Singaporeans gathered to usher in a sombre New Year as tidal wave victims are remembered.

By Joy Lee • UrbanWire
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The mood leading up to the arrival of 2005 was a significantly sober one. Celebrations around the world were either cancelled or toned down due to the sheer scale of the recent tidal wave catastrophe. Here in Singapore, the live telecast of the Nation’s Countdown party was cancelled for the first time as event organisers felt it would be inappropriate and insensitive for such display of revelry in the light of the tragedy. It was also a sign of respect to the victims.

So UrbanWire hopped down to check out what was now a private party for 15,000 people on the sandy shores of Sentosa. If you were sitting at home at the stroke of midnight, falling asleep with the scheduled movie on the TV set, here’s what you missed!

A Shower of Foam, Bubbles and Water
The Opening Acts
One Minute of Silence
A Celebration of Life
The Party Continues

A Shower of Foam, Bubbles and Water
Siloso Beach was divided into 3 zones: the Snow Zone, the Water Zone and the Bubble Zone. Each featured sprinklers that sprayed – yup, you guessed it – foam, water and bubbles on partygoers walking by. The sprinklers however, were too few and far between to really make an impact on the 500m stretch of sand .

Some sorely missed the foam parties of yesteryear. Commented 23-year-old Man, who was unimpressed with the event, “The first time they had the foam party it was really wild! It’s really lame this time.” Simon, a 23-year-old undergraduate, complained, “There wasn’t any foam party.”

The Opening Acts

Local singer Wendi Koh brightens up a dreary rainy evening

The 3 stages featuring different genres of music were scattered across the beach. The party kicked off with live acts at 7pm. The line-up comprised of mainly local acts like singer Wendi Koh and Chinese hip-hop rock band Chou Pi Jiang. Eileen Lee, a Media Communications Executive from Sentosa Leisure Group, explained that this was done to reflect “a diverse range of music genres”. The organisers were eager to showcase local talent, “especially since that we [the organisers] see this as a gathering of and for Singaporeans”, Eileen said.

It was quiet initially, with crowds building up only around 10pm. A 15-minute drizzle at 9:30pm dampened moods further, with partygoers turning up with their ponchos on and their umbrellas in hand, instead of their bikinis and board shorts. It was a challenging audience for the opening acts to play to, especially those performing at the secondary stages – acts like the Rokin Bros on the Trapizza stage only managed to attract a handful of curious bystanders.

Wendi Koh stood out as one of the more successful opening acts, attracting a sizeable crowd that bopped along to the energetic showing by her rock band. At the end of her act, shouts of “More!” could even be heard. Even after being relegated to a secondary stage, she dazzled with her infectious energy – a shining example that proves Singapore has musical talent we can be proud of.

The Gotham Penthouse girls raised the temperature a few notches

Over at the main stage (which was incidentally, twice the size of the other 2 secondary stages), Chou Pi Jiang and dancers from Gotham Penthouse
entertained the crowds before the MediaCorp programme began. The bootylicious Gotham Penthouse girls attracted lots of attention, especially that of many a hot blooded male, giving a growing audience an eyeful with their suggestive costumes and saucy dance moves choreographed by international American choreographer Mychael Dean. They even managed to podium dance for no less than 3 whole minutes during a break in between fashion shows, which is no mean feat considering how they good they looked even with improvised dance moves.

CPJ: Giving LMF [http://www.lazymf.com] a run for their money

Chou Pi Jiang, which is releasing their 3rd album in 2005, whipped up the party atmosphere further with their explosive showmanship and rocking sounds. Turntablist DJ Coldflow accompanied the boys as they rapped their way through original compositions as well as Top 40 rap hits. One wonders though, if a more multi-ethnic selection of artistes could have been made, considering how diverse the turnout was.

One Minute of Silence
Finally, we’ve come to the section everybody missed while at home: the MediaCorp show that had originally been scheduled for broadcast.

Gurmit and Michelle prepare the audience to pay tribute to the tidal wave victims

By the time Chou Pi Jiang finished their set at 11pm, the crowds had grown to enormous proportions. Hosts Gurmit Singh, decked out in hip-hop gear, and Michelle Chong, wearing a frilly white top and jeans, began the show by observing 1 minute of silence as a mark of respect to the tsunami victims. The crowd was responsive, and for 1 minute, only the lapping of waves could be heard in a grim reminder of the devastation that took place many miles away.

Sentosa had also cancelled the fireworks display and set up a donation stand run by Mercy Relief, the Singapore Soka Association, the Young Sikh Association and the Singapore Red Cross Society.

Then the party began, as Gurmit Singh summed it up nicely, “We are here to celebrate life!”

A Celebration of Life

Check out Gurmit's (fake) tattoo!

Gurmit Singh threw away his ubiquitous Phua Chu Kang persona and morphed into a hip-hop b-boy for the first number, “Let’s Get it Started” by the Black-Eyed Peas. Michelle Chong was so amazed at his transformation that she asked him to repeat his breakdancing moves, which consisted of undulating his entire body facedown on the stage.

Highlights of the show included a duet by Singapore Idol finalists Beverly Morata and Jeassea Thyidor who sang a beautifully executed rendition of “When You Believe” by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. If ever these 2 don’t make it big as soloists, they can pair up to make a fantastic duo with their crystalline voices and complementary looks.

Leandra, Maia, Daphne: hot, hot, hot!

Other Idol finalists Daphne Khoo, Maia Lee and Leandra Raisah also teamed up to perform a medley of cheerful 80’s hits, flashing skin in skimpy beachwear fit for Ibiza. David Yeo, Jerry Ong and Christopher “Chrissypoo” Lee gave female Idol fans a treat with a medley of popular boyband hits.

Olinda Cho and Sylvester Sim, 2 of the longest surviving Idol contestants in the show, were introduced to the audience together, but strangely, did not share the stage for their pieces. Olinda sang “Believe” by Cher, which suited her androgynous vocals perfectly. Sylvester Sim gave his rendition of Chad Kroeger’s “Hero”, and played a riff on his guitar to the delight of screaming fans who waved “Sylvester the Cat” soft toys.

Up-and-coming MediaCorp artistes Ng Hui, Felicia Chin and Dai Qian Yun performed a Stefanie Sun number with vigorous dance moves. A visibly winded Ng Hui said, “Let me catch my breath!” when approached by host Michelle Chong.

Singer/hostess/actress Rui En also made an appearance, singing "Shuai Bu Diao" (meaning something that can’t be gotten rid of), a song off her previous album.

Taufik drums in the new year for the crowd at Sentosa

As midnight approached, local groove band Rhythm Masala took centrestage to drum in the new year. And who else but Taufik Batisah himself, winner of Singapore Idol, led the beat on his congo drum as celebrities all took to the stage.

Equipped with giant bubble blowers and foam spray cans, the celebs counted down to the new year with gusto onstage. At the stroke of midnight, they gleefully sprayed each other and the crowd with foam and giant bubbles as a shower of bubbles came down on the entire arena. It was a muted countdown however, lacking the much-hyped fireworks display, which had been cancelled. Even from many miles away, the tsunami disaster cast a subtle pall over the event. Said 22-year-old Farah, “It’s very boring, not like last time.”

Sylvester Sim cheekily prepares to spray the crowd with foam

Post-countdown features included another round of the 2004’s biggest hits from all the Singapore Idol finalists, and the exclusive premiere of Taufik’s new music video for his single, ‘I Dream’, which will soon be making its rounds on local television. The Idol finalists had definitely matured vocally, with 22-year-old German tourist Ashley commenting, “They’ve got really nice voices and if you don’t look at them you might think [they’ve been] 20 years in the business”.

The Party Continues

Gurmit and Michelle demonstrate the right way to party at Sentosa

Sentosa then proceeded to party from midnight to dawn. Wendi Koh finally hit the main stage and gave a trademark electrifying performance of current rock hits from Maroon 5 to Nirvana.

She really got the crowd moving just in time for the next performance by Singapore-born DJ Rap, who according to the press release “has been the undisputed queen of the hardcore and drum ‘n’ bass turntables for the last eight years”. She seemed to enjoy the crowd very much, and was even spotted dancing to her own music up in the DJ console.

DJ Small, the resident DJ at Rouge, ruled the sandy dance floor next, and brought the party to a roaring finale at 7am.

All photos by Charles Ham.