Wrong move on Pinoy Idol?
By bluepanjeet on May 13, 2008 in Pinoy Idolatry
I watched the 6th episode of Pinoy Idol on GMA 7 last Saturday and the five previous episodes on You Tube. The 179 hopefuls were cut down to 90. Then they were slashed down to 45 which will vie for the top 24 slots this coming Saturday (May 17) and on the final 12, putting the show in its official Run for the finals of the best of the best. My opinion on the show is mixed because the show was faithful to the format of American Idol (Pop Idol of UK is the original franchise), though there were some differences which are really not that important. I watched each contestant vie for the viewer’s attention instead of the judges favor. For example, a certain guy named Warren Antig who cried crocodile tears in front of the camera and announcing that he will quit the show with matching telephone call to his mom (drama! classic!) Or the other egotistic gal named Vrenilyn Villaflor who blamed her partner for having a stage fright and left her eventually on the air (as if her partner ruined her dream). Both of which received an unflattering flak from Ogie Alcasid.
All in all, the contestants were okay. Not excellent, nor good, but just okay. Because many of these contestants are trying so hard to mimic every artist imaginable. No original style as I may add. The wavy vibrating voices imitating every african-american rhythm and blues singers were abundant. And the men were just copycats of either Martin Nievera, Jay-R, or every known Pinoy Rock Star. These contestants never realized that being themselves would actually make them stand out of the talent search. But no, they were all poor imitation of their respective idols. Only few have stood out the second elimination who showed their own style of singing such as Frances Villanueva, Walton Zerrudo, Beverly Ejercito, Aurora Nanzo, and Regene Ong (who stuck with her style of singing even though the song is pretty much off tangent for her preference).
There were also Idol hopefuls who blended well considering their styles differ from each other like Ramon Chaves III and Madriza Altobar who turned the rock song “El Bimbo” as a mixture of RNB and Pop. And of course the “I will Survive” tandem of Loverine Fermino and Melanie Sison who both rocked the house and made the judges dance on their seats with their impressive performance.
There are only a handful of contestants whose performances are commendable yet I think in the near future, their talents will somehow be refined just like gold purified in fire. I’m a musician and not a musical expert, but my ears know when a voice becomes flat, out of tune or just annoyingly noisy.
As for the Host, I’m not quite satisfied with Raymond Gutierrez. Let’s not talk about his very scripted style in hosting and his annoying nasal voice as if he is doing a Neozep commercial. I’m not saying that Raymond should be patterned on the host of AI, but at least they should have chosen a more relaxed, funny, spontaneous and outgoing host like Mo Twister or Drew Arellano for instance. Richard Gutierrez is a great host but I think he is too formal for PI. Though he seems he is trying his best to reach out to the contestants but as a viewer I cannot feel his ease with the show’s hopefuls. Unlike Ryan Seacrest and Ryan Agoncillo who brought lighter moments on the show’s other versions, Raymond does it in contrast. But hey, give the boy some slack. There are many episodes still coming and let’s hope he can do better in the near future. I can’t help but think that they made Raymond Gutierrez the host in order to keep Richard Gutierrez on GMA 7’s fence. hmmmm
For the Judges I think Ogie Alcasid and Wyngard Tracy is very much qualified because of their respective backgrounds. Alcasid is an accomplished singer, songwriter and producer while Tracy is a retired Talent Manager who formerly handled famous bands and artists like Side A and Jaya (to name a few). Though Wyngard’s credential as a judge was approved by FremantleMedia, the owner of the Idol franchise, yet his style in judging cannot be denied as a second rate Simon Cowell style. I don’t know but I think he should refrain from being too “simony” or else he will just end up as a poor imitation of the famous British talent discoverer.
Jolina Magdangal on the other hand is questionable as a judge– experience wise. PI should have chosen a more experienced singer. But then again luck was with Jolina due to a technicality. Fremantle turned down other judge candidates because of age consideration. Jolina however managed to redeem herself by changing her image to a serious one. Okay na din kesa wala.
Other wrong moves that I think GMA should be wary about are the following:
- Not recognizing Mau Marcelo of Lucena City as the First Philippine Idol due to business politics. Apparently, ABC 5 (the first franchisee of Idol) became sore on the deal with Fremantle that the latter awarded the much coveted franchise to GMA 7. ABC 5 however copyrighted the name Philippine Idol so GMA 7 had no choice but to rename the show as Pinoy Idol in which the consequence fell on Mau Marcelo’s crown. I think GMA 7 cannot erase from the viewer’s memory that Mau Marcelo was the first Pinoy Idol regardless of the show’s title especially when two runners-up of ABC 5’s PI, Nieto and Magdangal are connected with GMA 7 and was defeated by Marcelo during the first season of PI. History is history. No amount of publicity or PR would eventually erase Marcelo from the picture…
- They could have retained the stint of Francis Magalona and Pilita Corales (both stars of GMA 7) as Judges because they already had the experience on the first Philippine Idol. But then again its politics because Magalona and Corales are identified with ABC 5’s earlier version. And that according to the standards of Freemantle, over-aged judges is a no-no ( i don’t understand why age should be a consideration.. bakit si Wyngard Tracy?).
- Airing Pinoy Idol earlier is not a wise decision since many of the viewers are still hooked up on the current American Idol in which the showdown will be happening this coming weeks. They could have at least waited the AI to finish before launching PI on National TV so that viewers would be excited and hungry for the next PI on TV. Plus the fact that many people in the provinces are not aware of the PI. I don’t know if the publicity for the PI was loud enough for everyone to be excited about or talked about since if you google the net there are only a handful of resources about the Pinoy Idol. They don’t even have an official site for PI for crying out loud. I just wish that GMA 7’s website for PI would be very interactive just like the other Idol websites because GMA7 is known for its mediocrity in websites.
- Louie Ignacio should have not directed this show since he is very fond of dramatizing musicals and turning it into a super sentimental carnival. His use of butterflies is not also appropriate for Pinoy Idol since he already vowed that he will still utilize his lucky charm on the show! Di naman lahat ng fan ng Idol eh bading at mahilig sa paro-paro! Wag naman sanang gawing baduy ang show. Ignacio’s reply to the growing clamor of the Idol fans for his removal was: “E di sila ang mag direct”. GMA 7 should see this as a challenge and show Mr. Ignacio that he is not just the only Director around. After all, sya lang naman ang nagagandahan sa butterflies. New director please!
- And of course, why only ages 16-28 are allowed to audition while in other Idol franchises they allow up to age 50? I do not know the logic but as we can see here in the Philippines, producers and networks are so superficial that they often base success in age and appearance. I think they could have gotten better participants if they somehow increased the age limit. This is not Teen idol, this is Pinoy Idol so every Filipino regardless of age should be given the chance to shine (except of course for minors). Wrong move tsk tsk..
GMA7 should have at least looked for other fresh faces, talents and style and should avoid transforming PI into a spin-off of Pinoy Pop Superstar because that show is good but too queer to use as a pattern for PI. PI has become too local which is also good but at the same time bad because the Idol Franchise is global. It should also appeal to the world and not to Philippines alone.
Generally speaking Pinoy Idol still needs to improve their show this coming weeks since majority of the viewers are not really that excited and impressed with GMA 7’s packaging of the PI (me included). Viewers can’t help but compare Pinoy Idol to its predecessor which is Philippine Idol. I hope they still have surprises in store this coming episodes for the viewers, so that PI would succeed. After all, Whilma Galvante (GMA 7’s top brass VP for entertainment) bragged that they will continue to refurbish franchised shows away from copying the original formats of other foreign versions. How come since from host to judges, contestants, director to publicity, they already made a very wrong move?
33 Comment(s)
By K on May 13, 2008 | Reply
What happened to the Philippine Idol format? Why changed it to Pinoy Idol? I remembered when I used to have my satellite, I’ve watched a few episodes of Phil Idol. It wasn’t Mau that I like from the bunch (seemed to me was the most overrated contestant), that guy named Ken or something did a pretty awesome job, kaso nga lang he was all over the place - I was sensing stage fright that took his dreams off the show.
Jolina and Guiterrez as the host just lack appeal to the show, IMO.
Ks last blog post..Tips on how to stop snoring
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By kengkay on May 13, 2008 | Reply
i cant relate kasi i dont really know how they do that in the US e. and i havent watched those from pinoy tvs kahit na in youtube. pero bilib ako sa analysis at sa mga suhestiyon mo
kengkays last blog post..Pfingsten = Pentecost = Bakasyon
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By ifoundme on May 13, 2008 | Reply
kuya naman…. galit ka ata kasi yung kababayan ninyong si mau nalimot na eh.. juk lang. nagulat nga ako na meron palang pinoy idol. the problem with GMA is that they really lack creativity and medyo hindi malakas hatak nila sa medyo higher classes so tingin ng iba eh it’s just another plain copycat show. walang originality.
ito pa isa. sobrang daming talented na pinoy sa pilipinas na hindi na didiscover because they have other criteria in letting you pass to another level. minsan yung isang friend ko na sobrang ganda ang boses (at kakaiba pa) eh hindi natanggap kasi raw walang makulay na story ang buhay nya. isa lang daw syang typical rich girl with a comfortable life. huh?!? napamura ako nun. ano kinalaman ng buhay nya sa pagkanta? kaya yang mga contest contest na yan… wala yan…
heniway, thanks for this post at nalaman ko na may pinoy idol pala sa GMA. kahit di ganun kaganda ang feedback eh manonood na lang ako. gusto ko kasi yung may nadidiscover na talent na naman ang pinas. talentado tayo eh. hehehe!
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By harry54 on May 13, 2008 | Reply
maybe there are some wrong moves, but Jolina is not questionable to be a judge for Pinoy idol due to the fact that she is a great singer, another thing is bluepanjeet what’s your problem if Pinoy Idol pemiered early or Pinoy idol premiered while the current season of american idol is still on, indonesian idol is also airing it early or airing it while the current season of american idol is still on, but yet indonesian idol became a huge succes in indonesia.
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By harry54 on May 13, 2008 | Reply
to ifoundme: hello creative kaya ang GMA sa Pinoy idol at hindi total copycat ang Pinoy Idol, sa Amercan Idol, ang hollywood week nila inaabot ng 5 days, habang sa Pinoy Idol ang Manila week ay inabot lang ng 3 days
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By iRonnie on May 13, 2008 | Reply
wala pa akong napapnood kahit isang episode. natyempuhan ko one time pero didnt bothered finishing it. nababaduyan ako. i see second rate copy cats all over. plus, AI7 is too exciting that PI can’t catch my attention away from it.
iRonnies last blog post..Review: Blog Oh! Blog
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By bluepanjeet on May 13, 2008 | Reply
Hello Zerman Camero, aka harry54.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Anyhow I just want to ask you if you know the essence of a blog? It is a venue where people can express everything they want to amidst joys and disappointments. In my case my disappointment with the Pinoy Idol. So I really have no problem in blogging my opinion about the show since this is my blog and I have all the right to blog anything that I think is worth the knowledge of the readers, thus I blog about the earlier airing of PI, no more no less.
Jolina is not a great singer. For you perhaps but not for me. Your taste is different from mine and I respect that. But nonetheless, even if you protest it won’t change the fact that Jolina is not that credible as a judge since she is not a hardcore singer but an actress turned singer or vice versa. PI needs a hardcore singer who is well experienced so as not to deviate the original charism of Idol selection.
Jolina can sing, there is no argument in that, but is she a singer? there is a big difference between the two.
In order for you to become a supervisor in nursing, you should be at least well experienced in the field. You cannot give the job to an entry level nurse. Same thing with Jolina and the burden of her job as an Idol Judge… Mahal man ang NFA rice pero sad to say marami pa syang kakaining bigas. Accept that pare!
Yet with all humility, I respect your opinion. Just stay tuned because I still have many more post to come about Pinoy Idol that will definitely make you blow fire haha. Post number one pa lang yan and marami pang kasunod yan hehe.
cheers.
bluepanjeets last blog post..Wrong move on Pinoy Idol?
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By bluepanjeet on May 13, 2008 | Reply
It was axed by FremantleMedia from ABC5 because off laxity and mediocrity of the station towards the growth of PI.
Yeah I do agree, Mau was overated.
hehe Gutierrez is too uptight. While Jolens is trying hard. I think I should post some vids here so that you guys can see what I’m talking about.
bluepanjeets last blog post..Wrong move on Pinoy Idol?
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By bluepanjeet on May 13, 2008 | Reply
it’s okay mommy kengs because even us viewers can’t also relate with jolens LOL. Maganda naman yung show because I won’t tire myself in analyzing it if I don’t have the enthusiasm to watch it. But then again there are some downsides that needs to be improved.
bluepanjeets last blog post..Wrong move on Pinoy Idol?
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By bluepanjeet on May 13, 2008 | Reply
haha hindi naman. I really don’t care if they consider mau or not because it won’t feed me. But then again at least they should have considered Mau because she already represented the Philippines in asian Idol which I did not watch. I’m not a fan of Mau nor Raymond sajor who is also from Lucena, nor Philippine Idol of ABC 5. Kapuso talaga ako butcomparing the two shows, mas maganda ang sa GMA7 marami nga lang dapat iimprove kasi viewers ang makakapagsabi at hindi director kung maganda ba ang palabas o hindi.
sorry for your friend. marami talagang ganyang experience dito. I remember that I still have to blog about it pa why Filipinos are often given breaks abroad than here in our country.
I don’t agree that GMA 7 is the only copycat since ABS CBN has more recycled shows than GMA. Between the two, ABS is much worse
bluepanjeets last blog post..Wrong move on Pinoy Idol?
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By bluepanjeet on May 13, 2008 | Reply
haha ako din AI ako nakatutok. nito nga lang ako nakapanood ng PI.
Baduy kasi nga si Raymond at si Jolens ang nandun. Iba iba siguro kung si Lea Salonga nakaupo dun o si Drew Arellano ang naghost.
bluepanjeets last blog post..Wrong move on Pinoy Idol?
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By bluepanjeet on May 13, 2008 | Reply
I think it’s because AI judges doesn’t interrupt the performance of the contestants unlike the PI judges who always say “Tama na” which is very unethical since they are not there to save time but to discover hidden talents no matter how long it takes.
bluepanjeets last blog post..Wrong move on Pinoy Idol?
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By ifoundme on May 13, 2008 | Reply
o sige na… creative na kung creative… pero tama nga si bluep nung sinabi nya na hindi credible enough to be a judge si jolina kasi hindi sya hinog na singer… parang kulang pa.. i think what GMA is trying to do is to have a paula abdul counterpart kasi patweetums… eh sana si ruffa mae quinto na lang nilagay nila dyan.o yan na naman…. baka may violent reaction na naman dyan… ito ay isang opinion lamang. pwedeng hindi ipakita to ni bluep… ok lang sakin.
“hindi total copycat” - ano ibig sabihin ng sinabi mong TOTAL? mukhang may tinamaan akong mga maka-GMA. LOL! hindi rin ako maka ABS-CBN kasi feeling ko parating one sided ang news nila. masyadong madrama mga news nila as if aping api sila lalo na ngayon na masyadong hot ang meralco. total mega defend ang ABS CBN kaya mga pare, peace tayo ha? kilitiin ko kayo eh. LOL!
bluep, pakisabi sa iba na hindi ako nakikpag away. i am just airing my opinion. kaya nga sinasabi ko manonood na ako kasi talent ng PINOY ang dinidiscover dito. kahit anong mangyari gusto ko pa rin inaangat ang bandera ng pilipinas sa kahit anong larangan.
kung di pa rin maintindihan to, eto na lang: MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS! hehehe!
ifoundmes last blog post..dream of me
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By manilenya on May 13, 2008 | Reply
nice review..hehehe wala akong masabi pwede ka na sa entertainment reviews ng mga broadsheets
manilenyas last blog post..Limbo
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By bluepanjeet on May 13, 2008 | Reply
masanay ka na IFM. Madami tlaga kokontra sa mga opinion natin. and it’s fun because we learn many things from each other. Hindi kasi blogger si mr. harry so akala nya this is another typical fan forum na pwede awayin ang nagsasabi ng opinyon. Pagpasensyahan mo na si harry. Bata pa kasi. Click mo na lang link nya at makikita mo na totoy mola pa sya. LOL.
Pero sa totoo lang nababaduyan ako sa sinulat kong ito LOL Pakiramdam ko ginagawa kong Fan Forum ito ng ABS at GMA haha. Pero ayus lang sayang ang traffic lalo na’t dalawa blog na nakapikup ng story na to starting last night.
bluepanjeets last blog post..Wrong move on Pinoy Idol?
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By bluepanjeet on May 13, 2008 | Reply
hahaha nadisappoint lang ako kasi ang ganda ng AI pero pumaltos ng kaunti dito sa PI. Hindi naman talaga ako mahilig manuood ng local networks. pang HBO talaga ako at Cinemax. Pero PI lang talaga ang sinusundan ko kasi interesting kung sino ang mananalo. Soon there will be survivor philippines and mas interesting yun.
salamat sa dalaw ate bebe
bluepanjeets last blog post..Wrong move on Pinoy Idol?
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By ifoundme on May 13, 2008 | Reply
ok lang po. kasi ang problema sanay din ako madadadakdak.. in other words, i will always have something to say. LOL! para masaya, manonood na lang ako ng paborito kong cartoons… TOTALLY SPIES… hihihih!
ifoundmes last blog post..dream of me
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By manilenya on May 13, 2008 | Reply
hahaha, me bago na kong pangalan, ate bebe lol! okey lang yan, maganda yan kasi di ko napapanood e, paborito kong panoorin dati yun Pinoy Pop Superstar
jologs ako e lol!
manilenyas last blog post..Limbo
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By kuri on May 14, 2008 | Reply
well said pare, well said!
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By harry54 on May 14, 2008 | Reply
Jolina is a great singer no matter how you can express it, she’s amazing, and also talented in acting and hosting, now she can prove you wrong about her judging duties as the weeks go by for Pinoy Idol, I don’t care how you express your thoughts in blogging, but if you say something bad to Pinoy idol, I will defend Pinoy Idol No matter what happened.
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By harry54 on May 14, 2008 | Reply
3 days is enough for now
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By harry54 on May 14, 2008 | Reply
Raymond is not baduy, he’s plain fine for the hosting job, he has experience hosting another reality show and that is STARSTRUCK since season 3 of STARSTRUCK, he also hosts starstruck with Jolina and Dingdong
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By bluepanjeet on May 14, 2008 | Reply
thanks again for visiting my humble blog.
So you shouldn’t be here making petty arguments. You should be on the SHOW! there sitting under the table with Jolens. LOL
I appreciate your Loyalty to Pinoy Idol but then again it is misplaced. Ganyan ka din ba sa friends mo na kahit mali tinotolerate mo?
I am not against GMA, hell I am a fan of bubble gang, but yous hould be open minded because there should be constructive criticisms and not blind loyalty.
I will bet my organ (yamaha) that you won’t love PI and hate it for life if they showed a nude picture of you LOL
I applaued you for being a typical fanatic… LOL
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By bluepanjeet on May 14, 2008 | Reply
no no. it’s not enough. they should be holding auditions for 1 year LOL
bluepanjeets last blog post..Please all RICE!
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By bluepanjeet on May 14, 2008 | Reply
Baduyyyyyyyyy si Raymond… LOL
bluepanjeets last blog post..Please all RICE!
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By bluepanjeet on May 14, 2008 | Reply
Yeah I agree. hehe tawa nga ako ng tawa dito kay Mr. Harry Footer eh LOL Kwela as in Batibot.
bluepanjeets last blog post..Please all RICE!
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By bluepanjeet on May 14, 2008 | Reply
Salamat pare and welcome nga pala sa aking blog. Come back anytime.
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By Laarni on May 15, 2008 | Reply
Very nice. I also think it’s a bad timing. I think until now, hindi parin pinag uusapan ang PI eh.
Wyngard is too, i don’t know, OA? OA version ni Simon actually. Kasi si Simon magagalit ka tlga sa kanya minsan sa pag bitaw ng mga words nya pero hindi dahil gusto nyang awayin ung mga contestants pero nagbibigay sya ng fair criticsm. si Wyngard hindi eh.
ah ewan. di ko maexplain. hahaha. David Cook!
Laarnis last blog post..I love checking out women?s tush
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By andrewPelago on May 15, 2008 | Reply
I don’t watch that show. I like the first PI on ABC… Ryan is better than Raymond. Hindi ko rin trip ang reality shows ng GMA.
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By chuvaness on May 15, 2008 | Reply
yeah, ryan is far better than raymond…i’ve seen the pilot episode..mas maganda un philippine idol ng ch 5…
very trying hard!!!
chuvanesss last blog post..The Pearl Farm Experience
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By mixglorioso on May 20, 2008 | Reply
Eto pala yung post mo na naikwento mo sakin na may “not-so-violent” reaction. Hmm… what can I say?… at least nag-iwan siya ng link ng friendster niya at hindi siya naduduwag gaya nung iba na nagkokomento, pero siguro nga he missed the point na blog ito at hindi ito IhatejolinaandpinoyidolatGMA7[dot]com hahaha!
“Kalayaang magpahayag” hindi yan uso sa friendster, ang uso diyan ay yung glitter comments at walang katapusang slideshow ng pictures (na nakakaaliw naman pag minsan) at ang pagmamakaawa na maglagay naman ng testi haha!
Wala na akong sasabihin, ipagpapaubaya ko na lang sa bratatatat na 2000 words per minute ni ifoundme. hahaha!
mixgloriosos last blog post..Fiesta Despedida! Eto Ang Sayo 3rd month special!
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By preciouspurple1 on Jun 2, 2008 | Reply
Idols are human so its normal if you will see them cry like a crocodile, most of them are overwhelmed with nerves and getting use to spotlight so we should’nt pick on any of them… as for the show i loved it i like idols show..
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By bluepanjeet on Jun 2, 2008 | Reply
hello precious purple
do you even know what crocodile tears are?
it’s an idiomatic expression meaning you are faking your tears. How the hell on earth could a human person fake their tears?
i think you got everything wrong baby. Do not take it literally because sometimes we write deeper than hat you expect (now I’m really laughing!).
bluepanjeets last blog post..My Summer 2008 (part 2): My own underdog
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