HEY, ASIAN IDOL!

HADY Mirza is hot. And we're not talking about the fire drill that sent close to a hundred office workers down from their cubicles and onto the street yesterday.

We had chosen a casual, laidback setting for the interview - Fazil's cafeteria, opposite Blk221 Henderson Building where Hype Records is located, because Our Singapore Idol often drops by to buy drinks and order takeaway meals.

We thought it would be nice and quiet, especially at 3pm, the middle of a working day.

We were right - but then, there was a fire drill and, suddenly, Hady wasn't just Hady anymore - he was the Asian Idol. Our Asian Idol.

The office workers turned into gawking starstruck teenagers, yelling out: 'Hey, Asian Idol!'

GIFTS AND PICTURES

They whipped out camera phones for pictures with him and one female admirer even gave him a teddy bear.

Another, seated nearby, bought him a cup of teh tarik in the middle of our interview.

A Caucasian man dragged the overwhelmed crooner aside to meet his colleagues and engaged him in conversation for a few minutes.

Another offered him a cigarette. No thanks, Hady said. He has quit.

Winning the Asian Idol title appears to have moulded our Singapore Idol heartthrob into a new and more confident man.

Where he was once shy, reticent and prone to giving stock vanilla responses, he appears, seemingly overnight, to have loosened up, becoming cheeky, forthcoming and thankfully, quote-worthy.

He wasn't even afraid of coming across a little vain as he playfully 'negotiated' with photographer Kelvin Chng: 'Can you choose a good picture please? You want to DI (digital image) it, just do it man!'

Turning serious, Hady admitted to The New Paper: 'The Asian Idol experience has changed me, and I think you can see that.

'It was a really humbling experience and a revelation. Spiritually, God has shown me a way and so now all I have to do is keep on going.

'The responsibility that I have now is much more, but I'm relishing it.'

And if you thought he was emotional on stage after unexpectedly winning the regional singing competition over the weekend, you should have been backstage.

There, the 27-year-old singer openly wept 'like a baby' on his manager's shoulder for a good two minutes. People were crowding around the pair in a circle and staring.

Not that Hady cared.

He said: 'I was crying because I just couldn't believe it. I didn't know what was going on. Was this real? Actually, only 20 per cent has sunk in so far.

'Winning Singapore Idol at the Indoor Stadium was wonderful and I'll never forget that moment.

'But this was so much better - the second time in my life with confetti (falling on me).'

His manager, Hype Records Artiste Networks minder MsAlison Leong, has been by his side for a year.

Said Hady: 'Alison has been an amazing person, mum, stylist - she takes care of everything for me. If not for her, I'd be breaking down or something.'

They are so close that the other Asian Idol contestants even thought they were a couple.

'When they asked me if we were going out, I was like 'What? She's not my type!' he joked, exchanging teasing glances with Ms Leong, who was sitting in on the interview.

Equally memorable was Hady's triumphant homecoming on Monday evening.

Family members, who picked him up from Changi Airport, bought a buffet of food from the airport canteen, and the gang proceeded to his home for dinner.

He recalled: 'That was the best meal that I had after 10 days in Indonesia - nasi lemak, chicken rice, Indian rojak, yong tau fu.'

In fact, Hady left for Jakarta from his old home and returned to a new one.

The family rented out their five-room flat in Punggol and moved to a 'nice and much bigger' Yio Chu Kang apartment, where he lives with his parents, older sister, brother-in-law and 1-year-old nephew Imran.

For Hari Raya Haji, Hady will stick to the normal ritual of visiting both his grandmothers' houses, where he's looking forward to catching up with his extended family and observing kenduri doa syukur (a thanksgiving feast).

WATCH IT AGAIN

Naturally, they will all be watching the repeat telecast of Asian Idol together - which airs over Channel 5 today at 4.30pm - as Hady himself has not caught it since returning to Singapore.

The show will allow him to reminisce about fellow contestants who have become newfound friends.

He is closest to Indonesia's Mike Mohede, who kept persuading Hady to extend his stay in Jakarta.

'I'm thankful Mike was there with me. The rest of the contestants are really fun too, but they were a bit tense and nervous.

'But we sort of relaxed each other.'

He added: 'I clicked with Mike because the rest are girls. (Indian Idol) Abhijeet (Sawant) is also a guy, but he's married and his wife was with him in the hotel room. How to disturb?'

He revealed that Malaysian Idol Jaclyn Victor 'sometimes acts like a bimbo but is actually very smart', Philippines Idol Mau Marcello is the comedienne and icebreaker of the group, while Vietnam Idol Phuong Vy was the resident babe.

He said with a laugh: 'When my guy friends called me from Singapore, it wasn't 'How are you Hady?' but 'How is Phuong Vy?'

'They saw her on TV and thought she was hot.'

So what's his impression of the gorgeous singer then?

Said Hady, who's been single since breaking up with Malaysian actress-host Nur Fazura in July: 'She's quiet most of the time, sweet, a normal 20-year-old girl. But I won't say she's my type - more like my little sister.'

The Asian Idol experience has changed me, and I think you can see that. It was a really humbling experience and a revelation... The responsibility that I have now is much more, but I'm relishing it.

- Hady Mirza

source: http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story/0,4136,151227,00.html