In her own words, she has been in the industry so long - eight years singing in clubs before her Idol experience in 2004 and eight years since then - she feels her Mania competitors are like "babies".

But don't get her wrong. That doesn't mean she thinks she has the RM500,000 (S$205,000) grand prize locked up.

"Oh, I'm all prepared to lose," she said. "I've already thought about that possibility.

"With this kind of show, it's always a challenge. What defines the best singer? The best style of singing is so subjective."

Mania is hosted by Malaysian comedian and radio host Aznil Haji Nawawi.

Indonesian rocker and producer Ahmad Dhani, veteran singer Datuk M Nasir and music producer Aubrey Suwito take on mentorship duties on the show.

They get to form their own "empires" - green, red and blue respectively - of five singers whom they picked in the earlier rounds of the show.

After the producers get their pick, the singers work on songs with them, eventually performing it live on the show on Saturday, and then await judgment by viewers' SMS votes.

For contestants like Hafiz, 22, the winner of the seventh season of Akademi Fantasia, the show is a great platform to further his nascent career.

In the three years since his win, Hafiz, whose full name is Mohd Hafiz Mohd Suip, has swept key awards at the prestigious Anugerah Juara Lagu and Anugerah Planet Muzik, including Best Song (Malaysia) and Best Song overall for the latter.

"I don't feel too pressured about the competition on the show," he said over the phone from Kuala Lumpur.

"I'm quite excited about getting to work with the mentors and finding out how much more I can improve."

Unlike Victor, Hafiz will be gamely tweeting and Facebook-sharing his way to a hopeful win.

But the natural question for Victor is: At this stage of her career, does she even need the show?

She said: "I've had my share of screaming fans. I know I can sing.

"But on a scale of one to 10 for popularity, I think I'm below a five."

Her pride is constantly being tempered by mixed reviews of her performances.

"Some people say I don't kill it enough, some people say I go overboard," she said.

"I know I can't please everyone, so I'm learning not to care too much. I want to focus on what makes me feel good."

To that end, Mania may become a platform for Victor to experiment musically.