Thursday 23 October 2014

Aloft Hotels and Mtv Unveil Winners of First-Ever Project Aloft Star in Asia Pacific

Aloft® Hotels, Starwood's innovation hub for next-gen travellers and MTV today announced the winners of the inaugural Asia Pacific edition of Project Aloft Star, in three key competition clusters covering major markets: China (Pandabros), India (Natania Lalwani) and the Southeast Asia (Clinton and Ashley) cluster consisting of Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Project Aloft Star isamusic talent discovery competition that aims to identify and support the hottest emerging music artists, the three-month competition kicked off on 30 June and received more than 200 original video submissions from music talents across the five countries. Fans also placed over 170,000 votes for their favourite entries via online voting.

The 15 finalists had the opportunity of a lifetime performing at the finals held in China, India and Malaysia in front of a panel of judges comprised of Aloft Hotels, MTV and music industry executives from Asia, which included:
  • Palash Sen, founder and frontman of India's biggest band Euphoria;
  • Yaniz Merican of YZ International which manages top Malaysian artists such as Joe Flizzow, Too Phat and Mizz Nina;
  • Shan Qi, renowned planner-musician-producer-director who is also known as 'China Fashion Festival Godfather' and Chan Waikei, the Content and Creative Director of MTV China Networks.

Finalists were judged on the criteria song-writing and music composition, creativity and originality, technical skill, “wow” factor, and showmanship and stage presence.

Winners were awarded a US$10,000 cash prize and will be featured in MTV Seen, a video spot of the competition that will air on MTV Asia, MTV China and MTV India's channels this month. They will also be featured in individual vignettes on MTV's respective websites. In addition, Clinton and Ashley from Malaysia was invited for a three day, two night all-expenses paid trip to Seoul, South Korea and given the opportunity to perform at the opening ofAloft Seoul Gangnam slated for 14 November this year.

“Helping our guests discover great new music, whether they're on the road or visiting a w xyz bar in their hometown, is one way Aloft is committed to delivering a vibrant experience that is 'different by design'. With music in its DNA and millennials in its sights, this collaboration with MTV to kick off Project Aloft Star has been immensely fruitful – sharing the same vision to discover emerging music artists in the region,” said Vincent Ong, Senior Brand Director, Asia Pacific Brand Management, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “There is no lack of talent in the region judging from the quality of entries; and Aloft Hotels will continue to serve as a platform for supporting great music alongside pioneering cool initiatives in design and technology for the next generation traveller”

“MTV, being the biggest and boldest global youth brand, is driven by a single aim to constantly engage and involve our young audience. Opening submissions on MTV's platforms across Asia Pacific for Project Aloft Star allowed us to uncover youths who have shown real dedication to their craft and this has given them the opportunity to showcase their talents to more people,” said Paras Sharma, Vice President, MTV and Comedy Central Brands and Digital Media, Viacom International Media Networks. “Through this expanded collaboration with Aloft, we hope we've helped open more doors for the winners. Here's to more great music from our local musicians!”

Three winners were ultimately chosen for the Asia Pacific edition of Project Aloft Star and they are:

Pandabros (China) 

- Click HERE to view their winning entry submission “Sky”.
“For the past four years, we have supported and encouraged one another in the pursuit of our music career as a band, and to present our original music compositions to the world. We really appreciate the amazing platform through 'Project Aloft Star, Amplified by MTV', which not only offers us an opportunity to showcase our music, but brings us closer to making our dream a reality

Natania Lalwani (India) 

- Click HERE to view her winning entry submission “Cherry Love”.
“It really is surreal to have won! It was completely unexpected as there was such incredible talent that night. It's been an amazing experience and the fans have been really supportive and they were like family that day. This achievement wouldn't have been possible without my band that night (Samuel Berlie, Dennis Kaddam and Rozelle Alphonso Kaddam). It's a night I'll remember forever and I'm so grateful and happy to have been part of Project Aloft Star, amplified by MTV. This victory is so overwhelming and I can't wait to see what comes next!”

Clinton and Ashley from Malaysia (Southeast Asia, comprising Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand) 

- Click HERE to view their winning entry submission “High-drated”.
“We feel truly blessed and humbled by this experience. We definitely appreciate all the support we got and would like to shout out a huge thank you to all those who voted and rocked out with us during our performance at the finals. Aloft and MTV have provided a great platform for us to stand out and share our passion of music. Winning this year's Project Aloft Star, amplified by MTV just makes it that much special. It will definitely give us the extra boost we need and the kind of exposure any new aspiring musician would die for.

To hype up the music extravaganza, Aloft Hotels also partnered with Diageo to create a series of three Johnnie Walker Black Label cocktails. Inspired by the dynamic energy of the next generation alongside the buzzing live music scene, these cocktails were served at all Aloft Hotels in Asia Pacific throughout the period of Project Aloft Star.

Aloft Hotels and MTV collaborated last year to jointly launch a digital platform that helped promote local up-and-coming music talents that have performed at Live at Aloft Hotels showcases at Aloft Hotels' W XYZ bars across Asia.

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