It's About Bloody Time: The No-Stunts Charity Show

To the folks at Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society, huge kudos for never allowing the showbiz razzle-dazzle to obscure the point of their charity drive.

On the Mediacorp site, this is how the Thye Hua Kwan Charity Show was promoted:

Thye Hua Kwan Charity ShowSun Apr 16, 7pm

No dangerous stunts and no lucky draws; instead be entertained by a charity show that promises an evening of good variety entertainment fun.

Hosted by Guo Liang, Quan Yi Feng and Michelle Chia, the Thye Hua Kwan Charity Show is a three-hour ‘live’ extravaganza featuring more than 30 local and foreign artistes all coming together to raise as much funds as possible for the beneficiaries under the care of Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society.

Excuse the cynicism, but I find it ironic that Mediacorp is now using the lack of stunts as a major selling point, as if they were never part of the "alliance" that made stunts-studded charity shows de rigeur. How easily they forget. And how easily they expect us to forget! I have to give their PR department loads of credit for a very effective demonstration of the "blissful ignorance" approach to image management. N** what??

Certain parties would have found last night's show to be somewhat boring, as it was light on action and heavy on the representation of more "mature" singers (Chen Hui Hui, Jenny Tseng, Lin Xiao). For those who have gotten used to high stunts quotients on such show, this was probably a truly draggy affair, with song after song being performed by a parade of different singers and not even the expectation of some mean-spirited judges' comments to liven things up.

I think it's just a matter of expectations needing to be adjusted. The stunts were good and well, but not really viable in the long run. It was a matter of time before one's altruism (or degree of famewhoring desperation) reached its limit and would bode no more daredevil exploits. I also have to wonder who was picking up the insurance tab on the celebrities that put at least their health, if not their lifes, at risk.

I was fully behind the spirit of last night's show, if only because there were no stunts to be seen. Show business is business at any time, even during charity shows. Artistes boost their public image as much as promoting the worthy cause of choice. That said, I think it's churlish to quibble about the line-up at charity shows. After all, the performers are giving their time for the cause and we should be grateful to anyone who is invited and agrees to contribute. There were probably too many songs last night that came from an era before half the viewing audience was born. But I thought it was clever programming to have something to cater to both young and old. The kiddies got 2moro and Hue. Let the oldies enjoy their Chinese opera and pre-1980s hits.

Selected thoughts on the performers and performances:

• I am not a Fann Wong fan by any stretch of the imagination, but her sand-painting performance was a highlight. She is really quite talented artistically; dare I say it, perhaps more so than as a thespian (I think she is perfectly adequate as an actress, but over-rated compared to the likes of Huang Biren).
• Judging by his electric boogaloo version of Pachebel's Canon, Sylvester Sim should have waited a couple of years and participated in Superband instead of Singapore Idol. Of course, I remember vaguely some rumoured rift between Sly and his bandmates during SI, so perhaps Superband might not have been a viable option. I was actually looking forward to hearing Sly sing, to see if his technique has improved since SI, but he went the instrumental route. Which is telling, or revealing, or something.
• The routines by the Shaolin Martial Arts Group were fantastic, particularly the first one when a group of them just burst onto the stage in a flurry of swirling weapons and flying limbs. I was half expecting someone's hand to be chopped off in the confusion of movement.
  
• Awww, the Campus Superstar finalists were really endearing in their short appearance. They brought some youth to proceedings that had tended towards the geriatric prior to their arrival. Teresa and Zhiyang were particularly good - both in their vocals and their donation appeals.
• Jenny Tseng is SUCH a professional. Her voice is a little past its best, showing some signs of spread in her lower range, but she is the consumate professional. In the middle of her medley, I picked up the phone to donate. I had planned to donate all along, but was thinking of doing it at the end, so as not to buy into the whole "which performer pulled the most calls" nonsense. But Jenny so impressed me, I broke my own vow.
• The Bollywood number was something of a shambles but rather enjoyable in its clumsy execution. I loved the bright colours of the costumes, which really suited the ladies. Zoey Tay is looking in great shape nowadays and the vibrant colours lent her a very flattering glow. Chen Hanwei and gang looked suitably dapper in their groomsmen get-up. The entire enterprise certainly looked the part. It was just the dancing that left something to be desired. Anyone who has ever seen a Bollywood movie knows that the average Hindi actor and actress can dance up a storm. I was not expecting anyone to be Hrithik Roshan or Aishwarya Rai (the best dancers I have seen in Hindi films), butthese Mediacorp artistes came nowhere close to measuring up to even the more mediocre of the Bollywood performers.
• I wonder of Lin Xiao's brand of 1970's flamboyance ala Liberace makes people uncomfortable nowadays. He can most definitely sing, but as Simon Cowell might say, "To be honest, I found the whole thing a bit weird". I think it was the ghastly white corpse of the day make-up he was sporting.
• When the mentally disabled kids rushed up to hug Mr Lee, the THK chairman, the donation numbers just went through the roof. This was definitely a lump in the throat moment, and the high point of the whole show for me. I was tempted to donate at this point, but did not have a phone on hand. It was obviously genuine and completely unrehearsed and all the more effective for it.
• The hosts struck just the right tone - they were persuasive without being desperate, sympathetic without being pathetic and very poised and professional at all times. Rather a nice change after the emotional blackmail exerted by certain hosts of previous charity shows.
• To end on a shallow note, Qian Yifeng's outfit was so unflattering when the woman is built like a runway model. Why? Michelle Chia's was slightly better, but not by a lot. Is this unflattering high-waisted style in fashion now?