TV musical programmes, in particular top-10 hits shows, easily catch my fancy these days. After all, I'm still young at heart. Moreover, these programmes are indeed entertaining and help me forget the harsh reality of Malaysian politics.

Besides, these programmes are easy to watch as they, unlike some talk shows that nervously try or feign to be a wee bit critical politically, are placed on prime time, not at 3pm, nigh midnight or some other unearthly hours. Allow me to explain further.

First, these pop music programmes, unlike some pretentious TV news bulletins, provide fun out of a relatively clean competition. For instance, the RIM hit show is based on the sales of CDs or cassettes in participating music stores during a particular time period around the country.

In other words, singers and bands who made it to the top of the popularity ladder are the ones whose respective fans crave for, a situation which is reflected by the overall sales of their CDs and cassettes. For instance, Mariah Carey and Boyzone may have attained the two top notches in a particular week after battling it out with other equally contestable candidates such as Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears.

Second, there are times when the competition can get very intense and interesting, particularly when oldies such as crooner Tom Jones, surfing Beach Boys, mama Tina Turner and old hand Eric Clapton, could still display their mettle by elbowing their way to the top.

In addition, an old number stands an equal chance of reaching to the top especially if it is given a new rendition, or, in the hip, modern musical parlance, a re-mix mode. Hence, an old Pink Floyd's song, for instance, may get a rap treatment for the present-day audience.

Third, these music programmes are not only enjoyable but also, to a large extent, democratic.

Imagine, for instance, a ruling by the contest organiser to bar artistes from contesting the two top notches would have robbed us of the excitement and our well-deserved satisfaction.

Worse still, you would then be confronted with some music analysts or reviewers on TV who would try at pains to justify the no-contest dictate. Imagine them chanting that the ruling is to preserve unity among the artistes and strengthen the music industry.

The same goes with our local Malay artistes. Many of them, such as Siti Nurhaliza, Ziana Zain, Sheila Majid, Ning Baizura, Awie, KRU and M. Nasir, to name but a few, would get to the top positions essentially due to their musical and artistic talents. To be sure, their popularity and achievements would have less to do with the government's much-touted NEP than their sheer talents and crowd-pulling prowess.

In fact, these artistes have a lot of fans and supporters to be grateful to. For they not only buy the CDs and cassettes concerned, but also make song requests, wear their fans T-shirts, go to concerts of their favourite artistes, vote their respective artistes in a song competition, and stay vigil if and when their popular artistes fall seriously ill.

Which is why you often hear many of the grateful celebrities and pop icons uttering, "I'll sing and entertain for as long as my fans need me."

Fourth, what is heartening is that most artistes who eventually get eased out of the hit charts take the rough entertainment world in their stride. To them, it's part of the game. There is no place for sour grapes here because the only way to reach to the top again is to work harder and to be better than their fellow contenders.

It would indeed be ludicrous for those entertainers who have lost out to take a vengeful stance to, for example, call for a ban on the airwaves of fellow artistes' songs that are currently a rave among music lovers. An even worse scenario would be that of a disgruntled local singer pointing an accusing finger at consummate foreign artistes or local music critics.

Fifth, almost all of the musical TV programmes these days primarily play more on images than the content of the songs concerned. Which is fine by me as this is very much in synch with many aspects of our lives today. In politics, for example, many of the politicians rely heavily on their media images more than their, if any, political and professional capabilities. In addition, political sloganeering satisfies our sensate culture more than serious debates and argumentation.

Thus, in a video clip, you'd get a group of pop singers crooning in a crowded subway train, making a monkey of themselves, and yet your mind is easily swayed by their antics rather than the song they sing. In another clip, you may be simply bowled over by the fact that your pop idol wears almost no clothes, a trademark that he cherishes and flaunts, and one that his fans adore almost blindly.

Finally, many top singers and other entertainers of yesteryears have often made way gracefully for aspiring, young talents in their desire to see a constant rejuvenation of the entertainment world.

Otherwise, if one needs reminding, singers and musicians of tomorrow might be in, to borrow an old rock group's name, Dire Straits.