what's the x that made the x factor uk awesome?

I have a confession to make: I found a new guilty pleasure in the ninth season of The X Factor UK. There have been so many TV Talent Show, that at some point, we (read: me) got really sick of it. I cannot even name American Idol winners after Kris Allen. Wait, Kris Allen did win, didn't he? HAHA.

The video I shared above is about one of the contestants, Ella Henderson. She's only 16 and it's the later stage of the competition. She performs Cher's club anthem, Believe completely in a different way. I love how everyone changed their mind from implicitly disbelief of her song choice to be in awe of her performance.

I agree with Gary Barlow that all this time, we never really take this song seriously, until now. I believe Gary Barlow's comment how all the sudden the lyrics meant something is kind of true and it's really nice to see Nicole Scherzinger breaks down in tears.

Also in my wildest imagination, I picture Cher bitch-slaps Gary Barlow for calling her song annoying. 

Here are the x factors why I like the X Factor UK, well, at least for now:

1. Like many talent shows on TV, The X Factor UK has given a starter point for many of today's well-known artists. Leona Lewis was the winner in the third season, One Direction was one of the finalists in 2012 (Oh, I bet you're humming What Makes You Beautiful right now)
2. I am always questioning how real a reality show is. The X Factor US, for me is obviously staged. Yes, there are moments that I enjoyed, but The X Factor UK is definitely more raw. Ella Henderson's performance is just one of the memorable performances.
3. The contestants, especially for this year. In my opinion, Ella Henderson is just one of this year's best contestants. I love Kye Sones - whom sang Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me in one of the episodes and my heart was breaking. The other contestant worth mentioned is Lucy Spraggan, who is so amazing that they actually released her original song before the contest ends

Also very unfortunate that we still cannot watch The X Factor UK on TV, but the good thing is we always have youtube.

betty white's if you ask me (and of course you won't)

Book: If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't)
Author: Betty White
Published: May 2011

A few weeks before the new year, there was this survey on twitter on how many books people read in 2011. There was this young woman who read around 100 books and this other guy who read around 50 books. I was tremendously ashamed of how lazy I was that year. I seriously am ashamed even to write this post, for I didn't finish reading any books for the whole year, not even one.

So I decided that this year I should read more. I should commit to at least read more book (more than none. HAHAHA). So the first book of the year is Betty White's If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't). Published in May 2011, I had a hunch that this one is a perfect kick-off and I was right. It's light, it's funny, it's honest, it made me laugh and in many chapter, Betty talks a lot about aging (New Year, du'uh!).

You can actually get away with anything when you're 89 years old. You can say anything, you can do anything and you can actually laugh at anything. I'm positively sure that no one will be offended. You have that privilege once you reach certain age. Betty White certainly knows this advantage and uses  the most out of it.

Fortunate for us, that Betty White has a kind heart and a good sense of humor. If You Ask Me manages to not be a book about trashy gossips, but it only puts a little of that essence to it. It cleverly plays facts regarding movie stars without implying of making any bad judgement. It's sophisticated in the most simple way possible.

She talks a lot about her new television gigs include Hot in Cleveland, hosting SNL and Super Bowl commercial. She mentions a lot of famous names from a wide range of generation without any consideration of being offensive. The way they're mentioned, it makes you think what a wonderful person she must be.

One of the chapter that made me giggle a lot was when she disclosed her admiration towards Robert Redford after watching Out of Africa and how Redford sent her a poem when she won a SAG this year, which she unapologetically chose not to share what he wrote for her. Good for Betty!

I also enjoy how she tells her personal stories. The warmth, the closeness, her passion, the amazing relationship she shared with her husband, her parents and her love for nature touch me. While reading this funny memoir, I at many points could see how humble she is and came to this understanding maybe these are the key ingredients to be successful in everything we do in life, be humble and be passionate.

Betty White, for the truest it can be (it is), you are the queen and we are your people. God bless the queen.

For my next reading "assignment", I have Diane Keaton's Then Again, Pride and Prejudice and Zombie (I know!) and PD James' Death Comes to Pemberley. Exciting!

good tv: weeds, the good wife

It has been a good year for TV, I say. Especially for women in TV, these few years, there have been so many strong roles for women. Although I don't find being a Carol Brady is any wrong, but seriously these days, no more Carol Brady. Mothers on TV are more like Nancy Botwin and Alicia Florrick. They're ... just not your regular moms.

WEEDS (HBO)
New season in August 2010: season 6
This August is going to be a very exciting month for me. Weeds season premier will be on the 16. The first time I watched Weeds was accidental. I although am always a fan of Mary-Louise Parker, the title of the series is a bit too offensive for my taste.

It's probably a slow week or there's just nothing else to watch, I decided to purchase the first season of Weeds. I was wrong (well, not completely). It was offensive, it was horrible, but it's also funny and meaningful. Weeds tells a story of a two children widow, Nancy Botwin. Nancy, after the sudden death of her husband, decided to sell weeds to her neighbors.

By each season, the trouble she accidentally got herself into got bigger. I don't think children (or anyone below 18) are allowed to watch this series. I don't think Jenji Kohan (the creator, she also one of the people who are responsible for Gilmore Girls) tries to promote drugs (or weeds). Nancy Botwin is just an example how a person can do bad under certain circumstances.

THE GOOD WIFE
New season in Fall (September 2010): season 2
Alicia Florrick is the cheat-on wife of a falling-from-grace politician. After her husband was arrested, Alicia decided to return to practice law. With her last name, Florrick, she finds troubles (related or not to her husband) and/or sometimes solutions to the case she's handling.

What makes The Good Wife so good? Alicia is an underdog, and practically too-old junior associate who tries to mark her own place. Don't we always love that kind of story? And Kalinda! Yes, Archie Panjabi, the law-firm investigator with an attitude, makes the series even intriguing. No wonder, The Good Wife earned so many Emmy nominations for this year and don't be surprised if it wins big as well. I bet on Julianne Margulies and Archie Panjabi to win the best actress and best supporting actress in the drama category.

the gilmore girls

Okay, salah satu hal yang mengerikan mengenai gue adalah gue suka banget dengan The Gilmore Girls. HAHAHA. Mengapa mengerikan? Karena mungkin gue sudah nonton serial ini bolak-balik dari season pertama hingga season ketujuh untuk beberapa kali. Yap, ini benar-benar terjadi!

Gak tahu kenapa, tetapi gue selalu merasa bahagia dan (anehnya) gak pernah bosan dengan serial ini, walau nonton berulang-ulang. Pertama kali nonton The Gilmore Girls waktu iseng-iseng nyalain TV dan setelah mencobai semua saluran TV hanya saluran yang mutarin salah satu episode Gilmore Girls yang tidak membuat alis gue berkenyit.

Sejak itu, gue berburu DVD Gilmore Girls dan mulai mengikuti dari episode pertama season pertama hingga season ketujuh. Bagaimana mungkin gue gak menyukai serial yang merujuk kepada Gwen Stefani, Jessica Simpson, Bono, Annie Leibovitz, Eisenhower dan Jimmy Carter dalam satu episode.

Gilmore Girls bercerita tentang hubungan yang unik antara ibu dan anak dengan nama yang sama, Lorelai. Sang ibu, Lorelai hamil waktu dia masih di sekolah, ketika dia berusia 16 tahun. Meninggalkan keluarganya yang kaya, Lorelai tinggal di sebuah kota di area Connecticut, Star Hallows (kota ini adalah fiksi). Bersama dengan anaknya, yang lebih dikenal dengan nama Rory, Lorelai bekerja sebagai manager sebuah penginapan.

Baik Lorelai dan Rory memiliki beberapa kesukaan seperti gue. Mereka menyukai kopi, pesan-antar dan makan dengan menonton video (how me!), membaca budaya popular (yes, I'm addicted to socialitelife.com), menggunakan bahasa Perancis dengan sembarang dan salah (very very me!).

Sayangnya, the Gilmore Girls sejak akhir tahun 2007, tidak diproduksi lagi. The Gilmore Girls berakhir dengan 7 seasons. Anehnya juga, Gilmore Girls tidak pernah mendapatkan nominasi Emmy atau Globes untuk kategori akting, yang mana adalah kesalahan besar.

Serial ini terkenal dengan rujukan-rujukan budaya popular dan politiknya. Setiap season DVD disertai dengan booklet kecil yang menjelaskan rujukan-rujukan tersebut.

mad about glee

Gue baru sadar kalau ini adalah post pertama gue mengenai serial TV. Walau gue mengikuti beberapa serial TV, tapi hanya segelintir serial TV yang gue ikutin lebih daripada 3 (tiga) musim. Salah satu serial TV yang gue ikutin saat ini adalah GLEE.

Di Amerika, Glee diputar di channel FOX. Glee sendiri bercerita mengenai sekelompok anak-anak sekolah William McKinley di Ohio yang tergabung dengan kelompok vokal, yang dilebih dikenal dengan Glee Club. Glee Club dipimpin oleh Will Schuester, setelah pemimpin Glee yang terdahulu dipecat oleh sekolah tersebut.

Schuester, yang adalah seorang guru bahasa spanyol, berambisi membawa kembali kejayaan Glee Club, yang nyaris ditutup karena kurang-nya peminat dan bahkan Schuester harus membayar USD 60 setiap minggu supaya Glee Club diijinkan untuk berlatih.

Apa yang membuat Glee begitu luar biasa? Glee bukanlah sesuatu yang baru di televisi. Bahkan dalam beberapa tahun yang lalu, Disney sudah terlebih dahulu mengeluarkan apapun yang musikal, dari Hanna Montana sampai High School Musical. Di tahun 70an, kita mengenal Fame.

Glee menjadi begitu istimewa, mungkin karena mengudara tepat pada waktunya, di mana TV sedang dipadati oleh serial mengenai forensik kriminal atau vampire atau kurangnya serial komedi di TV saat ini. Glee memiliki apa yang disebut elemen-elemen pendukung yang tepat, seperti alur cerita, para bintangnya dan jangan lupa, tokoh-tokoh utama di Glee adalah mereka yang dianggap pecundang. Everyone just loves the underdogs!

Glee, sebagai serial komedi musikal, tentunya menjadikan musik sebagai salah satu unsur yang penting. Begitu luar biasanya pengaruh serial ini, beberapa penyanyi bahkan rela untuk tidak mendapatkan royalti dengan membiarkan lagu mereka dipakai di serial ini. Gue sempat menahan nafas mendengar rendisi mereka terhadap lagu Rehab-nya Amy Winehouse, Mercy-nya Duffy atau bahkan lagu Take a Bow-nya Rihanna.

Hingga saat ini, Glee belum ditayangkan di televisi lokal *sayangnya*, dan di Amerika sendiri, sudah memasuki episode ke 8. Semoga Starworld menayangkan serial ini.