MTV Asia Awards 2008

The MTV Asia Awards 2008 were held in Genting last night, and it featured an A-list of stars and performances. Among the highlights are Leona Lewis' performance of Bleeding Love, Project E.A.R.'s Freak Show, The Script with The Man Who Can't Be Moved.

To watch videos of all the performances, visit the MTV Asia Awards 2008 website.

Jabbawockeez opened the show with a cool routine showcasing their slick and perfectly coordinated moves. It was followed by The Pussycat Dolls with a sizzling performance of Buttons and When I Grow Up. I was previously not much a fan of those 2 songs, but after watching them being performed live, I changed my mind.

The Script was another surprise, as I had never heard of them before this. The lead singer's voice is really nice and even though the song is quite generic-sounding, it's nice and they certainly have what it takes to be the next big thing.

OneRepublic showed up as well, performing their massive hit Apologise (but without Timbaland's beats and additional vocals) and second single, Stop And Stare. It was a performance that was expected of them, nothing much more. But it was not bad.

Electrico performed Save Our Souls, a song specially written for the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC). It was a good song, but unfortunately it didn't translate well when performed in a major awards ceremony, maybe it wasn't catchy enough.

Stefanie Sun later joined Electrico to harmonise on the vocals, before they segued into Ni Guang, a cut off Stef's latest album. It was a good idea to pair 2 of Singapore's biggest acts together on stage for the first time, but on the second song, Electrico became the backing band for Stef. It would have been cool if they had traded verses (like on her duet with Mayday on the track Wo Shi Wo, off the Kite album), but perhaps that was limited by Dave's grasp of Mandarin.

The Click Five returned to Asia for the upteenth time in the past 3 years, and the fans never seem to get tired of them. And I must admit that Jenny is a darn catchy song that grows on you. It's one of those songs that you'd hate to admit you liked. The kompang players were a little calafe though, with their stint on Empty so short-lived.

Leona Lewis is a great vocalist, and she delivered a top-notch performance on Better In Time and Bleeding Love. She is the one who can rival Mariah in the vocal department, and her high notes on Bleeding Love proved that she's a worthy contender. Let's hope she doesn't go the hip-hop way and lose her original spirit.

Project E.A.R. was another revelation of the night, delivering what I feel to be one of the best performances that night. Consisting of rock and hip-hop titans from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand, supergroup Project E.A.R (or Project East Asian Revolution) rocked the house down. It was the most energetic performance of the night no doubt.

MTV pulled out all the stops when it came to the closing act of the night. Having opened with a bang with Jabbawockeez and PCD, the 2-and-a-half hour show wrapped with Panic At The Disco playing I Write Sin, Not Tragedies and Nine In The Afternoon. They were surprisingly good live, and lead singer Brendon Urie sounded strong too.

Nine In The Afternoon didn't hook me previously, but I like the song a lot now after hearing them perform it. It's not a typical punk/pop rock band song and they successfully integrated a big band section to boost the sound and epic quality of it.

The performance certainly did not lack grandeur as PATD were joined onstage by backward-flipping acrobats and colourfully-dressed cabaret girls. A marching band even marched down the stairs towards the end of the song. And it closed with a bang literally as golden streamers and confetti shot into the air to oull the curtains down on one big, memorable MTV Asia Awards.