Zul Othman
Today Online

Shinoda and his Fort Minor band spring a S'pore Idol surprise

It was the biggest surprise of Fort Minor's concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium last Wednesday: Almost halfway through the gig, frontman Mike Shinoda invited 2004 Singapore Idol finalist Jeassea K Thyidor on stage for a rendition of Where'd You (a track from the debut album The Rising Tied). Singing parts originally done by Holly Brook, Thyidor charmed the crowd with her powerful voice — making the appearance one of the many high points in the 90-minute, hip-hop themed show. "It was a last-minute decision. I only knew about the slot a couple of hours before the show," Thyidor revealed to Today later.

"I met some people from their local recording company and they sounded out the possibility of singing with Fort Minor two days ago," added the 26-year-old singer. "Apparently the band usually works with a singer wherever they play, but this is the second time they've done it on this Asian tour," the bubbly songstress said. "The crowd response was phenomenal, everybody seemed to be happy so it was a really joy to perform with them."

Indeed, the capacity crowd lapped up every moment Shinoda and his 10-man entourage — which included a DJ, drummer, backing singers and, interestingly for a hip-hop combo, a violinist — had to offer. While Shinoda may be keen to market Fort Minor as a separate entity, he knows that he can never escape his Linkin Park affiliations. Therefore, In The End (the third single from Linkin Park's 2000 debut album Hybrid Theory) gets an airing.

One questions the rationale of that decision: It takes the fire away from Shinoda's more-than-competent backing band, and ultimately provides a major distraction from Fort Minor's equally toe-tapping material.