One in a Million (season 3)

The preliminary auditions for season three of One in a Million were held in the following locations:

This time, auditions were open to hopefuls aged 16 to 32, compared to the previous season's 18-30 limit. Besides these, pre-audition road shows were held in these cities (two weeks before their respective auditions), featuring promotions for One in a Million and performances by OIAM alumni from both past seasons.

All preliminary auditions were preceded by different judges. Those who qualified from the auditions underwent another audition stage in Berjaya Times Square on 30 November and 1 December, where they met Paul Moss and Syafinaz. The telecast on 8TV began with footage from this stage, unlike in previous seasons which began with the individual preliminary auditions.

Not unlike in previous seasons, artistes who still or used to hold recording contracts were still welcome, but this time around, they skipped the preliminary auditions to participate on the main audition on 1 December,[4] in the Gardens Hotel, Mid Valley.[5] Among those who qualified included Norafizah Mohd Yasin, winner of TV3's Mentor; Tomok, lead vocalist of New Boyz; Amylea Azizan, Akademi Fantasia alumnus.

Only eighty have qualified into the Central Eliminations round held in Peninsula Residence, Damansara from 11 till 19 December[2] (aired on 6 and 13 February). A major twist in this season is the Blind Test, in which contestants performed behind a paper screen, only to have their shadows seen by the judges which focused on their voices, brought forward as the first challenge. According to Moss, he and Syafinaz would have found it more effective to sort out the more desirable voices. 20 have been eliminated from this stage.

Secondly, came the group singing in which the remaining sixty formed into groups of six or seven, each of which are all of the same gender. The female groups chose between One Step at a Time (Jordin Sparks) and Cinta di Akhir Garisan (Ziana Zain); while the males had Juwita (Citra Terindah) (M. Nasir) or My Girl (The Temptations). Another 20 were sent packing after this test.

The remaining forty were divided into the Top 20 and Bottom 20 based on the judges' evaluation, after which each of the Top 20 picked an MP3 player from a table, studies the song in it, and chose a duet partner from the Bottom 20. Paul Moss remarked had he been in the Top 20, he would pick a weaker contestant to gain an edge into the next stage. Having said that, the twenty best finalists were selected not based on being the better in their respective pairs.

The Central Eliminations concluded with a one-on-one final evaluation in which each contestant went on stage either alone or in a pair, sang on their own in front of the judges, each contestant was shown their fate immediately after their performance ends. As is of the previous seasons, only 12 make it into the competition rounds.

The competitive performances are held every Friday, going on-air at 9.30 pm, beginning 20 February 2009, in Sri Pentas 2, Plaza Alam Sentral, Shah Alam. The surprise of the season is, each week from Top 12 till Top 7, an immunity will be granted to the week's best performer as per judges' evaluation, which exempts him/her from the voting sessions, thus guaranteeing him/her a spot in each coming week's performances. As usual, voting lines open only after the show, with which viewers send in SMSes to vote in or out each contestant. The finalist with the lowest votes leaves at the beginning of each coming week's show.

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