Asia Sounds announces song contest

Lao singers and songwriters who have been harbouring dreams of becoming a star may have a chance for their big break soon, through a new television talent quest.

A team from Asia Sounds, an Australia-based music and media company, is currently touring Southeast Asian countries to promote its 2008 Asian Song Contest.

The team, led by the company's Executive Vice President of Marketing, Ms Adrienne Smith, met Lao Information and Culture officials in Vientiane on Monday to discuss the contest.

“We're in Laos to seek permission to invite musicians here to enter our competition,” Ms Smith said during an interview.

“We want to invite everybody to apply for the contest, which is open to all,” another member of the team, Mr Biag Occhino, said. “I hope that maybe someone in Laos wins it.”

As part of the music project, entitled Sutasi , which stands for “Sources of Unsigned Talents in Asia”, the team is looking for exceptional musicians and artists from throughout Asia .

According to the organisation's press release, Sutasi is an “Asian-level platform for discovering quality music and talent, with the aim of launching new-found talent to the Asian market and beyond.”

Winners will receive more than US$1 million in cash and prizes.

“We cannot say who will be the winner. Maybe they'll like the Lao music style, and we might win the hearts of the judging panel,” said Lao graphic designer Mr Praseuth Banchongphakdy, who is coordinating the competition in Vientiane .

“This competition is a good opportunity for Lao songwriters and singers.”

Songs to be entered in the competition can be written in the contestant's native language or can be a mix of languages, including English. The important thing is that the lyrics and melody are modern and appealing to listeners, Mr Praseuth said.

The company will choose 12 singers and 12 performers from the 11 countries in Southeast Asia , but those chosen will not be distributed evenly across the region.

“We might end up with five contestants from Laos or two from Singapore ,” Ms Smith said, adding that “the main criterion for success is quality,” and that she wanted as many people as possible to apply for the contest.

“It is not too late, and it's not important to us which country the contestants come from. It's more about the quality of singing and the performance,” she said.

The contest will begin in February in Southeast Asia, followed by East Asia in April and South Asia in August.

The contest is divided into two sections: a talent show in search of a star performer, and a song contest, to find an outstanding songwriter. For the final performance, songs written by songwriters who are not themselves singers will be given to skilled vocalists to perform.

According to the news release, the grand finale, scheduled for October next year will bring together the winning songwriter and singer from each region. The winners will be judged by a new panel of music professionals and via public votes throughout Asia .

Applications have been open since September 14; more people can apply by downloading the forms from www.sutasi.com. The closing date is November 1, but places are limited.

By MK. Vongsam-ang
(Latest Update October 18, 2007)