SHAH ALAM: Consistently making up the top five performers almost every week, Akademi Fantasia Megastar (AF Megastar) contestants Idayu Yaakob, Bob Yusof, Marsha Londoh, Syamel Fodzly and Shahir Zawawi will face off in the show’s finals on Oct 22.
The five were announced as the finalists of AF Megastar at the conclusion of its seventh weekly elimination concert in the Royal Theatre here last night (Sunday night).
“I’ve finally made it to the finals, it’s the exact opposite of what transpired during my days in AF Season 3 back in 2005,” said an overjoyed Idayu who was eliminated at Number 12 in AF Season 3 12 years ago.
“I did well in AF Season 2, finishing fifth, but now I’m going all out to be number one!” said Bob who hails from Limbang, Sarawak.
“It’s great to be a finalist once again, but this time, I want to push myself to be the champion, not the runner-up,” said Syamel who finished second in AF 2015.
“It’s going to be real tough competition ahead, but I’m glad I’ve come this far without depending solely on audiences’ votes,” said Marsha who was fourth in AF Season 3.
The final five were named by host Datuk Aznil Nawawi after the two-hour concert which began at 9pm.
Marks were given by judges Datuk Ramli MS, Syafinaz Selamat and Datuk M Nasir (60 per cent) and were also determined by viewers’ Short Messaging Service (SMS) votes (40 per cent).
In the eight-week contest which began on Sept 3, the contestant with the lowest marks got eliminated at the end of each weekly show.
Only one of them will be crowned the “megastar” amongst the AF alumni, and he (or she) will take home RM100,000.
Astro will also award cash prizes to the runners-up.
AF Megastar was screened live on Astro Ria (104) and Ria HD (123) and the final concert will be held at Royal Theatre at the same time next Sunday.