AFTER more than half a million online votes and over 350 entries received, Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ leading-edge Aloft brand and MTV revealed the winners of the second annual Asia Pacific edition of music talent discovery competition Project Aloft Star, Amplified by MTV on Sept. 21. The contest identifies and supports the hottest emerging music artists throughout the Asia Pacific with three competition clusters.

    This year’s cluster winners were Gusian Yu from China, Run Pussy Run from India and Jennifer Lackgren/Jenny & The Scallywags from Thailand. The top finalists battled it out at the finals held at Aloft Hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Bangalore and Guangzhou over the weekend in front of a panel of judges. They were evaluated on music composition and song-writing skills, originality and creativity, technical skill, “wow” factor, showmanship and stage presence.

    As part of the prize package, each winner was awarded a US$10,000 cash prize and will soon be featured on MTV Seen, a video spot that will air on MTV Asia, MTV China and MTV India channels 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 Asia underscores those passion points,” said Vincent Ong, senior brand director, brand management, 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 the immense pool of talent in the region — and Aloft is proud to continue offering a platform of exposure for emerging artists.”

    The 15-week competition kicked off May 22, garnering close to double the number of published original music video submissions from aspiring music talent compared to the inaugural edition held in 2014. Fans lent their support by voting for their favorite music videos, with voting numbers skyrocketing over 20 times last year’s to more than half a million.(SD News)