A lovely Christmas for Jac

It's not about giving presents, it's about love. Malaysian Idol Jacyln Victor tells RADIN SRI GHAZALI about the true meaning of Christmas.

FOR Jaclyn Victor, Christmas is not about receiving or giving monetary rewards and material things.

“The festival is about giving, sharing and expressing love more than anything else,” said the first Malaysian Idol.

“Some of us are guilty of being carried away in celebrating so much so they become materialistic, losing sight of the beauty of the festival. To me, Christmas will not be complete without being with my loved ones,” she said.

She named her mother Maggie as the person who taught her the true meaning of the celebration.
Jac has a humble beginning as a club singer and a struggling recording artiste before clinching the Idol title.

Her mother was widowed when Jac was nine. “She is a compassionate, strong and determined woman. She single-handedly raised my siblings and I and never pampered herself or bought anything that she can call her own. She always put us and our needs before hers,” said Jac.

“Now that I can afford it, I’d buy Christmas gifts for her and for other important celebrations, like her birthday. She is a ‘crafty’ person so I recently bought a glass painting set. I have also got her a sewing machine and jewellery in the past,” she added.

“Of course she would constantly remind me not to splurge on her, but I can’t help it because she is my mother. This is one of the ways how I can show her how much she means to me.”

An unforgettable present this Christmas was a trip to Russia when Jac performed in Moscow for the Malaysian Medical Students Association last weekend.

“It’d be great to see the spirit of Christmas in Russia,” she said before the trip. “It would be our second time experiencing snow. My mum is over the moon about the trip.”

Jac and her mother are spending Christmas with a family friend in Penang.

She hopes to hold an open house next year to thank those who have supported her over the years. “At the moment I am just too busy with singing commitments and travelling,” she said.

She is still recovering from the whirlwind week-long Asian Idol competition in Jakarta, Indonesia. She said the competition gave her a good opportunity to showcase her talents to the regional audience.

“I am happy for (Singapore Idol) Hady Mirza. He has his own appeal and the audience loved him. To me the competition was based on luck and each contestant had a fair chance of winning the title. Everyone performed well but at the end of the day, it was Hady’s night,” she said.

She continued: “I am flattered the judges predicted me as one of the winners. To be acknowledged by reputed music experts from the region really means a lot to me.”

“Winning is not everything,” she said, “as the journey throughout the competition gave immeasurable experience and fond memories”.

“It was hard for me to say goodbye to the other contestants towards the end of the competition because we had developed a special bond during the 10 days we were there,” she added.

Jac said she got along very well with (Indonesian Idol) Mike Mohede and (Philippine Idol) Mau Marcelo.

“Mike is such a caring person and he always tries his best to make others happy. We simply clicked as we share the same personality,” said Jac.

“He is very concerned about me,” she said, interrupting the interview to read the text message on her phone. “He just messaged to ask if I have recovered from my fever.”

“Mau is simply hilarious. She has a bubbly personality that makes others comfortable to be around her,” she added.

When asked if she has had enough with competitions, Jac replied, “I would join a competition if it is judged by professional juries. I do not want my talents to be subjected to SMS voting.”

Her next song competition is TV3’s Anugerah Juara Lagu (AJL 22) next month.

Jac, who won the Song of the Year with Gemilang at the competition two years ago is set to give stiff competition to the likes of Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, Misha Omar and Faizal Tahir with her song, a duet number Ceritera Cinta, in the ballads category.

“Lah (formerly with VE) will be my duet partner instead of Rio Febrian, the original singer. (Lah also performed with her for the semi-finals last month).I believe Lah will make the song his own rather than fill someone else’s shoe,” she added.

source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/Features/20071224161941/Article/indexF_html