aloft hotels and mtv reveal winners for 2015 project … · 2015-09-21 · festival godfather ’...
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ALOFT HOTELS AND MTV REVEAL WINNERS FOR 2015PROJECT ALOFT STAR IN ASIA PACIFICMore than Half a Million Votes and Over 350 Original Music Entries Received From Asia’sEmerging Music Talent
Tweet it: .@AloftHotels & @MTVAsia reveal winners for Project Aloft Star, Amplified byMTV singer-songwriter competition in Asia Pacific #aloftstarmtv
CHINA, INDIA, MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE, THAILAND, 21 SEPTEMBER 2015 – After morethan half a million online votes and over 350 entries received, Starwood Hotels & Resorts’
leading-edge Aloft® brand and MTV today revealed the winners of the second annual AsiaPacific edition of music talent discovery competition Project Aloft Star, Amplified by MTV.The contest aims to identify and support the hottest emerging music artists throughout AsiaPacific, with three competition clusters.
This year’s cluster winners are:
Gusian Yu (China) – View his winning entry submission HERE.
“I really appreciate this opportunity that Aloft and MTV has given for me to perform and be apart of Project Aloft Star. I'll remember this night forever! I was over the moon when I wasannounced as the winner of 2015 Project Aloft Star - really thankful for the esteemed judgesthat saw my passion through my performance and song.”
Run Pussy Run (India) – View their winning entry submission HERE.
“We are absolutely thrilled that we won the Project Aloft Star, Amplified by MTV competition! Itis the first time we have participated in a competition, and winning it has been the mostencouraging and rewarding experience so far. All the participants were lovely, and it washumbling to meet and share the journey with everyone. This equips us to release our debutalbum and perhaps a video too! Kudos to Aloft and MTV for supporting and paving pathwaysfor independent artists!
Jennifer Lackgren / Jenny & The Scallywags from Thailand (Southeast Asia, comprisingThailand, Malaysia and Singapore) – View their winning entry submission HERE.
”We’re completely thrilled to be the winners for Project Aloft Star 2015, amplified by MTV.From the day of our video submission to the very moment of our winning performance, ourjourney has been an exciting whirlwind. We definitely want to use the US$10,000 and themomentum from this amazing platform to create good music videos and our extended playthat will be released early next year for Sounds Like Maybe and How to Break Up withSomebody. We’re over the moon and can’t wait to see where this journey takes us. Thank youMTV and Aloft!”
The top finalists battled it out at the finals held at Aloft Hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Bangalore andGuangzhou over the weekend in front of a panel of judges. They were evaluated on musiccomposition and song-writing skills, originality and creativity, technical skill, “wow” factor,showmanship, and stage presence. The judging panel comprised the following representativesfrom Aloft Hotels, MTV, celebrities and music industry experts:
•For Southeast Asia,
oParas Sharma, Vice President, MTV and Comedy Central Brands and Digital Media, ViacomInternational Media Networks Asia
oVincent Ong, Senior Brand Director, Asia Pacific Brand Management, Starwood Hotels &Resorts
oAliff Aziz, a Singapore born singer and actor who won the reality TV singing competition,Anugerah when he was 16 years old, making him the competition’s youngest winner. He iscurrently working on his fourth album, having just released his current single “Selayaknya Aku”
oAziana Ali, General Manager – Marketing, Sony Music Entertainment Malaysia
oValent Soisuvarn, Executive Director, MTV Thailand
•For China,
oCharles Chan, Creative Director, Head of Content Production, MTV China
oMaster Dong Shan, a pop singer who won multiple newcomer awards when he debuted. Hisfourth and latest album was released this year.
oShan Qi, renowned planner-musician-producer-director who is also known as ‘China FashionFestival Godfather’
oSofia Wong, Hotel Manager, Aloft Guangzhou University Park
•For India,
oBobin James, Head of Programming and Artist Relations, MTV Indies
oClinton Cerejo, award-winning composer, producer and singer who has lent his inimitablevoice to a number of Bollywood hits
oHazel Ooi, Manager, Brand Management, Asia-Pacific, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points bySheraton, Aloft, Element
As part of the prize package, each winner was awarded a US$10,000 cash prize and will soonbe featured in MTV Seen, a video spot of that will air on MTV Asia, MTV China and MTV Indiachannels in October. Winners will also be featured in individual vignettes on the Project Aloft
Star website.
“Cool and dynamic experiences in music, design and technology have made Aloft the must-have brand for today’s hyper-connected global traveler; and our partnership with MTV Asiaunderscores those passion points,” said Vincent Ong, Senior Brand Director, BrandManagement, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific. “Since last year’s Asia Pacific debut,Project Aloft Star has seen immense response and quality submissions – a testament to theimmense pool of talent in the region— and Aloft is proud to continue to offer a platform ofexposure for emerging artists.”
“MTV is proud to partner Aloft for the Asia Pacific edition of Project Aloft Star for the secondyear running. We were impressed with the quality of work submitted and the increase in thenumber of entries and votes received shows us the amount of fresh music talent out there andthe extent of public support for them. The competition has given these young performers thechance to shine and they are definitely the ones to watch. Keep playing!” said Paras Sharma,Vice President, MTV and Comedy Central Brands and Digital Media, Viacom InternationalMedia Networks Asia
The 15-week competition kicked off on 22 May, garnering close to double the number ofpublished original music video submissions from aspiring music talent compared to theinaugural edition held in 2014. Fans lent their support by voting for their favourite musicvideos, with voting numbers skyrocketing over 20 times last year’s, to more than half a million.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
WINNERS’ PROFILES
Gusian Yu (China)
Gusian Yu, 27 years old, works in Huamei, a leading hotel consulting company in China. As aprofessional consultant who visits more than 100 high-end hotels each year, he devotes mostof his spare time to composing music. He gains inspiration from life, such as a piece of socialnews, a touching movie, a deep poem, an extraordinary scene or even a stranger. He aspiresto become a hotelier who knows music best and a musician who knows hotels best. Throughlearning to play the piano and compose music himself with seven years of passion andperseverance, he has composed about 20 original songs and gained recognition from severalinfluential singing competitions in China and Taiwan, such as the Sing My Song and SpringWave Music and Art Festival competitions.
Run Pussy Run (India)
Run Pussy Run is a Freak Funk project led by singer/songwriter Gowri Jayakumar, withBehrooz Mihankhah on keys (formerly - he is currently moving countries), Abhishek Debsikdaron drums, and Anjo John on bass. Primarily a platform to collaborate, the songs are composedby Gowri, and rearranged/rewritten by the band to integrate the members’ own inimitablestyles and perspectives. The sonic space is guided by heavy grooves, experimentalharmonies, clever word play and unpredictable rhythms. They made their debut TVappearance in May this year on Kappa TV’s MusicMojo program, where they performed nineoriginal compositions.
Jennifer Lackgren / Jenny & The Scallywags from Thailand (Southeast Asia, comprisingThailand, Malaysia and Singapore)
Jennifer Lackgren is a Thai/Swedish independent artist known for her success in the Bangkoklive music scene with her band Jenny & The Scallywags. With a unique voice and acoustic/folkstyle, Jennifer first caught the public eye with her performances on season two of The VoiceThailand. She has since released her first single Sounds Like Maybe and will release her EPby the same name soon, with plans to tour and promote her original work in Southeast Asiaand Europe in the near future. Band members are Jennifer Lackgren (Lead Vocals, Acousticguitar), Adam Sharpe (Lead Vocals, Ukulele), Charlie McSkallywag (Solo guitar, Vocals andHarmonica), Paul Romaine (Bass and Keys), and Christopher Oldman (Percussions).
SELECTED PHOTO CAPTIONS
1. Charles Chan, Project Aloft Star 2015 China Winner Gusian Yu, Mindy Li and MTV VJYangyang in Aloft Guangzhou University Park (Credit - Aloft)
L-R:
-Charles Chan, Creative Director, Head of Content Production, MTV China
-Gusian Yu— Winner of China Project Aloft Star, amplified by MTV
-Mindy Li, Brand Management, Aloft, Element and Four Points by Sheraton, Greater China,Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
-MTV VJ Yangyang
2. Vincent Ong, Paras Sharma with Project Aloft Star 2015 Southeast Asia Winner Jenny &The Scallywags in Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral (Credit - Aloft)
L-R:
-Vincent Ong, Senior Brand Director, Brand Management, Starwood Hotels & Resorts AsiaPacific
-Paras Sharma, Vice President, MTV and Comedy Central Brands and Digital Media, ViacomInternational Media Networks Asia
-Jenny & The Scallywags - Project Aloft Star 2015 Southeast Asia Winner
5. Judge Clinton Cerejo with Project Aloft Star 2015 India Winner Run Pussy Run membersAnjo John, Gowri Jayakumar, Bobin James (MTV Indies), Abhishek Debsikdar (Run PussyRun) and Hazel Ooi (Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific) at Aloft Bengaluru CessnaBusiness Park (Credit - Aloft)
L-R:
-Clinton Cerejo
-Anjo John, bassist (Run Pussy Run)
-Gowri Jayakumar, lead vocalist (Run Pussy Run)
-Bobin James, Head of Programming and Artist Relations, MTV Indies
-Abhishek Debsikdar, drummer (Run Pussy Run)
-Hazel Ooi, Manager, Brand Management, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific
About Aloft Hotels
With 100 hotels open now and coming soon in 15 countries around the world, Starwood’s(NYSE:HOT) Aloft brand delivers a fresh approach to the traditional staid hotel landscape. Fortoday’s (and tomorrow’s) connected, curious and communal evolving global traveler, the Aloftbrand offers a tech-forward, vibrant experience and a modern style that is different by design.For more information, please visit www.alofthotels.com/experience
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companiesin the world with more than 1,200 properties in some 100 countries and over 180,000employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner,operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationallyrenowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®,Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, Element® and the recently introduced TributePortfolio™. The Company boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, StarwoodPreferred Guest (SPG®), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, roomupgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood recently announced plans to spin off itsStarwood Vacation Ownership, Inc. business, a premier provider of world-class vacationexperiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands, into astandalone public company by the end of 2015. For more information, please visitwww.starwoodhotels.com.
About MTV
MTV is the world’s biggest youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of nearly 785million households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans andartists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects andcreates pop culture with its award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, musicdiscovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. Outside of the United States, MTV is partof Viacom International Media Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), oneof the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all platforms. For moreinformation about MTV in Asia, visit www.mtvasia.com.
Media Contacts
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific
Daryl Pan
t: +65 6335 4879
Viacom International Media Networks Asia
Loh Bi Feng
t: +65 6420 7154
ABOUT VIMN ASIA PRESS
Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), is comprised of many ofthe world’s most popular multimedia entertainment brands, including MTV, MTV LIVE HD, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr.,Comedy Central, Paramount Channel, and more. Viacom brands reach more than 3.4 billion cumulative subscribersin 180+ countries and territories via more than 200 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than550 digital media and mobile TV properties, in 40 languages. Keep up with VIMN news by visiting the VIMN PRTwitter feed at www.twitter.com/VIMN_PR. For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visitwww.viacom.com, blog.viacom.com and the Viacom Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/Viacom.
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