Akademi Fantasia or simply known as AF is Malaysia's first reality show, which brought big changes to the Malaysian entertainment scene in the year 2003, when the first season of the show aired by Astro Ria. At the beginning, 12 contestants (called students) will stay in a house called "Akademi" and spend their whole time practicing songs, acting and other activities that are related to performing arts. The classes are held by professional trainers (called teachers) that form part of a faculty. The host of the show is Aznil Hj Nawawi, a popular Malaysian TV host. He is known for adding humour to the proceedings and will retire as a TV host for AF as of the end of the season 5. The academy is lead by the "Principal". For the past 4 seasons of the show, the principal has changed every year. The 5th season of the show ended recently on the 19th of May 2007. The format of the show is taken from "La Academia", which originated in Mexico. Malaysia is the first country in Southeast Asia to have its own version of this show, and it has subsequently been followed by Indonesia and Thailand, all of which have been received better than the regional reach of the Idol series. Winners of the series have all gone on to become the biggest selling music acts in Malaysia, with even former contestants making themselves a permanent fixture in the local music industry. The winners of the first four seasons have been Vince Chong, Zahid, Mawi and Faizal who are among the biggest names in the music scene. The show just made history by naming its first female champion, Mila.
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Format
The contestants for Akademi Fantasia are selected through auditions nationwide. Sometimes, there are some additional contestants selected via a special case concert right before the beginning of a season, for example Mawi of Akademi Fantasia 3. The contestants will undergo special rehab classes such as vocal ,English , acting and choreography trained by professionals (usually Malaysian trainers). They will train for the sake of being shown on tv everyday for weekly concerts which are usually held on Saturday. The judgement system totally depends on audiences SMS votes and Astro decoder votes (Astro users may need to connect their decoders to the phone line to vote) which costs RM0.50 per vote, where the contestants with the lowest SMS votes will be eliminated every week. There are about 10 weeks for each season and the final contestants who survives during the 9-week period will make it to the final concert in the 10th week.
Controversy
- The main controversy during Akademi Fantasia season is about the judging system which is solely depending on SMS and Astro decoder votes. The judging system is heavily criticized because of allegations that most of the audience only vote their favorite contestants based on their looks rather than their talents.
Season listings
Season 1 (2003)
- Principal: Freddie Fernandez
- Champions: Vince Chong
- Second Place: Khai
- Third Place: Azizi
- Finalists: Nija, Liza
- Other Contestants: Sahri, Nana, Rosma, Burn, Atie, Adi, Azza
Notes: Liza was eliminated at the end of the very 1st AF Concert, but was then allowed to continue the journey in AF. Thus, making no elimination in the 1st week.
Season 2 (2004)
- Principal: Ramli M.S.
- Champions: Zahid
- Second Place: Linda
- Third Place: Adam
- Finalists: Farah, Bob, Kaer
- Other Contestants: Mas, Nurul, Zarina, Anding, Fitri, Edlin
Notes: Linda was eliminated at the end of the 8th Concert. However, she received the most AFMASUK votes to be back into AF at the beginning of the final week.
Season 3 (2005)
- Principal: M. Nasir
- Champions: Mawi
- Second Place: Felix
- Third Place: Amylea
- Finalists: Marsha
- Other Contestants: Kefli, Yazer, Akma, Ekin, Aidil, Amy, Reza, Idayu, Fuad, Elliza
Notes: Mawi and Marsha were not among the original 12 contestants selected from a bunch of 20 after the Konsert Prelude. Both of them were selected to become the 13th and 14th contestant at the end of the 1st Concert.
Season 4 (2006)
- Principal: Ramli Sarip
- Champions: Faizal
- Second Place: Lotter
- Third Place: Farhan
- Finalists: Haziq, Velvet
- Other Contestants: Amirul, Diddy, Salima, Zila, Rich, Karen, Nora
Notes: Lotter was eliminated at the end of the 7th Concert. On the 9th Concert, which is a special concert by all the eliminated contestants, he received the most AFMASUK votes and thus allowing himself to become a student in AF again.
Season 5 (2007)
- Principal: Roslan Aziz
- Champion: Mila
- Second Place: Ebi
- Third Place: Aswad
- Finalists: Heliza, Candy
- Other Contestants: Shawal, Dafi, Aizat, Rizal, Dekna, Noni, Farha, Fatin, Afiq, Diya, Zana
Notes: Zana quit before the 1st Concert.
