Four Soloists and three Bands took to the stage on Friday night (15 June) for the second preliminary round of TNL Onstage 2012. The acts turned up with their own distinctive style and swagger, along with throngs of supporters. Music was obviously the main focus of the night with original tracks performed as well as covers from artistes as diverse as Neon Trees, Black Sabbath and Chris Brown.
The fabulous backing band (consisting of talented local artistes) kicked off the night with a marvelous performance, preparing the audience for their evening of entertainment.
Up first, and taking a risk straight off the bat was Killfeed with an original acoustic track “Faded”. The gamble did pay off but the response to their second song was much better; a cover of Switchfoot’s “Afterlife”, which won them loud applause from the crowd and their die-hard fans in particular.
“Save Me” by Shinedown and “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees were the songs of choice for Surith! His unusual song selection got a mixed reaction from the audience, but giving credit where it’s due he put everything into it, resulting in genuinely moving performances.
Jesh got the audience singing (and dancing) along with his fantastic renditions of the well known pop songs “Payphone”, by Maroon 5 and “In My Head”, by Jason Derulo. His melodious voice, stage presence and charisma all contributed to his powerful performance, making him one to watch in future.
The only hip hop group of Onstage Season 12 came next. Twisted Minit put their own unique twist on Gotye’s “Somebody I Used To Know”, mixing the original with their own raps. Next they performed their original track the reggae-styled “Prophecy”, which brought out massive cheers from the crowd.
Shali was the third Soloist up on the stage! If you think he looks familiar, you wouldn’t be wrong as he took part in the Band category last year (with Torn). This time round he performed Daughtry's “What About Now” (which he had to sing twice due to technical difficulties) and the truly original mash-up of “Set fire to the rain" by Adele vs. “Afterlife” by Switchfoot vs. “We Will Rock You by Queen”! An awesome performance at that!
“Payphone” made a second appearance with the last band of the night: Unsung Conflict. It was refreshing to see a rock band perform a pop song, and their version of it got people up on their feet! The second song, much more their forte, was “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath which they absolutely powered their way through.
The final act up on stage was Chamath, who transformed from a regular quiet guy to a consummate performer with his covers of “Set Fire to the Rain” by Adele and “Yeah 3x” by Chris Brown. He showed off more than his vocal abilities as well, as he accompanied himself on the guitar.
Bringing the night to a close the Encore round saw our own version of the battle of the bands with raucous cheers for Unsung Conflict, Twisted Minit and Killfeed deafening all in attendance! Although it was a close call between Twisted Minit and Unsung Conflict the victorious winners were finally chosen. Unsung Conflict clambered back on stage to perform a rousing version of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” finishing off the night on a high note.
A fantastic night of music overall. Every single act brought something different (even if the songs were the same!) and gave it their best so I don’t envy the judges at all! Well, we only have another six acts to go until we get to the Semi’s!
Catch the review on the Preliminary Round 3 next week!
(Carlene from Lite FM)
TNL Onstage 2012 Preliminary 2 Highlights
0 Comments