Makings of an Instant Superstar...

Alas, it was the underdog Hady Mirza from Singapore that won the Asian Idol challenge...
As much as everyone expected that either Mike Mohede (with the home ground advantage and all) or Jaclyn Victor would win, it was the previously unknown Hady Mirza that won in the end.

I guess it jives with the twon main items that one would expect from the public these days...

1) People like new/fresh things or looks. Hady was a fresh face. Mike and Jaclyn is already well known in Indonesia. {Add the fact that the female population makes up most of the voter.}

2) People connect better to things that they can relate to. Hady sang a Malay song. Out goes Phuong Vy (Vietnam), Mau Marcelo (Phillipines) and Abhijeet Sawant (India).

But to be fair, Hady is a good singer and performer. The better than average good looks and being an underdog just made him an Asian superstar overnight...

From YouTube...