It was the launch of the first pure "digital album" in Singapore, with Olinda and Taufik putting up immaculate performances that wowed the cosy crowd of journalists at Velvet Underground this afternoon. But their boss, Ken Lim, failed to live up to his reputation of being a straight shooter who tells it as it is. Perhaps he had to be diplomatic, considering it was a joint collaboration between StarHub, Sony Ericsson and Hype Records.

But lets talk more about the launch first. Olinda and Taufik are each releasing five new singles which will be sold only in digital format, meaning they won't be cutting any CDs. Fans, like me, can buy the songs going for S$1.99 each at StarHub's PLAY music portal, while HUB ID users (basically StarHub customers) get it for S$1.79 each. The songs are DRM-protected, so you can burn into a CD 10x and copy unlimited times to your WMA DRM-supported MP3 player, but you can't copy into a thumb drive or send it via email.

So if you want to use it as a ringtone on your phone, you have to go for over-the-air downloads. The ringtones cost S$2.50 each, call tones S$2 and MMS wallpapers S$1.50. i-mode users get them free. Sony Ericsson also launched its new K610im i-mode phone, and if you buy this phone, it comes with two free preloaded tracks from Olinda/Taufik.

I was really impressed listening to Olinda belting out You Don't Have to Say You Love Me. She was fabulous. Taufik was pretty good too, doing his snazzy new song All Because of You.

Ken however was not so hot. He had his usual cool, nonchalant look, of course. But when a reporter asked him why he was choosing to go digital he went something like "you have to go digital sooner or later". And when another reporter asked about the threats of online piracy, he gave a "consumer education is important" answer. On why he chose to work with StarHub, he said he had a good experience working with StarHub in the past.

I missed the cutting-to-the-point remarks of my one of favorite TV personalities. Today what I saw was a performance, not the "brutally honest" Ken Lim that has made so many fans out there. Unfortunately it was a performance that I have seen in so many press conferences before, and no better, too. It was, in short, a "forgettable" performance. But you know maybe that's why Ken is so likeable, even though his smiles are lacking. He is best when he is himself, and not when trying to be someone else.

Today, he was not himself.