March 4, 2011

Obviously added this photo after-the-fact! Isn’t it a relief to be through Hollywood week? I mean I do love it but it also shits me, because here are these kids with an amazing opportunity and some blow it because they’re too tired, or overly emotional or just aren’t mature enough to handle themselves. It’s definitely tough stuff, but then, being a pop star is tough stuff, so when it gets too intense kids do as my husband says, eat a spoon of cement and harden the fuck up! Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun viewing but sometimes I wanna smack these Gen Y kids around the ears and say wake up, look at the opportunity you’ve got here? Then again, not everyone has the balls to realise their dreams in life and Hollywood Week is a striking example of that. If you ain’t got it, you ain’t got it, so those who have got “it” deserve all the accolades they get. Thankfully we’re beyond Hollywood Week and it’s Andrea Without the Bollocks prediction time. I shouldn’t do predictions. Anytime I make a prediction they “bomb” out – Crystal Bowersox, Adam Lambert, Melinda Doolittle, Chris Daughtry – not that any of them have faded away into obscurity or anything… But I can’t help myself because I love American Idol and this year is awesome. I reckon there are nine outstanding girls and six fantastic boys. I don’t know if the new softer more humane approach of Steven, JLo and Randy has unveiled better quality or if it’s just one of those years. One thing I do know is there are some mega stars on the show and the first night performance of the top 24 was the best quality I’ve seen yet. Only a few didn’t do well. Every year they say it’s the best talent yet, and you know what, this year it’s true. There’s a real variety of styles too, which is wonderful and some of the top picks aren’t typical. It really is cranking up to be a great year. Before I start, can I just ask one thing? For those in the US and anywhere West of Singapore, please understand that we don’t watch the show down here until 12 hours after the announcements are made, and while social media is pretty much going to screw all of us trying to avoid the news these days – PLEASE resist in telling us the results!!! There’s nothing worse than knowing before you see the show. OK already. So here you go, my armchair predictions for American Idol, Season 10 – but that’s what the show is all about right? We all get to have a say. I wonder if anyone will read this? Boys – Great Casey Abrams – number one pick, love him. Talented, funny and he plays the string bass. He’s exceptional, cheeky, interesting looking and I will always be excited to see what he does next Paul McDonald – mate how cute is he? Especially that smile when he sings? And his version of Maggie, including the moves? I absolutely adore him Jacob Lusk – this guy is crack-a-lacking – incredible voice, but will he get boring? No doubt going to make it big in the world and he’s an excitable sweetheart to boot James Durbin – have you heard this kid? Bloody hell, he goes as high as Adam Lambert, but will he get boring? No doubt he’ll be a rock star but he has some charm skills to work on if he wants the crown Clint Jun Gamboa – did a great first performance, but he was a bitch during Hollywood week and I reckon that’s going to bite him in the arse with the voters. It might be a singing competition, but being nice is really important as we’ve seen every year. Why don’t these youngsters learn? You’ve got to win the charm offensive on this show too, it’s not enough to be talented Scott McCreery – I love Scotty, he’s cute as a button and is going to be one of the big boys in country music. I hope he makes it on the show for a while because I love hearing him sing and let’s be truthful now, he’s got to have one mega set of balls on him huh?  Boys – Not so great Stefano Langone – definitely did an awesome job on stage but I’ve never really been into him. He’s got a weird eye thing going on – lovely voice tho Jordan Dorsey – this guy is talented and good looking, but what a shocking first night. Definitely might kick him in the arse. Also he’s so single minded with his ambitions, which is fine, but you’ve got to be charming too! I don’t think he’s going to make it far on the show because he’s just too cocky. He was also another bitch in Hollywood Week Brett Lowenstern… not sure about him. Got a lot of growing up to do and a big chip to knock off those shoulders. The judges praised him but I found it awkward watching him perform – not just because of the excessive hair shaking Jovany Barreto – nice guy, great abs, lovely crooney voice BUT I was a bit bored love, sorry – Italian crooners have never been my thing Robbie Rosen – I know this kid is going to go a long way, but I find him dull. Lovely voice but just doesn’t appeal to me Tim Halperin – sorry love, but you really stuffed it up, which is a shame, ‘cos I like you. If they give you a chance, you’ll be like Lee Dewyze, but you’ve got to have the chance to grow with the show first. Might not be a good year for the inexperienced? Girls – Great Naima Adedapo – I LOVE this girl – her style, her voice – she’s sensational. I’ll buy her music that’s for sure. I love how unique she is

Noemi starts working for us today. She’ll be managing every aspect of our home lives so we can get on with doing everything we need to do – hooray! It is very common in Asia to have live-in domestic help, but I do appreciate that it is a bit of a weird concept for many. Vick, our original helper, was going to come back and work for us again because she wasn’t enjoying life in the Philippines, but a few days before we flew to Singapore she emailed to tell me she was pregnant. While sad news for us, it is the most wonderful news for her because it really is a miracle. Vick deserves to be a mother more than anyone I know, and after taking care of other peoples’ kids for 18 years, we are so thrilled for her and she’ll continue to be in our lives, which is great. But it left us at square one because Vick is a hard act to follow. She was an amazing addition to our home – happy, positive, hard working, loyal, a fantastic cook, cheeky, and she was amazing with the boys. Both of the boys went through long periods where they preferred her over me, but they always come back to Mumma, so it never bothered me. While fantastic, it was the hardest thing adjusting to Vick in our lives, and I never really got comfortable with it. Every day I would do things that she “should” do and if she swore like me she probably would have said “would you just fuck off and let me do my job!” Instead she gently urged me to enjoy it and let her get on with her job. I tried really hard, but never embraced the opportunity for what it was. When we arrived in Australia all anyone asked us was how are we coping without Vick? We coped fine. You do what you have to do and we’re both busy people, so the time in Australia was busy in different ways. As time went on, we realised that what was keeping us busy wasn’t making us happy, thus one of the reasons to return to Singapore. We have dreams we’re chasing and we won’t stop until we achieve them. We’ve recognised that this is what is important to us and this time will be very different for me. It has to be, I’ve got an empire to build. So the search began in earnest when we landed, because it’s vital we have an extra set of hands. We’re not looking for someone to take care of the boys, we’re looking for someone to do everything else so we can do that AND work effectively. We found a lovely lady but her employers wouldn’t let her go. We waited for six weeks in the end, but they continued stuffing her around and we had to move on. Her employers are foreigners and have been horrible to her -more surprising because they are Christian and haven’t exactly demonstrated Christian values in how they’ve handled this situation. It makes me mad because there’s nothing I can do (without making her life worse) and most nights I had her on the phone in tears, powerless to change her life. But if it’s not easy it’s not meant to be right? Although we will help her find a new job. Then we found another lady who fit the bill – older, mature, strong personality, experienced – but as we were the first foreign employers she’d met, she wanted to meet some more families before making a decision – fair enough, but on we go. And then last Sunday we met Noemi. She’s fantastic. Extremely mature, capable, a strong personality, and lots of experience. She has three older children at home in the Philippines so is very excited to have the boys in her life and we know she’ll be strong with them so they don’t run rings around her. That’s why a strong personality is an important requirement for us. A demure girl running around after the boys just wouldn’t work. They’ve got to learn to take care of themselves so they don’t turn into spoilt little shits. So today is the day. No more washing, cooking, cleaning, etc…, however when you start out with a new “home manager” it’s always bloody awkward and challenging. But before we know it, she’ll work us out and make life easy. We are very relieved, because we’ve seriously had no help since the boys came along, other than what we’ve paid for. No one can do full time parent in solitude (with Steve travelling all the time) and keep their sanity, that’s why community is always the most important thing around families, but we’ve had none of that. It’s just the four of us – but then that’s our fault for moving so much. Most people from countries without “maids” find it weird, often sad and to some it’s almost repulsive. I find the necessity of it sad. It breaks my heart that women have to leave their homes and families to earn money to make sure their kids can have a better life. Noemi has left three children behind with her husband and all of her money goes to making sure they get an education so they can have more opportunities than she had. In fact many countries rely on people doing this sort of work. In the Philippines 65 per cent of the national income is from nationals working overseas and sending their money home. That’s unbelievable isn’t it? It’s a harsh reality in our world, but Noemi will have a great life with us. We will take excellent care of her, she will be part of our family, we will respect her and demand that everyone else does and, as often as we can, we’ll fly her home to see her family. That’s the way we do things and we hope she’s happy here.