X-Factor UK 2011 Auditions

The UK X-Factor is back again. A new season; new talents. Here are two you have to hear them sing.



Emmanuel Kelly, a victim, survivor of chemical warfare from Iraq, doesn't know how old he is but has managed to become a wonderful singer. Here is his performance on The X Factor - Emmanuel's version of John Lennon's Imagine. (You're going to need Kleenex for this one.)








16-year-old Janet Devlin from Northern Ireland with her beautiful voice is a contestant to watch. Listen to her version of Elton John's Your Song. I wish I could make it easier for you but the video has been disabled but you can watch it on YouTube - http://youtu.be/GaDFdtk0A2Y.  Enjoy it.

These are the judges.  Recognize anyone?

Image sources:
- xfactor.itv.com
- YouTube

Joo Min-jung, Winner of Korea's Got Talent 2011

After being pleasantly surprised by Choi Sung-bong's performance in June and hearing him share his sad childhood, everyone must be rooting for him to win Korea's Got Talent 2011.

The grand finale was held last Saturday, Aug 20. Choi garnered the second most number of votes.

So, who won Korea's Got Talent? Just like the winner of China's Got Talent, a popping dancer won the grand prize of 300 million won and an automobile. Watch 17-year-old dancer Joo Min-jung perform in the finals below.



The grand finale episode was aired live as well as through YouTube worldwide on Saturday.


Image source: KoreaTimes

A different kind of Bearings

I'm supposed to talk about bearings, of the hardware type like those in the image, but a different kind of bearings came to mind after a girlfriend's call. This girlfriend has just signed up for her company's treasure hunt. This year, they'll be heading south with Malacca as the destination. Last year, they headed east to Kuantan and the year before that, it was north, Lumut. So far, her team (usually of 4) has not won any prize yet. Hope they win something this year.

I haven't tried treasure hunting but another girlfriend who has joined several open treasure hunts earlier never tires of it. The ability to read maps, a keen sense of observation and a quick mind could be winning factors, I think, as they help in you getting your bearings right in an unfamiliar environment.

Talk about bearings, I once took a wrong turn coming out of Nilai, a town south of KL, and had to drive all the way to Seremban on the North-South Expressway because there is no allowance for a U-turn along that stretch of the highway. It was way past midnight when I got home. (Seremban is some 40 miles south of Kuala Lumpur which is usually an hour's drive.) That kind of explains why I haven't tried treasure hunting. LOL!

Malaysian student is Microsoft Word 2010 World Champion

Malaysian student Clement Ng Chwin Chiat emerged world champion after he won a competition in mastering Microsoft Word 2010.

Clement Ng Chwin Chiat bagged a US$5,000 scholarship in the 2011 Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office that attracted about 228,000 participants from 57 countries who competed to demonstrate their mastery of Microsoft Office products.

Certiport, the leading provider of certification exam development, delivery and programme management services, and organiser of the competition named the student as the winner at a ceremony in San Diego, California, on Tuesday.

Champions for other categories are Chen Xing of China in Microsoft Excel 2010, Japanese Mizuki Terao (Microsoft Word 2007), Briton Rebecca Rickwood (Microsoft Excel 2007) and Taiwanese Liao Yu-Xuan (Microsoft PowerPoint 2007).

Winners would hold the title of "World Champion".


Source: The Star..Malaysian student emerges world champion in Microsoft Word 2010

China's Got Talent 2011 - 12-year-old Mongolian boy singing "Mother in the Dream"

After watching Choi Sung-bong of Korea's Got Talent, we now come to a 12-year-old Mongolian boy who sings to his mother in heaven in China's Got Talent.

Uudam (乌达木 Wudamu in Chinese) lost his parents at the age of 8 in a road accident. His song, "Mother in the Dream" (梦中的额吉) is sung to his mother in heaven. He seldom talks about his story but when he misses his mother, he will sing this song. Besides, he always dreams about his mother, sitting beside him.

The song, a beautiful, haunting melody, is in Mongolian, therefore, not everyone can understand the lyrics. However, his singing touched every judge and audience in the hall without the understanding of the lyrics. He sang out all his love through to his mother.

A touching song, performed by a boy who has a sad story behind, a voice comes from far Mongolia sending his love to his mother in heaven. A great performance by a 12-year-old boy! He also has an interesting and beautiful dream which is to invent a kind of ink that you just need a drop to drop on the ground, and the whole world will be covered with green grass. His mother's wish when she was alive was to see him singing on stage.

(You're going to be needing tissues for this.)



Find out if he is the winner of China's Got Talent 2011.
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Related post:
Winner of Korea's Got Talent 2011

Korea's Got Talent - Choi Sung-bong

Choi Sung-bong reminds me of Paul Potts of Britain's Got Talent fame. Paul won the contest 4/5 years ago.

Watch Choi Sung-bong's performance. You're going to be needing tissues - don't say I didn't warn you.



Choi's performance of Nella Fantasia was on June 6, 2011, and he successfully advanced to the next level of competition of the show, Korea's Got Talent.

Related posts:
Winner of Korea's Got Talent 2011
Winner of China's Got Talent 2011

Win a Holiday in Italy in the Sunkist Contest

Contest time! If you are good with the camera and are creative, here is a chance to win an 8D/7N trip to Italy, exploring over 11 cities, plus a three-hour Ferrari ride in Tuscany thanks to the Sunkist “Are You Awesome?” Contest.

Organised by F&N Dairies (M) Sdn Bhd, the contest from Jan 1 to April 30, challenges consumers to be creative with a pack of Sunkist juice.

All you need to do is to grab a Sunkist pack with the word “Awesome”, take a photo with it, be creative of course, and upload it to www.dailyawesomedose.com or MMS to 016-339 9950. Then, get all your family and friends to vote for your photo.

Every week for 16 weeks, the photo with the highest votes will win RM500 while all 16 weekly winners will battle it out for the grand prize at the end of the contest period.

Every week, two voters who submit the highest votes will find themselves RM100 richer.

Hurry! Contest ends April 30!

Check out more details from The Star.

Enter to Win a 2011 Independent Handbag Designer Award!

Are you a handbag designer? If you are, you may want to
Enter to Win a 2011 Independent Handbag Designer Award!

Calling all handbag designers:

Handbag Designer 101 and InStyle are looking for undiscovered talented designers to compete in the Fifth Annual Independent Handbag Designer Awards! You can enter your handbag to compete for one of nine awards, including Best Handmade Bag, Most Socially Responsible and Best Red Carpet Ready Evening bag. There’s also a Fan Favorite category, which will be voted on by the readers of InStyle.com!

Prizes include developing collaboration pieces, design sponsorships, and more. The application process is open now through April 30 on HandbagDesigner101.com. Good luck!