A week before the grand finals on Dec. 15 and 16, Philippines bet Mau Marcelo is leading the pack in an online poll conducted by the official Asian Idol website. View current results after the jump...

To date, Marcelo has 35.13 percent from the total votes cast of 6,080 respondents. She is followed by Indonesia’s Mike Mohede (the host contestant) with 31.64%; Vietnam’s Phuong Vy, with 15.18%; Singapore’s Hady Mirza, 9.84 percent; Malaysia’s Jaclyn Victor, 7.35 percent; and India’s Abhijeet Sawant, 0.86 percent.

Perci Intalan, ABC 5’s head of Creative and Entertainment Production, said that the result of the online poll was largely indicative of the contestants’ current standing in the regional contest which is being held in Jakarta, Indonesia for the first time.

Apparently, last year’s “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks, “Australian Idol” champ Guy Sebastian (Angels Brought Me Here) and Filipino band Rivermaya had been invited to perform in the regional tilt. So far, Guy Sebastian is the only one confirmed.

Voting system

According to the web site, viewers will be asked to vote for two contestants to eliminate “population size … as a determining factor. It takes into account any potential national bias.”

The system was formulated by FremantleMedia, “Idol” franchise holder, to ensure a level playing field. This system was also used in determining the winner of World Idol 5 years ago.

If you read my previous post “Meet the Asian Idol Contestants” and watched the video, you probably know by now (even before the competition proper) that Mau Marcelo is in a different league.

So here’s our game plan to ensure Mau’s victory in the regional meet:

Vote for Mau Marcelo (of course) as first choice and the weakest candidate Abhijeet Sawant of India as second. This is perfect if the voter will come from Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Singapore. So if you have a relative working in any of the 5 countries mentioned, tell them to watch Asian Idol in their local channel and vote.

Warning: If you only vote for Mau and leave the second slot empty, your vote will be considered null and void.

ON AIR SCHEDULE OF ASIA IDOL

India on Sony Entertainment TV
:: Main Show Saturday Dec 15 To be confirmed
:: Results Sunday Dec 16 11pm-1am

Indonesia on RCTI
:: Road To Asian Idol Mondays – Fridays 24 November – 14
December 16.30 – 17.00

Malaysia on 8TV
Main Show Saturday Dec 15 10pm-12am
Results Sunday Dec 16 10pm-12am

Philippines on ABC5
Main Show Saturday Dec 15 8pm-10pm
Results Sunday Dec 16 9pm-10pm

Singapore on MediaCorp TV
Main Show Saturday Dec 15 10pm-12am
Results Sunday Dec 16 10pm-12am

Vietnam on HTV9
Main Show Saturday Dec 15 9pm
Results Sunday Dec 16 9pm