Ken Lim: Top Final 1 contestants “best in any local competition”

SINGAPORE – It’s not often that Ken Lim is stumped, but when it comes to predicting the winner of the second season of The Final 1, he admits he truly has no idea, even though he said that, in his previous years of judging reality singing competition shows, he could actually tell “who would win right from audition time”.

“(This time) we probably have the best top nine contestants ever, in any local competition that I have seen,” he said.

The Final 1’s nine finalists were introduced to the media today during a special session at Scape. They are 16-year-old Jermaine Leong; Azhar Aziz, Bernard Dinata, Charlene Su, Shanice Hedger (all 19); 22-year-olds Lou Peixin and Wei Lun; 21-year-old Odelle Sabrin and Isaac Ong, who’s 26. The 10th finalist, 24-year-old Gareth Fernandez, was not present.

Lim said he felt that the change in selection criteria - the judges decide who gets through to the finals and only then will the public choose between the top two contestants – helped raise the quality of the talent. Rather than being a popularity contest, he said: “I believe that this year’s Final 1 winner is going to be someone who can go regional. More importantly, I hope that the media and the press and everybody else will assist us in acknowledging the fact that we need to promote local talent.”

When asked who he had his eye on, Lim said it was a tough call. “I’m being perfectly honest when I tell you that it’s really difficult this year. A lot of it depends on how consistent they are from week to week. And right now, I have not seen the level of consistency that I had hoped to see.”

But, he did divulge a little tidbit. “I think the girls are stronger. Unless the girls mess up, they stand a better chance (of winning).”

Catch The Final 1 on Sundays at 9.30pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 5.