Learnt this new hymn which is absolutely melodious and meaningful

You Alone written by Sarah Hart and Dwight Liles

Refrain: You alone are holy, you alone are Lord. You alone are worthy to be honoured and adored. Mercy you have given, kindness you have shown. Love is you alone.

Verse 1: Who of us is sinless in this place? Who of us deserves your saving grace? Who of us is good at all without your blessed love that falls upon our hearts to heal our brokenness.

Verse 2: What is there to do but thank you, then, for the gift that we might call you friend? Greater love has not been known than that for which you gave your only son, that you might see us, pure and blessed.

(I love the tune and the third sentence in the refrain really speaks to me. Many a time, I get blessings which are definitely due to His mercy and not by my own efforts.)

Tests in preparation for competition

Something unexpected happened to me last night. I thought I would never cry again over a performance piece but I did. The tears just came and did not fully stop till some time before bedtime.

It is a piece that is my favourite and my best. I tried to focus more on the technique of singing and was grossly unaware that my volume had been terribly compromised.

I don't want to be the cause of obtaining a COP for it. At the same time, I think that this happened as an answer to a prayer. I need purification especially from my sense of pride and judgement. This was a strong form of humility from God, I guess. However, in the process of being refined into gold, God granted me angels to comfort me. Thanks Altos, Arthur and Nat!

It was not so good on the next night(Saturday night) too. I was still feeling small over my lack of timing as some members sang the pieces out of fun at a gathering. I didn't join them as I felt that I would have spoiled things. When I went home, this problem kept bugging me and I cried myself to sleep :S I really didn't want the next morning to come(Sunday)when there would be another test.

I woke up and after having relaxed my muscles, something I learnt on Friday, I decided to just sing out loud so I could be heard. I know that I know my music. I have to work on my confidence which is a major flaw, notwithstanding other musical flaws too. I did it with prayer and angels who prayed for me too. I succeeded. My choir conductor recognised my improved boldness and verbally acknowledged it. That and the applause of the choir were a huge encouragement. For the second song, he remarked that I was the only one in the quartet who did not lose my part :D He also said that he could hear me for the third song. Praise God and the Holy Spirit for having helped me and given me courage :)

I still need time to completely conquer my musical demons. My timing and rhythm is way off in comparison to others'. My weaknesses make me lose confidence in my ability.

Prayers before singing

I found myself being unable to project my voice and to mean what I sing for yesterday's warmup before Mass. It was, to me, a bad thing.

I said my usual Chorister's Prayers before Mass and without being initially aware of it, I discovered that I could do the above for Mass. These prayers have been used by God to reveal His power unto me and to once again instill in me the realization that I am singing merely on a borrowed voice. All glory goes back to Him!

SIngapore Idol 2009: can Singapore ever be devoid of racism?

When Sezali won the competition, some viewers were unhappy with it. They brought in the fact that he won because the Malay community voted overwhelmingly for him, but more disturbingly that the competition was a Malay-based one. This is due to the fact that he and the past two Idols are Malays. That is a rather unfair statement to make. It smacks of underlying racism. I am not a Malay, incidentally.

I was watching the finals and I feel that Sylvia sang the required Idol finale song in a dull and inexpressive manner. Touched by an Angel expresses the joy and awe at having received blessings and graces from God. Her rendition was devoid of such feelings. It was blatantly felt. She may have been a freethinker but that does not mean that she cannot attempt to imagine how it is for a non-atheist.

Singing a song with such a profound title requires the singer to understand the real meaning of the lyrics and bring out the emotions associated with it. This very reason made me feel that Sezali deserved to win the competition, because there was clear expression of such feelings in his rendition.

I concur with his comment that "Here we are all Singaporeans. There is no Chinese Idol or Malay Idol." His critics may still think that he may have been saying it to justify his win, but I think there is complete truth in it. It seems to me that they are just unhappy that Sylvia did not win instead. Anyway, the official statistics stated that she secured 39% of votes while Sezali secured 61% of votes. Enough said.

Art Fazil wrote his take on this issue. I like his ending sentence: " His victory was the triumph of talent over mass appeal." This is a very telling and irrefutable statement :D