Getting The Goss On Moss

SOURCE:NEW STRAIT TIMES

IF YOU WANT TO GET MR MALAYSIAN idol, Paul Raymond Moss, 41, to flash his warm Kiwi smile at you, engage him in conversations about rugby, vintage cars, Liverpool FC, vintage racing simulations (on the computer), his wife, and Siti Nurhaliza. In that order! Yes, bad news for his legions of female fans out there – the man IS "well and truly" married. And as for Siti, well, she's got a fan in him. Remember the star-struck look he sported when he found himself seated next to her during one of the spectaculars? "I didn't know she was going to be on the show," Moss attempts swift deflection. "We thought we weren't going to have anybody turning up and 30 seconds later, there she was " next to me!" Sheepishly, he asks: "Did it really show? I had never met her before so it was nice. She's really smart. We talked, joked and then I found out she's a Liverpool fan too. So she's REALLY smart!" It's nice when Moss loosens up. Gone are the wary eyes and initial reticence. This incredibly driven Network Brand director of 8TV is actually very animated when he gets going. Mr Nasty? No way. A down-to-earth, happy-go-lucky chap, Auckland-born Moss likes nothing more than just having a good laugh and catching up with the rugby. "A big thing for me every year has got to be the rugby season," he says enthusiastically. "The National Provincial Championships, the Tri-Nations, the Super 12s " just name it. I guess I'm just a Kiwi guy at heart." But if there's one thing that he's picked up from his 10-year plus stay here in Malaysia that's DEFINITELY un-Kiwi, it's his penchant for shopping malls. As he sheepishly admits: "It's not a very 'manly' thing to do nor do Kiwis subscribe to this, but I really do enjoy hanging out at shopping malls! I like wandering around and checking out new shops; basically I enjoy window-shopping. And I love bookshops." If he's not hitting the books, he's racing. Simulation racing, that is. Eyes dancing with excitement, Moss attempts to make converts of us. "It's really cool. I play vintage racing simulations on the computer. There's a whole network of people from all around the world playing and we've modelled these games so you can actually play them back in '65, '67, '55 versions of these cars." Animated, he continues: "I've got friends in Argentina, the US, UK, Germany and we work on these projects and get them up for the wider community and we race. There's a lot of expertise going on, We have guys from NASA, and even ex-British Leyland computer simulation guys working on it." Moss is also a car buff. "I love old cars," he confides. "I hope to retire one day in New Zealand and have a collection of old sports cars." And what is he driving now? "A Toyota Camry," he chuckles. "I don't exactly want to break down in the middle of the highway. And we've only got limited car space at our apartment so I guess it's not practical to have extra cars!" Before Moss could go off tangent and talk about cars for the rest of the afternoon, I swiftly turn the conversation to Malaysian Idol. It's a good move as he smiles and confides: "I'm glad the show did really well. I was actually a bit reluctant to come on board at the beginning but Izham (Ahmad Izham Omar, 8TV's Chief Operating Officer) managed to persuade me by saying that it would make the show better." Moss was worried that he would no longer be able to walk around freely without people looking at him one way or another. "Thankfully, a lot of my fears were unfounded. It's been OK. Some of the kids I SLAMMED on the show actually sought me out later and told me that they appreciated my comments. Even the kid I told off for sounding like "cat vomit'!" What's all this Simon Cowell-esque act then? "We had to be honest," he explains. "When you are in that position and you've just got a very small amount of time to actually say something that is relevant to things which had been said before so that you're not repeating yourself week after week, it's necessary. On top of your own opinion, you have to take into account what the other judges have said too." Did he understand what Roslan and Gee were saying, particularly the Malay parts? "I did, generally, and sometimes even the details," he nods, before breaking into a grin. "People would say it's obvious that I didn't understand because I'd be saying something different. And I'd tell them, even if they were speaking English, I'd say something else. I just stuck to what I thought!" Any major disagreements? "Oh, definitely," Moss chuckles. "And they were usually quite long too! I remember in KL, Roslan and I had this fist-slamming-on-the-table sort of argument for a while which, on hindsight, was completely unrelated to the actual talent on display. It was simply about how long he was taking to explain a point or something. "I was like, ëIt's just pointless talking so long, it's not going to get on TV', and he's like, ëI don't care, I just want to say it!' In retrospect, what the hell was I going on about? It was actually a production issue and none of my business really. He wants to talk " talk!" Was it tough doing Malaysian Idol? Moss shakes his head. "But I do recall having to sit through this particularly bad audition in JB. I must have been in a bad mood or something and the whole thing pissed me off. It was just one bad performance after another. There were all so horrible and I just didn't want to be there! "But then again, I've sat through some bad auditions and actually enjoyed myself! I guess that afternoon was REALLY bad " the auditions, the heat. Do you know that it's stiflingly hot in that small room that we sit in? Maybe you don't pick up on it on TV but you wonder why we look a bit worse for wear sometimes. Every five minutes and we'd be asking, ëIs the aircon on?" Thankfully, everything has worked out well, right down to the chosen Idol. Was Jac your personal favourite? An apologetic look and: "WellÖ it was actually Nikki," admits Moss. "I admired her raw talent. But at certain points I realised she wasn't going to be Malaysia's favourite. The connection wasn't quite there. "As for Jac, I always thought she was going to be classy and do a good job but I wasn't sure whether people were going to relate to her too." With Malaysia baying for Fantasia's (Barrino " American Idol winner) blood, who's your money on? "Oh, honestly? he poses incredulously, "Fantasia I'm afraid. It's not like you're comparing apples and apples. She's just special. The uniqueness of her voice, her styling. She only does one thing but she does it amazingly well. She doesn't just have the X-factor, she is a really focused artist. I believe this will be the challenge for BMG and Jac herself " to present a more focused Jac."