Hello everyone! I just got back from a wedding weekend in KL, and finally can get my hands on some internet excess without the ridiculous charges! 

I just wanna say how thankful I am to all you dudes and babes for voting for me, supporting me and coming down to zouk last week! I has such a wonderful time! Am extremely grateful to Female Magazine, sponsors and the judges… thank you so much for putting me in top 10 despite the titles I have held in the past, this means alot to me especially when I just had a baby 6 months ago!!! Words can’t describe!!! I’m still over the moon! ha!

Everything was such a blur after the program ended cos while being overjoyed, I had a flight to catch at 7am… which explains the shopping I HAD to do in KL cos I forgot to bring so many things! But fortunately, Collin captured some of the wonderful moments from that night!!!

Aveline, Baey, Cara, Denise, Sherman, Iylia, Ee Han, Christine, Wee Na, Laura, Mr and Mrs Jackson Lim (heh heh), Fulin, Sim Bian, Mel, Shu Wen, Liz, thank you!!!!!!!!

And Collin, thank you so much for being so supportive! Actions speak way louder than words =)

This is the photo taken when Female Magazine was in the search for Most Gorgeous People.

Few months later, they told me that I was selected to go for the next round, and asked me to come down for photoshoots.

I went to Dempsey Road for the photoshoot and the interview (Yup..!!! There was also an interview)  I had to answer many different questions. I think total there were 50 over questions.. hahaha.. That’s really a lot of questions.

Here’s the photo that was taken. I would say it was not easy for me to pose for this picture, because the photographer asked me not to smile. And it was very difficult for me not to smile on camera (almost ALL my photos taken with me smiling widely). Nevertheless, I did it anyway.. specially for Female Magazine.

Especially for Female Magazine

Not long after that, I received another email, saying that I was selected as one of the 50 Most Gorgeous People 2009. Wow!

I then went for my fitting for the first Preview at ION Orchad. It was during the fitting time that I met Bryan from RAZORTV, and that’s how I ended up being interviewed by him. (Click on the photo to watch the clip.) 

Click on the picture to watch the video clip

Then, come my very first catwalk… I was very anxious because I never done any catwalk before. Thank God I have many friends who came down that day to support and cheer for me.

My 2nd outfit - Female 50 Gorgeous People Preview at ION Singapore

From the Preview to the Grand Finals, I was very fortunate to be featured in a few media, like The New Paper (Thank you Shree Ann for the great article.)

The New Paper - Merry Riana (1st Nov 2009)

And DivaAsia.com

Click on the picture for the complete article

Also, during the journey as Female 50 Gorgeous People finalist, one thing that I enjoyed the most was to write this blog.
I really hope that many people who visited my blog can benefit positively. That’s also the main reason why I started to  interview and featured many successful public figures from various walk of lives to share their success stories. (You can click on the picture to read and listen more about my interview with them)

With Adam Khoo, Executive Chairman and Chief Master Trainer of Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group Pte Ltd

With Elim Chew, Founder and President of 77th Street (S) Pte Ltd

With Irene Ang, Actress & CEO of FLY Entertainment Pte Ltd

With Jasmine Tye, Singapore Idol Season 2, 2nd runner up

With Sylvester Sim, Singapore Idol Season 1, 1st Runner Up

And many more to come I’m so excited to share with them their experiences. Just keep reading my blog, ok

Oh yah.. of course, lastly, the most unforgettable night, was the GRAND FINALS.

With Ms. Gorgeous, Annabel, Practicing our pose before the catwalk

With Rachael, Grace, and Juanni, eating our dinner (McD) just before the event

With Hanz Medina, the gorgeous male who can sing !

With Mel & Ashley, just before our 1st catwalk (Thank you Anna Sui and Loreal for the make up and hairdo)

For more photos, you can visit  my facebook (www.facebook.com/merry.riana)
and of course if you happen to have photos of me, do let me know or tag me, ok

The Grand Finals itself was a very glamourous night.
And I feel so blessed to be inside the Top 10 Finalist.
That makes me the Top 5 Most Gorgeous Female (WOW ! I feel so honored)

The New Paper, 28th Nov 2009. I was the one with the flowers =)

All thanks to my dearest friends, family and supporters who already votes for me. THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!

With friends and family. LOVE you all !! =)

Congratulations again to Annabel and Adrian for winning the Most Gorgeous Female and Male 2009!

And lastly I would like so say a HUGE THANK YOU (again) for Madeline and Dee !! For this wonderful and unforgettable journey. Rest assured that the journey doesn’t end here.

Will definitely continue to write more positive, inspiring and interesting posts here.
It’s style with substance, remember? =)

Leaders are Readers, so keep reading my blog, okie =)

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

Dear Friends,

I Have exiled myself after my horrendous performance on the Finals. I butchered Mercy.

Being terribly nervous and hardly aware of my conscious state, i let out tunes of off-Keys and bad tunes! Ugh! I set high Standard for myself, especially when i’m trained.

This cant do. So you know what i did? i sent out my demo to an organizer in  SOHO.

I got a gig in SOHO next year March! Wooohooo! I’m travelling all expense paid gig!!!!!!

I’VE  REDEEMED MYSELF!

See you guys in SOHO!

Best Regards,

Hanz Medina

Time really flies, before we know it, today is already the Grand Finals. =)

There are just so many things that I still want to share with all of you.

Recently I’ve done a few more audio interviews with many outstanding people.
Looking forward to upload it for you guys…

 Being part of 50 Female Gorgeous People is something that I will definitely remember for the rest of my life.
I feel honored and at the same time grateful to be given this opportunity.

I have a long list of various people that I want to say THANK YOU.  But since I only have less than 30 mins to get ready and go to zouk, (reporting time is 2pm, and time now is 12.58) I’m just going to keep it short first. Will continue the rest after the BIG PARTY tonight.

A HUGE THANK YOU to FEMALE MAGAZINE and ALL the SPONSORS

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS A REALITY FOR ME

also, not to forget  HUGE THANK YOU for all of you who has voted for me, and reading my blog =)

I have this special early Christmas gift for everyone of you.

This song is personally sung by me.

No, I’m not a professional singer, but I LOVE to sing, and about 2 years ago, I was inspired to produce a Christmas CD which can be used by the churches and other organizations to raise funds for their causes now and in the future. What followed next was nothing short of a miracle.

To know more about Project: A Christmas Gift, you can visit

www.AChristmasGift.com.sg  or

 www.merryriana.com.sg/pages/contribution/6

Well, I really hope you’ll enjoy the song.
(click on the picture for you to listen to the song)

Especially for my fellow Gorgeous People… Thank you for your kind friendship  

See you guys later!

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,

Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

Click on the Picture to listen to the song

From skanky Ah Lian to sexy model

Remember her? She’s been on the covers of magazines and appeared in television commercials, but most recently she was featured in the November issue of Female.

Yes, Melissa Faith Yeo, the 23-year-old Singaporean model is also running for Female 50 Gorgeous People.

As part of the competition, audience can get to know the contestants by reading their blog entries on the official website, and then vote.

But Melissa was silent for a long time since the site launched on October 25, and only post her first entry on November 12.

To introduce herself, she wrote:

“Most of my friends call me Mel. My family calls me Lisa. My brother calls me Fatty. Occasionally, some call me Faith. Some also know me as the model. Or the Fujifilm girl. Or the girl/model who documented her boob job on her blog.”

She further explained that she had been “missing” from the blog space because she “had nothing to say”.

Diva had the opportunity to get to know the fresh-faced beauty better through an interview.

Currently Melissa makes a living through modeling. She focuses mostly on advertisements and editorials as she tells us that she’s too short for runways. When asked if she loves what she does, Melissa says with gusto: “Hell, yea!”

While this contest is about being most gorgeous, we had her what she found heavenly about herself. Melissa tells us the answer is simple: “My face. It pays my bills.”

Her advice for looking good is drinking lots of water and having sufficient rest at night. Sleep, according to her, is “too under-rated and everyone can use more of it!” But if you want to be as gorgeous as her, ultimately it is important to have confidence.

But Melissa did not always look this divine. She too has had her fair share of fashion disasters. “My look a few years ago was pretty Ah Lian – skanky, but tasteless,” stated Female magazine. But Melissa hopes she’s improved now. (Well, in her words, ‘hell, yea!’) - Thank you! But my Ah Lian days were 10 years ago – not a few – when I was in secondary school, which was ‘trendy’ back then. No, I wasn’t friends with Ris Low. HAHAHAHAHA!

A beauty essential she swears by is fake eyelashes which help to open up the eyes, but she insists they have to be “natural-looking falsies”. She claims: “Apart from Indians, I believe it’s a must-have for Asian girls. However, we should only use the natural-looking ones to avoid looking like an Ah Lian or trashy.” We believe the lady speaks from experience? - Nah, falsies weren’t in a decade ago.

This vivacious girl spices up the interview by sharing with us that her is pole dancing (now we can all imagine how she would make even a thin liveless pole look good). It was love at first try for the thrill-seeking babe as she got addicted to it the moment she took it up when she was 21.

But Melissa admits: “It’s hard work, but it pays off as soon as I’m swinging around and climbing the pole. Aside from the sense of accomplishment it brings, it’s extremely fun.”

We also found out that humour is an essential in her life. Being able to laugh at herself makes it bearable in an industry that is deemed “bitchy” and “critical”. While others may critisise her looks or mannerism, the only person who can get to her is herself.

She reveals to us that she is her harshest critique and she ends up second guessing herself perhaps too often.

Humour is also an important characteristic she’d like to have in an ideal partner.

On dates, she is equally harsh with boyfriend potentials. She says: “Maybe if he’s boring or talks too much about himself, it’ll be a waste of time.” - Really. I’d ask to go somewhere else to join a bunch of friends or just go home.

Melissa also told us quite frankly: “I get bored easily. He has to be able to make me laugh and laugh at things too. I’ll die with a guy who takes everything seriously.” – Been there. Not nice.

Shedding her wild persona, she gets serious and elaborates on her ideal partner:

“Compatibility: His frequency has to match mine because it makes communicating much, much easier. Communication’s very important in a relationship. And there has to be chemistry, of course.

“Love: Basically being understanding, caring and faithful. A guy who knows how to love can’t go wrong. And I’m the kinda person who needs a lot of space, so being understanding is vital.

Melissa tells us she lives by the saying: “If you want it, go get it”. Perhaps, if the competition is a pageant, you’ll see Melissa give all she’s got. But since this is largely a voting contest, you will have to cast a vote to give her your support.

The finals of the competition will be held at Zouk tomorrow night so that means that if you’d like to vote for Melissa or the other contestants, you only have mere hours before voting closes tonight at 10 pm.

If Melissa wins tomorrow night, it will give the up-and-coming model even greater mileage in her career as a model. But will her experience as a model give her an edge over the rest? - I think we all stand on fair ground. But more importantly, THANK YOU, FEMALE FOR NANNYING US ALL!

Alright, here’s the end of my last official post as a Female 50 Gorgeous People contestant. Time for me to get outta home and report to Zouk! See you guys later!

Hello Friends!!!!,

Wow… It’s the finals tonight. I’m trying to comprehend it. Give me a second. Really, Wow….

You know what? i want to give you all this – HUGS!!!!!!!!!!

I’m overwhelmed by all of you who have voted for me.  From the bottom of my Heart, I Thank You and I bow down to you with respect. Thank You. Hugs!

Thank You, Female magazine for the recognition. Just Thank You. I mean it. Really, I do.  To Madeline and Aileen. Hugs!

Thank You Canon for the loan on your very very beautiful Canon Digital Ixus 200 IS. That camera is really a dear friend to me. Thanks for letting me capture what i see and being able to bring it to the readers and to you. Thank You, i’m overwhelmed. I have showed through the camera a part of my life to the readers and friends and passing positivity all around. Thank You.  Hugs!

Thank You, Ted Baker, for the gorgeous sponsored outfits we wore and what we are wearing tonight. Thank You! Hugs!

Thank You to the stylists who have been making me and the rest look good. Thank you. Hugs!

Thank you Sponsors, Subaru few i forget to mention,

I also would like to Thank my fellow contestants for the friendship. You guys are all nice. Hugs!

Not forgetting to all of you who believe in me. It means so much, you have no idea. I really appreciate it.  It touches me still. You have helped me created this thing i call Confidence which something i don’t have much. Hugs! Hugs! Hugs!

All Of You Reading this deserves a big hug. May you or may you not vote for me, You all deserve a hug for voting for your own favourites in this Year’s 50 Gorgeous People and for all your endless support.

I hope you guys continue spreading the same love as you are giving to us. Spread Love an Spread Unity. Let’s Fight for each other and Live for each other.                               WE ARE ALL ONE

So, If you see me later, give me a hug if you want to!

So Again, From the Bottom Of My Heart, THANK YOU. PEACE!

See You All Tonight!

Best Regards & All Love,

Hanz  Medina

Here's A sing out to all of you 'Thank Youuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!' (sing)

‘

i woke up feeling nervous.  in less than 4 hours, i will be at the coveted place.  in less than 8 hours, the ‘party’ will start.

it’ll be my first time on stage in a room full of people. and this is definitely my first time performing a fashion parade, in the presence of loved ones and friends!  hee…

but i’m going to heed their advice and just be up there and have fun. and it definitely spells fun with the rest of the gorgeous peeps and the female gang.

herewith, i will like to thank the female team (madeline, dee, verna and many more names i can’t recall), for making this happen/ making me look great later.

i will like to thank the sponsors for sponsoring this event. because of this event, i get to know more about the sponsors. (do you know that the new subaru legacy has its engine horizontally thus providing better balance resulting in a responsive and stable drive? do you know that anna sui is not only a make-up brand, they are a fashion and perfume brand too? although bebe sounds like your french ‘baby’, the founder is an iranian and it is an american clothing line? that canon’s company milestone includes reconstruction of an egyptian mummy believed to be queen nefertiti in year 2003 by the world’s first portable x-ray digital system? that ted baker, a british retailer, got around with words of mouth rather than the conventional advertising?)

and there’s many more interesting finds.

all these fashion brands were clueless to mere mortals (read: fashionably challenged) people like myself. and its good to learn more about the known names. now i know why my friends insisted on driving only a subaru (its safety features plays a huge role) and only have pictures taken with their canon (they always cite this; ‘canon pictures turn out better’).

and this competition is definitely an eye-opener for me. there’s a lot of work done behind all those glamour. i’ve seen the female team working on a weekend (the preview in ION orchard last month). i’ve seen their stylist cracking heads, trying to come out with alternatives to make mere mortals like myself look like a model. i’ve seen the event coordinators trying not to get frustrated when things go wrong, and find quick fixes fast.

so who says glamour is all about being glamourous? there’s definitely lots of hardwork and creative decisions being made behind those close doors.

and contrary to popular notions that gorgeous people are a bunch of air-heads, well, they’re not. i would have known, cause i’m privileged to be in the company of gorgeous people last month and will be joining them again later this afternoon.

they’re friendly, they’re genial people and they’re definitely not airheads. hee…

thanks to all those people who have voted me and take time to read this blog of mine.

i will miss blogging here.

til then.

adieu.

love lots,

lili.

‘

With Sylvester Sim, Singapore Idol Season 1 Runner Up

Turning into an Idol

 “American Idol”, “Britain Got Talent”, and “So You Think You can Dance”, all of which are familiar reality shows that became great hits and exceeds beyond the description of being popular in America. Everyone tune in to these reality shows is an indication of one thing – dreams of becoming an Idol. People are using this kind of channel to release their desire, showcase their talents, and realize their dreams.

And not only is this happening in America or Europe, this irresistible Idol “wind” has blown towards Asia, particularly in Singapore as well. “Project Superstar” and “Singapore Idol” are clear examples of such reality shows, and MediaCorp has successfully held seasons after seasons for these programs, attracting tens of thousands of people to go for the auditions in being part of the shows.

I was pleased to have Sylvester Sim, or widely known as Sly by his fans, to do this audio interview. If you are one of those budding talents, and would probably love to know more about the life of being an Idol contestant, you may want to hear from his sharing, learning more about life as Sylvester Sim of Singapore Idol Season 1.

Sly was the first runner-up of Singapore Idol Season 1 and he has also released his debut album “Take Flight” in April 2005. In this album, much of the production is handled by Sly, from singing to composing, and 9 out of the 11 tracks in this debut album actually came from Sly himself. It was tough in recording for his album, but hard work pays off as the album was sold more than 15,000 copies in Singapore.

 Sly’s favourite song in the album is a mandarin song called “所以” where this is the song that he wrote solely by himself from composition of music to lyrics. “所以 is a very simple song which is really from my heart, and it’s just plain and easy. And surprisingly, the song is quite popular on the net as well,” he said. This song was also widely known and popular in China, where everywhere you can hear his song and even ringing in the phones of people in China.

Born with an acute sense of musicality, Sly has already involved himself much in the music industry, doing stage performing as a band even before the competition. Thus, going for an audition for Idol wasn’t as nerve-wrecking for Sly. At the young age of merely 12, Sly has already started to pick up guitar. From there, he went on to compose his own songs and pick up singing as well.

Sly joined the Singapore Idol Competition with a desire of wanting to gain more exposure for his songs, wanting share his songs to more people and have them knowing what he is writing. Being in the top 2 of Idol Season 1 was an unexpected surprise for Sly.

Life being an Idol changed Sly’s lifestyle during the period of competition. He had to learn to cope with the sudden swarm of attention of the public and the sudden twist of turning into an overnight star. “It’s like today I might be going downstairs in my shorts eating Char Kway Teow, and the next day everyone is like saying ‘look at him’. So we got to learn how to handle this on our own in a quick way, and that’s the biggest change in my life” he said. However, being happy-go-lucky by nature, it makes it easier for Sly when bad publicities crossed his path, as he chose to handle it in a happier way.

Years after his competition in Idol, Sly is still following down the music path, where recently, he has changed his style from rocker, that everyone associates him with, to a more Hip-hop and R&B style. He is very much into dancing now, and is taking up dance classes. The reason for his change – It’s the trend in music. He said, “I believe everyone is not listening to rock anymore. It’s more into dance music, R&B. This is what is popular. So, even songs that I write nowadays are more R&B and Hip Hop, which is what people like to listen, because I think as a composer, I can’t write things that I like and others can’t accept. I have to go for what they like and make them accept. And when they like my songs, I can put a little more of my style inside so that that will make it more unique”.

In time to come, Sly would like to his own album more established to himself and maintaining a more stable life by writing songs for artiste, taking up a more supporting role in the entertainment industry.

Being in a ‘flowery’ world of entertainment industry, Sylvester’s definition of ‘gorgeous’ can be simply described as attractive. To him, the person may not be particularly good-looking, but he or she must possess the X-factor or charisma to attract people around him or her. “I like someone who really dares to showcase their talent, and maybe like someone who can sing, dance, who has a similar talent to me” Sly said. The kind of attractive girl that Sly is looking at? The answer is the talented Korean singer, BoA.

For those who are still hesitating whether to be part of the Idol series, Sly’s advice to you is to go ahead as we only lived once! Take a step out and begin to realize your dreams now. For the supporters of Sly, or even those who want to know more about Sylvester Sim, you can now contact him through St James, as Sly would be performing there every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Click on the pucture below if you want to listen to Sly singing LIVE in my audio interview with him.

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,
MerryRiana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

And so our stories draw to a close. And yet for some it’s only just begun.
So before tomorrow comes in all its hype and excitement.
I’d like to look back on some of what i’ve snapped since this journey started.
And since Dee from Female Mag put the Canon in my hands.

And here’s my set of clicks over the past couple of months . I appreciate…

How it captures the crazy surreal moments

Surreal Shots with Canon and the Can-Do girls

How it amuses me the way I amuse it 

AMuse and be amused

 How it gratifies our girly bimbotic nature and show each other what we’re wearing for the night.

Babe... i'm wearing this!

 How it remembers the way I eat and the fact that i’m always hungry

Taste on

How its got my back and snaps rather than stabs it.

How it makes me smile at the sweetest things in little forms

 

 

How it makes me feel GOOD for bringing it out

 

 

And of course, how it’s charted this whole journey all the way to the finals…

 

 

 

And so tomorrow’s here and off we go.

 

Play the last song, everybody won’t you sing along…

 

 

 

See you there at Zouk tonight

 

A Huge thank you to Female Mag and the Sponsors! You all made this happen.

‘

timecheck: 0037hrs

the finals will be in less than 20 hours. and i’m not sleeping yet cause i need to finish this book. hee…

am so excited to meet the gals/ guys again. and am pretty nervous too.

wish us luck!

till then. i bade u bon nuit!

‘