At last the final Akademi Fantasia concert crowned Mawi officially as the winner of the third season. He had garnered almost a third of the weekly votes consistently with adoring and countless fans country wide.
What made him such a phenomenon? A conbination of boy next door looks and humble down to earth attitude. He was not even in the first batch of students but was recalled as one of the surprises from the organisers - the other person was Marsha who also made good by being placed fourth.
Mawi's almost all encompassing popularity was one of the reasons that triggered debates on the relevance of reality shows. As usual some quarters felt the shows were too Western oriented but I'm sure everything was done above board especially since this is Malaysia. Anyone and everyone tend to self censor themselves. But there are some who are willing to take chances and try their luck pushing the boundaries of accepted behaviour.
Mawi's supporter tend to be fanatical about him since he is their idol with that wholesome image. Will he be the male version of Siti Nurhaliza? Only time can tell.
