Flame Awards 2013: #Fail of the year

Flame Awards 2013: #Fail of the year

It is said that the higher you get, the farther the fall.

This is absolutely true for the two companies who organised two of the biggest music events that were supposed to happen here this year.

Promises of truckloads of A-list acts and weekends of non-stop partying turned to dust when "unforeseen circumstances" - a phrase music fans never want to hear again - led to the cancellation of both the 1 World Music Festival and the MBC Korean Music Wave.

But when it comes to solo smack forehead- type things, it was certainly Ah Boys To Men actor Ridhwan Azman who took the cake - by hitting his then-girlfriend.

Perhaps the nominees in this category can look forward to #winning thanks to their ultimate #fails.

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RIDHWAN AZMAN

Perhaps for the first time, someone wants to win one of our "negative" Flame Awards categories.

Ah Boys To Men actor Ridhwan Azman is a #Fail of the Year nominee because back in August, he admitted to hitting his then-girlfriend.

And he could not stop digging himself into a deeper hole afterwards with his angsty, defensive Twitter responses to netizens calling him out on his behaviour.

"I think I can win," he told The New Paper, after we informed him who his competition were.

He's going to get his fans who follow him on social media to vote for him.

No, the 19-year-old is not beating his chest about how cool it is to be a bad boy.

He wants to use this #Fail of the Year win to show others how they can pick themselves up after they fall.

Quoting leadership guru John Maxwell, he SMSed us: "Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward." TOUgH

To be fair, it has been a tough couple of months for the full-time national serviceman.

After the incident, he was dropped from JTeam Productions, which manages the other Ah Boys stars, and had many public appearances - paying ones - cancelled.

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"I don't blame them. They're being cautious.

"It's been tough because I need enough pocket money for my siblings who are in school," said Ridhwan.

While he has apologised for hitting his then-girlfriend - it was, he said, due to a threat from her to harm herself - he says he's thankful for the many lessons he has learnt since.

"Everything happens for a reason," he said.

"Most of the people who know me have my back.

"But I feel so sad being in public now. When people on the bus or on the train look at me, I don't feel good."

There were strangers, though, who came up to him to ask how he was doing, and he said he gladly and candidly talked to them about the incident.

It was these people who gave him the encouragement that all is not lost in terms of his showbiz career.

"I am looking forward to when I finish my NS. I won't give up on this entertainment industry," he said.

He offered another Maxwell quote: "The major difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure."

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MBC KOREAN MUSIC WAVE

It was supposed to be this year's blockbuster K-pop concert. For those who had not managed to catch last year's SMTown Live World Tour III, this was where they could express their K-idol fandom in spades, for acts like SHINee, Exo, 2PM, 2AM, Sistar, Miss A, B1A4, Teen- Top, B.A.P, IU, F.T. Island, 4Minute and Girls' Generation's sub-group TaeTiSeo.

Alas, the MBC Korean Music Wave concert was cancelled a week before it was due to happen at Gardens by the Bay on Nov 16.

This after its "Super VIP" packages, going for $688 each with access to rehearsals, the mosh pit and a fast pass through the queue, were already sold out.

Organiser Fatfish Entertainment had already annoyed fans earlier with a request to donate food to their idols.

Then, the gig got canned and Fatfish closed down to settle matters with their creditors. The cancellation sent fans into overdrive on the event's Facebook page, demanding reasons and refunds - the latter of which is still being sorted out.

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1 WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL

Far East Movement! Iggy Azalea! Moby! Tinie Tempah! Snoop Dogg (Lion)!

The 1 World Music Festival was meant to be the cool, hip-hop, dance music cousin to the F1 festivities, held on the same weekend in September.

It never materialised, due to "unforeseen circumstances".

Organiser Retfar Entertainment sent out its press release just two days before the event, spoiling plans not just for Singaporeans but for regional music fans who had planned to fly in.

Fans were not the only ones disappointed - various artists slated to perform at the festival took to Twitter to express how "bummed" they were.

Embarrassingly, they too, seemed to be in the dark.

"Does anyone know why? They haven't really explained it to me yet," tweeted Australian rapper Azalea.

More embarrassingly, some of the acts who were already on their way here or already in town had to scramble for other venues to play at.

Refunds started on Sept 25.


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