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JAKARTA: Asia is poised to select the region's first singing champion at the inaugural Asian Idol contest in Jakarta later on Sunday.
Underneath the jovial and easy atmosphere among the six Asian singers is a strong competitive spirit.
They have been crowned Idols in their respective countries – India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
But now each of them hopes to become the champion of champions – the first Asian Idol.
Daniel Hartono, project director of Asian Idol, said: "We need to find something common for six different countries. This is about pop music. Something that is enjoyable for six different countries. That's why everybody has to sing one English song. And the second song, they can choose from their local language."
"This is an interesting competition because you have each of the countries with their respective diversity which is really cool," said Taylor Hicks, the American Idol Season 5 winner.
The show is being hosted by RCTI – Indonesia's largest TV network.
Voting via text messaging began when it was televised simultaneously to all six participating countries, with an unprecedented millions of viewers.
Hady Mirza, Singapore Idol Season 2 winner, said: "The pressure I think is that it's going to be shown across six countries. I started off being quite nervous. But then, as we went along, it was fine and I did pretty well. I think I did pretty well and I'm happy with my performance."
To ensure fairness, judges from all the six countries are taking part.
Even a voting system to neutralise the numerical supremacy of big countries such as Indonesia and India was instituted. Votes will not be considered valid unless the sender picks two singers.
But above all, organisers said Asian Idol is more than just a competition.
Indriena Basarah, general manager, Fremantle Asia, said: "What we would like to do is actually to showcase that Asia has incredible talent."
For the contestants, the Asian Idol competition gives them the exposure beyond their own national boundaries.
This may lead to better prospects to develop and promote their musical talents across the region.
- CNA/so
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