Four Stars are born Asia-wide contest

WITH MORE than 600,000 online votes cast, the winners of this year’s “Project Aloft Star, Amplified by MTV” music talent contest have been revealed.
They are Soph Retief for Southeast Asia, which covers Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand; Wang Dazhi (a.k.a. Big Tattoo) for Greater China, which covers China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, Brown Whale for South Korea, and After Acoustics for India. 
The competition was set up to |identify and support the hottest emerging music performers in these markets. 
The top five finalists for each cluster performed at the finals held at Aloft Hotels in September in Guangzhou for Greater China, Seoul for South Korea, Bengaluru for India, and Bangkok for Southeast Asia in front of a live audience and a panel of judges comprising of representatives from Aloft, MTV, and music industry experts. 
The entries, with more than 500 original songs, were evaluated on music composition and song-writing skills, international appeal, originality and creativity, technical skill, “wow” factor, showmanship, and stage presence. 
Last year’s winners, Gusian Yu, Run Pussy Run, and Jenny & The Scallywags were special guest |performers at the Greater China, India, and Southeast Asia finals |respectively.
Each cluster winner walked away with a US$10,000 (Bt350,000) cash prize and will be part of the MTV Seen videos of the finals, and profiled in individual winner vignettes to be featured on the |competition website projectaloftstar.mtvasia.com. 
Wang Dazhi (a.k.a. Big Tattoo) will also be showcased in a segment on MTV TLC airing on MTV China. After Acoustics will embark on a |five-city tour with Mixtape, India’s premier artist management company. 
As well, the MTV Seen video of the Greater China finals will air on the MTV Taiwan and MTV China channels from October 14. The MTV Seen video of the Southeast Asia finals will air on the MTV Asia channel from October 21. 
“Aloft is a brand built for early adopters who seek the newest trends in technology, design and music,” said Vincent Ong, Senior brand director, Asia Pacific |Brand Management, Marriott International. “Since its introduction three years ago, Project Aloft Star has seen remarkable success in identifying the next generation of talent showcasing Asia at its best through original music representing the cultural and social diversity that is so rich in this region. 
“With the music competition growing immensely stronger into its third year, Aloft Hotels has set itself apart in the hospitality industry as the leading platform for supporting talented musicians.”
Wang Dazhi said: “Thank you Aloft and MTV for organising this competition to give us independent artists a platform and the opportunity to showcase our work. I also want to thank the judges and all the staff who worked behind the scenes. I will definitely continue singing Chinese hip hop.” 
In 2015, Wang Dazhi was nominated for the “Abbey Road Music Award” for his annual solo EP, Hip Hop Album of the Year, and Hip Hop Musician of the Year. He created the Shandong Hip Hop Alliance at the end of 2015.
After Acoustics, the winner for India, was formed in 2014 and takes inspiration from Mumford and Son. They compose peppy, foot-tapping country songs that make the |audience sing along. 
What sets them apart is their multi-instrumentalist who replaces a drummer and plays the bass drum and acoustic guitar along with singing at the same time. In the early stage of their career, they won the Channel [V] Launchpad 2015 national competition. 
“We’re so happy to be the India winner of Project Aloft Star, amplified by MTV. We had a wonderful night and received great hospitality. Thank you MTV and Aloft!” said one band member. 
Brown Whale from South Korea feels music is like the ocean and they would like to be a whale that |is the biggest and the longest-|living animal in the endless ocean |of music. They do music that has |a particular melody and beat but|is flexible depending on the mood. 
They would like to have various types of communication with the audience using the flexibility of |jazz and uniqueness of Korean |traditional music. “We will continue to do music that isn’t just one-way but interactive and communicative.”
Soph Retief from Singapore, the winner for Southeast Asia section, was born and raised in Singapore and grew up singing and playing the violin, piano and guitar. At school, Soph spent whatever time she could spare performing in bands, orchestras and choirs. She sang with the visiting Scottish Opera and was a member of a jazz band that performed around Singapore.