[idol judges judged]
yes... those four idol judges were judged in an online poll and if you didn't read the article sour idol by scribe sujin thomas in the sunday times yesterday, here's what it reported:

Singapore, you have voted online. And your favourite Singapore Idol judge is Ken Lim. Stiff and sour-faced, he has more fans than the other three judges put together

THE votes are in, and Singapore has voted for... Ken Lim.

The 40-year-old director of Hype Records got the most votes in a Straits Times Interactive poll on the four Singapore Idol judges.

This despite his sour demeanour and lecturing, school teacher remarks each week.

The other judges - entertainer Dick Lee, radio executive Florence Lian and singer Douglas Oliveiro - were not a match in any of the categories.

Lim was voted the 'wittiest and most constructive' judge and the one with the 'best fashion sense' and 'most sex appeal'.

The poll received more than 5,000 responses when it was opened from last Wednesday night to Friday morning.

Lim's fans aren't surprised.

'He gives good comments that aren't biased,' says Elsie Lim, 19, a Temasek Polytechnic student.

'He treats everyone fairly, unlike the other judges who sometimes favour contestants.'

National serviceman Loy Suan Je Ephraim, 22, notes that Lim's comments are valuable because he's in the music industry.

'He gives tips on how to improve. And while he can be corny, that's what makes it entertaining.'

And being the judge who gives his comments last, Lim enjoys the power to turn the tide, says Mr Sebastian Aloysius, 27, a project manager at an advertising company.

But how did Lim earn the most sexy tag given his bookish looks, constant scowl and ugly sweaters?

A Singapore Idol fan site, www.singaporeidol.net , has a discussion thread on his sex appeal, with one posting waxing lyrical about his habit of rubbing his arms.

Other less graphic postings cite how he has 'brains and character', contributing to his sex appeal.

But not everyone is convinced.

Among them is Mr Hans Ebert, executive director of EMI Music South East Asia, who described him in an e-mail to The Straits Times as a 'miserable old sod'.

'Is he suffering from acute depression? Has his pet poodle been run down?' asks Mr Ebert.

Others say Lim is trying too hard to be Singapore's version of Simon Cowell, the dour British-born judge in American Idol.

Mr Melvin Leong, 26, who works for Nanyang Technological University as a researcher, says:

'He can get mean and make unconstructive comments.'

So should the results, which are so wildly in favour of Lim, be taken with a pinch of salt?

The Straits Times Interactive team, which compiled the results, warned that online results may be skewed when tech-savvy pollers vote more than once.

This could have caused Lim's votes to soar into the thousands.

'But at the end of the day, he has created controversy and that makes him interesting to watch,' says Ms Irene Ang, 20, a business student at the National University of Singapore.

Ms Mary Ann Chan, 32, an assistant marketing manager, agrees: 'I watch to see if he is guiding people in the right way. His scowling is all part of the package.'

notice something? i actually revealed my full name in the report... oops... quite an accident....

anyway in the idol race, two idol contestants are now left.... sly and taufik....

so is taufik really gay like what anonymous claims? go figure...

kindof scared later straits times quote this blog... then die liao... i will be famous overnight!! anyway, i may be interviewing him soon and i will surely ask him that sensitive question....

stay tuned...