ALOFT HOTELS AND MTV SPOTLIGHT TOP REGIONAL MUSIC TALENT WITH THE FOURTH ANNUAL PROJECT ALOFT STAR, AMPLIFIED BY MTV IN ASIA PACIFIC
Bigger and better this year with new entrants from Australia and Indonesia in the competition
Starting 5 July to 21 August 2017, aspiring musicians are invited to submit original songs to projectaloftstar.mtvasia.com, for a chance to win a mentor-ship by MTV and Believe Distribution Services, a Believe Distribution Services deal for marketing and distribution, and US$10,000 to fund their music journey
SINGAPORE, 3 July 2017 – Designed for the millennial traveler, Marriott International’s Aloft® Hotels and the biggest and boldest global youth brand, MTV, is now accepting submissions for the fourth Asia Pacific edition of Project Aloft Star, amplified by MTV. With the success of the past three years, the reach of the competition is now extended to Australia and Indonesia. Providing an annual platform to discover music talent, the competition will identify and support aspiring music acts in nine markets: Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Last year, the competition drew over 500 entries and 600,000 public votes.
Project Aloft Star, amplified by MTV; promotes Aloft’s commitment to supporting self-expression by identifying the latest emerging music talents in the region. The response every year from musicians and fans has been tremendous and the competition is a highly anticipated event that’s become known for showcasing original music from aspiring acts. Together with MTV, Aloft has helped boost the visibility and quality of original compositions amongst musicians and continues to be a catalyst for musical creativity, with Project Aloft Star serving as a platform for showcasing the hottest up-and-coming artists.
Rocking the world since its debut in 2008, Aloft Hotels is a trailblazer in the live-music scene worldwide. The brand has always been committed to cutting-edge music programming, leading the way as an industry innovator by supporting live acts in its hotels through its Live at Aloft Hotels music program held at its buzzing W XYZ bars across the globe.
“Aloft Hotels is designed for those who love open thinking and open expression, and Project Aloft Star captures the brand’s belief in self-expression through music,” said Mike Fulkerson, Vice President, Brand & Marketing, Asia Pacific. “We’re excited to be exploring new talents this year by opening up entries to include Australia and Indonesia. We also want all music-lovers to be involved by voting for their favorite musicians via the projectaloftstar.com website as well as engaging with us on our social media channels.”
Partnering with music and entertainment powerhouse MTV, Project Aloft Star is expected to create region-wide awareness and buzz for the latest instalment of the exciting competition. MTV is the only global music player with coordinated local on-air and online teams, reaching millions of music fans every day. From large-scale live shows to on-air programmes such as MTV Ok Danceoke and MTV PUSH, MTV is widely recognized as a youth destination for discovering music and talents.
“This partnership is truly a testament to MTV’s and Aloft’s common vision of supporting aspiring artists for four years running, and through the passion point of music. The Asia Pacific music scene is diverse and constantly evolving, and our expertise lies in working with the newest acts, and helping them uncover their passion as well as connecting them with new opportunities and fans across Asia Pacific. We are looking forward to build upon our successful collaboration with Aloft Hotels, to discover and shape the music stars of tomorrow,” said Paras Sharma, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Southeast Asia, Viacom International Media Networks.
Submission details
The competition covers key markets in the Asia Pacific via three contest clusters consisting of Greater China (China, Hong Kong and Taiwan), Southeast Asia and Australia (Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand), and South Korea.
Bands, artists and songwriters are invited to submit their original compositions[1] – either through YouTube, Youku, or SoundCloud[2] links to the website at projectaloftstar.mtvasia.com, between 5 July to 21 August 2017.
Public voting for People’s Choice Finalist
Four finalists will be shortlisted for each cluster – three will be selected by judges from MTV, and the fourth will be a People’s Choice finalist. From 25 August to 11 September, the public can vote for their favorite artist from curated entries on projectaloftstar.mtvasia.com. One voter per cluster will also stand a chance to win US$1,000.
Live finals at the newest Aloft Hotels in Asia
The four shortlisted finalists[3] in each cluster will perform at the finals in front of a live audience, and a panel of judges from Aloft, MTV and the music entertainment industry. Aloft and MTV are partnering up with Believe Distribution Services - a leading independent distributor and services provider for artists and labels worldwide - to offer a career-changing prize. Each winning artist will receive a mentorship from MTV and Believe Distribution Services, a Believe Distribution Services deal for marketing and distribution, and US$10,000 to kickstart their music career.
Finals will be held from October to November 2017 at Asia’s newest Aloft hotels: Aloft Perth for the Australia and Southeast Asia finals, Aloft Seoul Myeongdong for the South Korea finals, and Aloft Taipei Zhongshan for the Greater China finals.
Aloft and MTV as the platform for emerging artists
Both MTV and Aloft have built a reputation for advocating and supporting emerging artists, with several Project Aloft Star winners achieving further success. Southeast Asia cluster winner in 2016, Soph Retief, produced and released her first music video “Guys Like You”, the song that clinched her win and will be performing at the Tunbridge Wells festival in July 2017. Winner of the Greater China cluster in 2016, Wang Dazhi (a.k.a. Big Tattoo), appeared on hip hop reality show ‘Rap of China’, made an appearance on the movie “Miss Puff”, and was the special guest at well-known Chinese rocker Cui Jian’s 30th anniversary concert. Meanwhile, Jenny & the Scallywags from Thailand, the winner of the 2015 Southeast Asia cluster, went on to release their 10-track album, ‘Shaking Heart’, amidst a collaboration with indie artist Phum Viphurit and performances at festivals. GTXperiment from Malaysia, the winner of the Southeast Asia cluster in 2014, won the “Best Collaboration” award at the VIMA Music Awards 2017, and their single "Terus Menunggu" reached the TV3 Muzik Muzik charts.
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