Stage lights? Check. Cameras? Check? Screaming fans? Check. That was the scene for the Grand Finals of Channel 5′s newest talent show, One Moment of Glory (OMG), as 5 contestants gathered for a showdown to bring us great song, dance and entertainment on Nov 17.
Lauded as the talent discovery stage in Singapore, OMG draws its creative roots from the wildly popular show America’s Got Talent to deliver a heart-stopping, fist-pumping talent showcase.
Hosted by veterans Gurmit Singh and Michelle Chia with all-star judges Beatrice Chia-Richmond, Tay Ping Hui, Irene Ang and The Flying Dutchman, the Grand Finals got off to a spectacular start, with the audience taking excitement to a fever pitch, rooting and voting fanatically for their top favourite.
If this were a strategy game, the audience would have been split into 5 different factions vying for supremacy. Complete with airhorn, confetti and whistle (I swear I heard a vuvuzela too), fans gathered to root for cheerleading squad IFLY Prodigy, breakdancing boys, Luminiq Crew, heartthrob Sean Harrison, K-pop girl group CJ Crew and female rocker Jill Marie-Thomas.
But only 1 person could go down in history as the first OMG winner and Jill-Marie walked away with the grand prize of $50, 000. The talented singer-songwriter led off her first item with a tribute to Alanis Morissette, and ended it off with a fiery sparkshow. The rest of the night saw her going slow and taking it down a notch with Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors”. Either way, she wowed the judges and earned thumbs-up across the board. Tay Ping Hui went so far as to declare that she was “absolutely perfect”.
The Luminiq Crew had the loudest fans and styled as your not-so-average breakdance group, the boys brought creativity to the stage as they turned up the heat with a mashup of their best sets in the first half, and a classic-techno number in the second half, busting out Gunther’s hilarious Ding Dong Song to add that oh-so-rare dash of humor and variety to their act. Needless to say, the judges were impressed.
K-Pop inspired Girl Group CJ Crew threw out 2 adrenaline fueled, sensual dance numbers (Flying Dutchman, “[they] brought sexy back!”) while IFLY Prodigy cartwheeled, somersaulted and… tumbled, which drew mixed reactions from the judges for showing great passion but a lack in finesse.
Sean stuck with his signature style of slow medleys and soothing acoustics and his first performance,a rendition of Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are”, earned him rave reviews. His second, an acoustic cover of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” had the Flying Dutchman going so far as to say that he “massacred” the song.
OMG also brought back old contestants like dance act Desert Roses and smooth rockers The Singapore Char Siew Baos to entertain us 1 more time in the pre-reveal extravaganza, alongside the 5 main contestants, with a guest appearance from local band Quick Quick Danger.
“It was a heart-stopping experience, but Jill really deserved her win in the end”, yell OMG fans and twin supporters Jo and Jeanette, to UrbanWire – jubilant after hearing about her winning the crown on OMG.
Celebrity judge, Beatrice Chia-Richmond quipped that “heart matters the most” ini this competition, and that “the way all of them came back together to perform was simply astounding”. She even adds, on a final note, that if she could, she’d want to “bring back the Desert Roses as a grand finalist.
Congratulations once again to winner, Jill-Marie Thomas, and all the best to finalists Sean Harrison, CJ Crew, IFLY Prodigy and The Luminiq Crew! You guys have earned it.
