Laugh at their talentless performances, but they could be what future Singapore generations will be like

I WONDER if the idea to screen the debut of Singapore Idol right after the National Day Parade on Monday night was intentional - not so much because they could piggyback on the huge audience watching the parade on TV, but because they knew all the ministers and MPs wouldn't get home in time to watch it. Imagine - after watching a rousing tribute to the country's major achievements over 39 years, they turn on the TV to watch a guy singing Lemon Tree like a squashed insect which thinks flailing its limbs will keep it from dying.

Naturally, my instinctive reaction to the Lemon Tree Guy was one of morbid fascination that one so untalented should seek his 15 minutes of fame by intentionally being bad aka William Hung. But that was before I realised something almost scary. I was not watching a bunch of talentless morons who grew up with very diplomatic, supportive and equally deluded friends and relatives who did not stop them from signing up for Idol - I was watching a new breed of Singaporeans who are going to dictate the future of this country.

This breed of Singaporeans is very different from the kind who existed when I was growing up. Back then, we were afraid of failure, and of making fools of ourselves. We clapped politely at rock concerts and if we thought we were talented, we joined Talentime - a structured competition in which the judges were never seen and, therefore, could not insult us. We did not join thousands of people sprawled across a great hall waiting overnight for a chance to audition. And there was no Gurmit Singh, the well-meaning host who tried to rally contestants' spirits, but looked more like an army doctor tending to the war wounded.

No, these Singaporeans know exactly what they want and they aim to get it, talent or not. We may have laughed at them, but look a little closer and you'll discern a distinct pattern of entrepreneurial behaviour that, gulp, might be just what our government meant when it said Singaporeans needed to more creative, more entrepreneurial and less risk-averse. But maybe they didn't expect to see such qualities in an Idol wannabe. Check these out:

Lemon Tree Guy - Freely admitting he wants to be the next William Hung, this guy has all the makings of a master franchiser. He sees a concept that works overseas, and he exports it here. He doesn't have an original idea but why experiment when there are so many proven products out there? He may not be the next George Quek of BreadTalk, but he's the kind who will start a whole chain of copycat bun shops.

Shanghai Opera Boy - He's the classically trained singer who tried to turn the Beatles' Yesterday into an aria and failed to impress the judges. With his persistent arguing and repeated rantings of I'm-good-I'm-trained-I'll-be-Number-One until a security guard shooed him out, Shanghai boy epitomises the entrepreneur who never says die. He's the kind of guy who will try one thing after another, consistent in his belief that he is right, and the market is wrong. Of course, given those killer glares he levelled at the judges, he could also join the triads and be a gangland chief.

Careless Whisperer - He sang Careless Whisper in an inaudible whisper and got agitated when the judges couldn't give him any comments about his singing because, well, they couldn't even hear him. This guy will be great at running an MNC. He doesn't do anything without getting feedback first. Alternatively, he could be a poster boy for silent airconditioners.

Slacker Boy - The one who only rehearsed the day before, saying he didn't want to set himself up for disappointment if he didn't make it. Definitely a get-rich-quick opportunist who believes in biggest gain for the least effort.

Yes, like everybody else, I laughed at this motley bunch of people who dared to dream - loudly, ferociously and annoyingly.

And then I became afraid. Very afraid.

Got this from: here

Cheerios peeps!