Foreign workers got talent
By Lester Hio
WATCH out Singapore Idol - foreign talent is taking on a new meaning.
Just ask the pumped-up crowd at SingTel's Dormitory Got Talent Finale 2010 on Sunday night.
Throughout the evening, foreign workers from the nine dormitories in Singapore wowed the crowd with their snazzy dance moves and passionate vocals.
The night air blared with hit Tamil and Bangladeshi tunes as 18 finalists - all owners of SingTel's prepaid mobile cards - danced and sang.
The venue - a field near the junction of Upper Jurong Road and Pioneer Road North - was packed with more than 2,000 people. Almost all of them were foreign workers from Bangladesh and India, and housed in dormitories here.
A few foreign workers from China also mingled with the crowd and craned their necks to see what the commotion was about.
Ms Cheam Tze Hui, SingTel's corporate communications manager, explained that there are various events held for the different racial dormitory groups.
"For these workers, song and dance are communal events they enjoy," she said.
"The Chinese foreign workers don't have a common gathering point. Instead, for Chinese New Year, we organised several promotions for them, such as a lucky draw for free airline tickets to bring their loved ones to Singapore."
Mr Ramesh, 27,who works in data entry, said this is the third such event he has attended.
"It gets boring in the dorm," he said. "We like to attend these events for the entertainment."
Fiery finale
The 2 1/2-hour fiery finale saw the finalists battle it out in either the dance or song category.
More than 1,000 participants had taken part in the qualifying rounds held from December. The field was then narrowed down to the final 18.
Why an event for foreign workers?
Mr Shane Da Silva, its vice-president of consumer sales, said: "They work from day to night, almost every day of the week. This is our way of letting them enjoy themselves."
Besides the Dormitory Got Talent finale, SingTel also set up various games booths.
While the singers did their vocals proud, it was clearly the dancers who stole the show.
"They were more passionate and 'into' the song, which you can see from their dancing," said Mr K R Jeevan, one of the two judges for the event. Both judges are singers on Vasantham Central's Variety Show.
Even a mid-show power trip did not dampen the crowd's enthusiasm. If anything, they cheered even louder and harder asking for the show to carry on.
The audience voted for their favourite contestant via SMS to a voting line. The winners were the ones who received the most SMS messages and the highest scores from the judges.
Most audience members were seen typing furiously into their mobile phones when the line opened.
Each of the two winners walked away with a trophy, $288 worth of free talk time and a Motorola handset.
The best crooner was Mr Zahirul Islam, 31, who works at a shipyard on Jurong Island.
The best dancer, Mr Al-Amin, 24, who is from Bangladesh, wowed the crowd with an exciting and fast-paced number that was at times reminiscent of Michael Jackson's Thriller.
Mr Al-Amin, who works in a shipyard as a plate fitter, credits his win to his "dance master" back home.
"I've been dancing for over four years," he said. "My friends and I like to dance after work as a form of relaxation."
[email protected]
