What is the most that you have lost from a mispronunciation? For Muhammad Shalehan, it was a $7,000 prize from a radio show – until the celebrity whose name he was said to have mispronounced stepped in and brought justice for Shalehan.
Shalehan, who is a native Singaporean, called into a national radio show called Gold 905 in Singapore. Listeners were asked to identify 14 musicians just through their voices for a prize of 10,000 Singaporean dollars, just over $7,000.
As an avid music lover, Shalehan was the first to get all the answers correctly. However, in a decision that has stirred one of the strangest controversies in Singapore, the radio station adjudicated that Shalehan mispronounced the name of Tony Hadley, 80s front man for Spandau Ballet.
Weeks later, the station gave the prize to another listener who finally got the answers correctly. Many Singaporeans protested this decision, saying that Shalehan had been robbed of his prize. However, the station was adamant in saying that they have made their decision.
However, the tides quickly turned when a certain expert of Hadley stepped in – Hadley himself. Hadley said he heard of the news as he was self-isloating in his home in England and said he initially thought it was some kind of joke that was circulating around the internet.
After getting a hold of the situation, Hadley didn’t find any issues with the way Shalehan had pronounced his name. Soon after, he released a video online where he endorsed Shalehan and the way Shalehan had pronounced his name.
The singer’s admission eventually sealed the deal for Shalehan, who felt very angry that the station refused to give him what he rightfully earned just because his accent was too strong.
Before Hadley stepped in himself, Shalehand and Singaporean online users lobbied hard to get his reward. The station went so far as to post on Facebook an audio file that compared the pronunciations.
At one point, the station caved in a little and said that they would like to recognize Shalehan’s passion by offering him a much smaller prize. Shalehan said that this ‘consolation prize’ just further angered him because he knew he was right and deserved the full reward.
In the end, all wrongs were corrected. Hadley said it surprised him that this would incident would go global, and said it is probably because everyone wanted some good news. Share your thoughts with us in the comments, and be sure to follow us on Facebook for more good news!
Replaced!