.

I m happy for Joanne and especially the composer Eliviyana Demang. It's actually a good testament for the BM congregation as they too can contribute something to the church. I really happy to see that.

So again credit to Joanne(holding the trophy), Eliviyana Demang(not in the pic), Lafir, Gracy, Jovina, Rick, Gabriel. The song in the end was amazing. Simple yet beautiful. I cant wait to hear how it will sound once it is sent for recording for the next Faith Music album.

Another secret facts that not everyone know, Dore confessed to me he did plenty of Russell Peters impersonation during the final. I only notice one only but he told me he did afew..so there, yours truly emcee's secret to his cold jokes..

For more pictures of the event, do check the FCC website for it. At the time of typing, the pictures havent fully uploaded yet so be patience ya.

The Music Revolution experience was awesome and i m sure there will be more of this. I excited to see where we can go from here as a church. To everyone involved, a big thumbs up. Most importantly, i can see God was really in control of everything, a great testimony of His faithfulness to us.

looking forward to more great events in FCC. Next up:- FCC Christmas Celebration -24th Dec 08.