Two Indonesian VJs rise from pack to 'MTV' screens<\/p>\n
By Yogita Tahil Ramani and Edith Hartanto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A bevy of beautiful women dance and jiggle in
\nwhite, short T-shirts. As the Spice Girls blare out girl power
\ncommands to \"shake it to the left, shake it to the right\", the
\neight dancers languorously take off their tops.<\/p>\n
They teasingly reveal a concealed leather ensemble of black
\nbra and tight minis, and proceed with more bumping and grinding.<\/p>\n
Lining the wood-paneled bar of the Hard Rock Cafe are high
\nstools with nose-pierced, midriff-baring, micro-skirted teenagers
\non their knees, high fiving buttoned-down executives ogling the
\nscene.<\/p>\n
The raunchfest occurred during the MTV VJ Hunt Finals last
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
The two-month, nationwide search received a staggering 2,771
\nentries. Eight finalists were shortlisted -- six from Jakarta,
\none from Bandung and another from Semarang -- and MTV Asia
\norganizers stopped at nothing to work up frenzied suspense before
\nthe announcement at the cafe.<\/p>\n
The hunt -- mainly conducted in bars, cafes, discotheques,
\nmalls and on college campuses in Jakarta, Surabaya, Semarang and
\nBandung -- drew \"lots (of applicants), ranging from teenagers to
\n30-somethings,\" said Amalia Ahmad, external affairs coordinator
\nfor ANteve, which airs six hours of MTV programming daily.<\/p>\n
She said the Indonesian VJ needed to have charisma, a keen
\nsense of music, proficiency in Indonesian and English and be
\narticulate.<\/p>\n
The VJ should also be willing to make appearances at odd
\nhours, she added.<\/p>\n
Bianca Adinegoro, host and producer of MTV's Seratus Percen
\nIndonesia -- aired Friday at 3 p.m. and Tuesday at 1 a.m. on
\nANteve -- said VJs got to network with movers and shakers in
\nentertainment.<\/p>\n
\"You come into contact with almost anybody who's somebody in
\nthe entertainment business, be they record company people or
\nmusic directors and producers.\"<\/p>\n
The animated bunch of finalists -- Akhda Khalid, Intan Khahi,
\nSenia Ariska, Alia Amitra, Alex Abbad, Ketty Janur Sari, Sofie
\nSimandjuntak and Fransisco Glenn Rozanno -- showed a lot of
\npotential, but only Ketty and Alex walked off with the VJ titles.<\/p>\n
Ketty, 22, was chosen for this year's Close-Up Crystal Award
\nfor the \"Most Charming Smile\" and received prize money of Rp 2
\nmillion. Alex is 19.<\/p>\n
Excellent<\/p>\n
They received three-month trial contracts and will get to host
\nnew shows in the coming year.<\/p>\n
The original plan was for only one winner, but senior vice
\npresident of the MTV Networks Asia, Nigel Robbins, said this had
\nbeen changed because of the pair's \"excellent VJ qualities and
\ncharisma, (and) each of them could probably host shows suited to
\ntheir own personalities\".<\/p>\n
Alex was suited to more \"grungy, rock and metal\" fare, while
\nKetty could host \"romantic shows\", he said.<\/p>\n
Alex, a grungy looker with a 1970s dress code, said he is an
\nidealist. He is a student at Jakarta's National University at
\nPejaten in Pasar Minggu, but he said he would probably put his
\nstudies on hold during his VJ stint.<\/p>\n
\"I would definitely like to work first as a VJ. I'm going to
\ngain all the experience I need to, and then enter the kind of
\ncollege I want to,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"My parents support me, but I want to try to be on my own. I
\ndepend on them for both emotional and financial support.\"<\/p>\n
His grandfather is half Yemeni, but Alex stated his pride in
\nbeing Indonesian.<\/p>\n
Doll-faced Ketty will defer her TV broadcasting studies at
\nPasadena City College in Los Angeles as opportunity knocks.<\/p>\n
\"And besides, I miss being in my homeland.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think I'm going back there. I may or may not finish
\ncollege. Besides, my boyfriend is here.\"<\/p>\n
But the audience was more excited by the entertainment than
\nthe announcement of the winners.<\/p>\n
Lime green MTV sticker-tattooed faces guffawed at local TV
\nhost Indra Safera's jokes and his imitations of a traditional
\nherbal medicine seller, an incessantly kowtowing Japanese and a
\nstandoffish Toni Braxton. There were the refreshing sounds of the
\nalternative rock mesh from local bands Kubik and Pals.<\/p>\n
There was also Rahul Khanna, 25-year-old host of Friday's
\nmidnight show, MTV Fresh.<\/p>\n
Dressed in a silky red shirt and black jeans, he had teenagers
\nliterally jumping out of their seats and middle-aged women acting
\ngiggly over their disinterested partners.<\/p>\n
The winners and the also-rans were exposed in the question-
\nanswer session hosted by Rahul and VJ Sara Sechan, officially
\njust five days a VJ and already the lone host of MTV Ampuh on
\nAnteve every Saturday.<\/p>\n
Some failed to come up with sharp, spontaneous answers, and
\nothers were sunk by lack of English skills.<\/p>\n
One of them replied yes when asked by Indra if she thought
\nmakan beling (eating glass) would make people laugh.<\/p>\n
He promptly retorted: \"Then, why don't you eat glass and make
\npeople laugh?\"<\/p>\n
Sofie, 22, a reporter for MTV Land, a radio host and DJ, and
\nGlen, also 22, a radio host and DJ, handled the questions with
\ndistinct aplomb.<\/p>\n
Ego<\/p>\n
In answer to Sara's question -- \"If Madonna were to stage her
\nlast ever performance and you could call the shots, what would
\nyou do?\" -- Glen leapt on stage and said he would have Madonna
\n\"flown to Indonesia on Air Force One and perform nationwide,
\ninstead of only in Jakarta\".<\/p>\n
Sofie countered Indra's tantrum-throwing turn as music diva
\nBraxton with sweetness, saying \"she would get Toni's videos
\npromoted and played on MTV, because MTV was the music channel in
\nAsia\".<\/p>\n
\"Indonesian VJs have very likable personalities. They don't
\ncarry egos either, which is quite refreshing,\" Robbins said.<\/p>\n
He added that the station's strategy involved tapping into the
\nneeds of the local audience.<\/p>\n
\"We have to create the MTV image that is accessible to all
\nIndonesians, since not everybody is comfortable with English.\"<\/p>\n
MTV Asia, a 24-hour programming service of MTV Networks Asia,
\nis an international network for viewers in Southeast Asia aged
\n15-34. It is a joint venture of MTV Networks and Polygram which
\nowns and operates MTV Asia, MTV India and MTV Mandarin.<\/p>\n
Delivered via satellite to cable, MTV Asia claims to reach
\nmore than 31 million homes in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
\nPhilippines, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brunei and
\nVietnam.<\/p>\n
MTV Asia features a mix of regional and international music
\nvideos, local productions, entertainment news, artist interviews,
\nconcert coverage and viewer contests.<\/p>",
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