Originally uploaded by valensriyadi

Hady won Asian Idol last night because no one thought he would.

Everyone else who voted for their country’s representative was required to combine the vote with a second to qualify it. And they chose the underdog—the one they thought least likely to win—in case a vote for anyone else who had an equal chance assisted them in winning over their own country’s idol.

Only everyone did the same thing. So Hady had the combined vote from all over the region, while the show’s original favourites only had the vote of their own countrymen.

And it doesn’t matter how good the others are; mutual competition and jealousy would prevent a competing country from voting a good member of another, simply because they’re rooting for their own.

This isn’t to say I don’t like Hady. I do. I thought his Singapore Idol win was well-deserved, and he’s carried himself with the requisite charm and aww-shucks humility befitting of a pop star under Asian scrutiny.

But in this case, as good a singer as he was for our local stage, he wasn’t one of the stronger last night. In fact, he was hovering somewhere at the bottom of the six.

And that’s why he won.