Think you have what it takes to be the next superstar? Or perhaps you just wanted to stand onstage and perform in front of a massive crowd? Well then, you’ve come to the right platform.
Designed for the evolving global traveler, Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ leading-edge Aloft brand announced the kick-off of the 2nd Asia Pacific edition of Project Aloft Star amplified by MTV. The brand is strengthening their collaboration with MTV, the biggest and boldest global youth brand, for a 2nd year-running.
The music talent discovery competition aims to identify and support the hottest emerging music artistes throughout the Asian countries including China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
Starting today through 20th July 2015, independent bands and artistes are invited to showcase their musical talent by uploading an original video showcasing their music to Project Aloft Star’s official website. Participants will stand a chance to win the prestigious title and recognition as Project Aloft Star winner.
Covering major Asia Pacific markets, the 3 contest clusters comprise of China, India, and a 3rd cluster consisting of Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Shortlisted entries will have the opportunity to perform at the finals in late September in front of a panel of distinguished judges held in their respective clusters.
One winner from each of the 3 contest clusters will emerge and all 3 winners will walk away with USD$10,000 and a chance to be featured on MTV.
Vincent Ong, Senior Brand Director, Asia Pacific Brand Management, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, said in a statement:
Music is core to the Aloft brand’s DNA and we are thrilled to kick-off the second edition of Project Aloft Star— amplified by MTV— to identify the latest emerging music talents in the region. The response to last year’s debut of Project Aloft Star in Asia Pacific was resoundingly successful and we’re excited to continue to be the platform for supporting these great musicians with another dynamic instalment of this global competition.
“The partnership with MTV Asia has not only shown that we share the same passion for live music, pop culture and design-led initiatives, but also cements our objective to serve as platforms to be the driving force to discover great new music experiences across Asia Pacific,” Ong added.
Paras Sharma, Vice President, MTV and Digital Media, Asia, Viacom International Media Networks, said:
Project Aloft Star is an inspiring initiative that celebrates today’s young generation and their creative talents. Through our second year collaboration with Aloft Hotels, we’re unlocking the passion and creativity of our audience by providing them with an amazing platform to showcase their music talents and connect them with new opportunities and fans across Asia. We can’t wait to see what this year’s competition brings!
Public voting contest will begin from 23rd July to 13th August 2015. Public can visit Project Aloft Star’s official website and vote for their favourite videos from a panel of curated entries posted online. Fans in each cluster who cast their votes will stand a chance to win cash prize or prizes worth up to US$1,000.
Aloft Hotels and MTV successfully debuted the competition for the first time in Asia Pacific last year. The competition received over 300 entries from rising music talent alongside more than 170,000 fan votes. Both brands continue to be the platform for emerging artistes; with the inaugural Project Aloft Star Southeast Asia cluster winner, GTXperiment (previously known as Clinton and Ashley) from Malaysia performing at the grand opening party at Aloft Seoul Gangnam, South Korea. They are currently working on their debut album to be launched in August 2015.
Natania Lalwani, who is Project Aloft Star’s first India winner, has continued her winning streak with a series of nominations including “Best Independent Song” by the Global Indian Music Academy Award earlier this year for her single “The Letter”. She has also won 3 Radio City Freedom Awards for “Best Pop Artiste” by Jury’s choice, “Best Pop Artiste” by People’s choice, and “Best Young Indie Artist”. She is slated to release her EP titled “Gold” this year.
Project Aloft Star’s first winner from China, PandaBros were invited to compose and sing the theme song for a popular web sitcom and had the chance to record it with Xianzi, a Taiwan Golden Song Award nominee. They are currently working on their 2nd album to be released in the 3rd quarter 2015. In June, they will be performing at the Strawberry Music Festival in Beijing.
Project Aloft Star is expected to launch in The Americas and across Europe later this summer. Aloft Hotels will extend its support for emerging talent to local contemporary Asian artists through a soon-to-be announced partnership with Singapore-based online art platform, Art Loft Asia,
For more timely update, check out their official website.
