The 8TV team has its very own musical dedication for Malaysia Day, writes Faisal Asyraf
THE 8TV quickie team has its own quirky way of celebrating Malaysia Day. The zany members Brandon Ho, Megan Tan, Nadia Nash and Mark O’ Dea, have composed their own patriotic songs and will perform them during 8TV Quickie’s Hari Malaysia Special tomorrow.
For this, the team has been divided into two groups — the “boy group” comprising Ho and O’Dea, and the “girl group” comprising Nadia and Tan.
Guest judges are Edwin Raj from the band They Will Kill Us All, hip hop princess Nadhira Shamsuri, and Mior Luqman Hakim from the band Oh Chentaku! The winners, who will be announced at the show, will get “bragging rights, tonnes of excitement and satisfaction,” says the sassy Nadia.
To keep them on the right track — particularly with tunes and pitches “so that the viewers won’t switch off the TV upon hearing our live singing” — both groups are collaborating with and assisted by two up-and-coming indie bands. The boy group is working with the electro-pop music duo Pastel Lite, while the girl group has the 12-member band called The Twelf Note, who play funk fusion jazz music in local and international music scenes.
SONG AND THE CITY
The cheerful and bubbly Nadia and Tan are confident of winning the competition. Their upbeat, catchy patriotic tune is called Nothing Comes Close To You. The song title, according to both of them, “sounds like something that Usher and Brian McKnight would sing.”
Both of them penned the lyrics. “The song is about how much this country is home to us. No matter where we go and how far we go, we always come back. And we always miss this country when we leave even for a while — we miss the food, the weather and even the traffic jams, says Tan.
Nadia echoes her colleague’s sentiment, adding: “No matter how much you hate Kuala Lumpur’s traffic, you will miss them when you are abroad for too long.”
She says the song reflects her love for the country, “with a little twist”.
“At first, it seems to be about a relationship between two people. As it plays on, listeners realise that it is actually about a person’s love for his country.” What makes it interesting is that none of the hosts have musical backgrounds — although they are all “karaoke kakis”.
Laughing, Nadia says: “Megan and I sing the songs of Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey and Backstreet Boys a lot. That would be the only musical experience that we are taking into this project.”
Nadia and Tan collaborate with Twelf Note, which members help by putting the music together and getting the girls to record their vocals. “It’s one of a kind experience to work with a 12-member band,” says Tan adding: “It’s crazy and intimidating. Just imagine, entering the studio with 12 boys who play different instruments, and we are the only girls.”
Both girls praise the band members, who they regard as “super talented, humble and open to suggestions.”
Tan adds: “Since we don’t have a music background, we didn’t know what to expect and say, especially when they asked: ‘So what can you guys do?’ We are thankful that they have patiently guided us along the way.”
The collaboration also serves as a platform for the bands to get their exposure. “We want to show viewers how they work behind the scenes, what kind of people and how good they are. I believe viewers will be impressed.”
ELECTRONIC TAKE
Ho and O’Dea, on the other hand, have some music background. Ho plays bass in church, O’Dea used to be in a singing group, London Boys, prior to joining the 8TV Quickie team in April this year. For this project, they are collaborating with Pastel Lite, helmed by Eff Hakim and Mohd Faliq.
O’ Dea enjoyed the music-making process very much as he missed the environment he was in when he was with London Boys. “It’s definitely fun to work in a band again,” says O’Dea, who admires crooner Anuar Zain.
Their patriotic tune is called Celebrate. “The title says it all. The melody is a bit more mellow, with alternative music veins. It is not the usual patriotic song that you used to listen to. Pastel Lite is driven by electronic music, so there are electronic elements in the song,” says Ho.
Feeling outnumbered by the 12 musicians who worked with the girls, the guys feel that the girls have the advantage.
Ho says: “We want to match our opponents who are covering more sounds. So, I am playing the keyboard while O’Dea the bass for the song.”
Agreeing with Ho, O’Dea says: “They (the girls) have a 12-piece orchestra to back them. Musically, we are at a disadvantage but we are not giving up.”
Compared with the girls, who practised four to five times with the band, Ho, O’Dea and Pastel Lite only practised twice. But perhaps, that shows how confident they are against the girl group, although somewhat outnumbered.
CELEBRATING MALAYSIA DAY
According to Ho, celebrating Malaysia Day means “we take pride in ourselves as a nation and a country”. He names Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin as his icon, who is not only cool but also friendly. “He always ‘turun padang’ (engages with the people at grassroots level), and connects with youth through social media.
“I had a chance to talk to him once, at the Shout Awards last year. I asked him what he was listening to on his iPod and he answered, The Lumineers. He even sang out the chorus of The Lumineers’ Ho Hey. I was amazed at how friendly and approachable he was,” says Ho.
Nadia says she admires Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. “He has developed this country into what we have today and has put Malaysia on the world map.”
Tan names squash queen Datuk Nicol David as her national icon. “She’s an amazing athlete and is humble, despite all her achievements. I met her last year at an Adidas event and I was star-struck. I didn’t realise that I would feel that way. I even felt nervous to ask her for a photograph together,” she says, adding that both she and David come from Penang.
In unison, the 8tv Quickie team say that Malaysians must stay united and stay strong as a nation.
The 8TV Quickie Malaysia Day special airs tomorrow at 9.30pm.