Hady did Singapore proud

With the smallest population among the six countries with contestants in the Asian Idol contest, Singapore's entry, Hady Mirza is as likely to win as snow falling on Orchard Road. Imagine the torrent of sms votes coming from India and Indonesia in support of their boys. What chance will poor Hady have?

That said, he gave a very worthy performance, and I don't think I'm being biased. By my rating, he comes in as second best, just pipped by Indonesia's Mike Mohede.

It's all subjective of course and at this point, I think I should declare my preferences in music and singing. What was I looking for?

Firstly, musicality, which is a hard concept to explain. It's a combination of melodiousness, rhythm, surprise in thematic development and colour in the sound. Knowing when to start a phrase, when to hold back. Some people just have a talent for musicality, and it shows in the way they interpret a song.

Secondly, the balance between singing a song straight and embellishment. Singing it straight can get boring, but it can also be very demanding technically. It's harder to hide your flaws. Embellishing the voice line must be done judiciously or else the momentum is lost through the confusion, so getting that balance right is very tricky. Furthermore, it must sound spontaneous and totally natural even when planned and rehearsed – and that's really hard.

Thirdly, pacing. A performance song must have the right pace to hold the audience's interest, and the right pace for the voice. In other words a song can have different pacing for different singers/interpretations. Tied in with pacing is volume control. There's a lot of judgment involved in when to begin the climb to the climax and how fast to climb.

Fourthly, inventiveness. It's a thrill to see a performer sing a song in a whole new way. Needless to say, it's a rare thrill.

Normally, I would include diction as one of the measures, but in a cross-national contest, it is not appropriate.

My personal dislikes include dance-type songs – they tend to be boring after the first 30 seconds – and what I call the full-blast foghorn songs, the type many female singers like. In my opinion, going full blast is just the opposite of control and musicality.

My habit is to close my eyes during parts of the song. How does he sound if he was not on stage but on a CD? It makes a lot of difference with the eyes closed.