aloft Hotels Teams Up with MTV to Launch the Third “Star Aloft, MTV Co-Creates” Music Competition

- Larger Scale, Greater Momentum to Ignite Another Wave of Music Frenzy Across Asia-Pacific

- This Year’s Competition Covers Taiwan and South Korea, Spanning Nine Major Asian Markets

- From June 1 to July 25, 2016, Musicians Can Visit the Official Competition Website projectaloftstar.mtvasia.com to Submit Original Songs and Compete for a $10,000 Grand Prize

- Share on Social Media: @alofthotels @MTVAsia Join Forces to Launch the Third Music Talent Discovery Competition “Star Aloft, MTV Co-Creates” in Asia. #MTVStarAloft#

Shanghai, June 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- aloft® Hotels, the forward-thinking hotel brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., today announced the launch of the third Asia-Pacific “Star Aloft MTVCo-Created byMTV”Music Competition. Over the past two years, the first and second editions of the competition have been highly successful. This year, the competition aimed at discovering musical talent returns with even greater scale and momentum, now also covering Taiwan and South Korea. Jointly presented by aloft and the global youth brandMTVMTV Asia,the competition will scout the hottest and most fashionable emerging music acts across nine major markets in Asia — Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand — and support their musical careers. Last year, nearly 350 individuals and bands submitted entries, with over 500,000 public votes cast.

Wang Weishen (Vincent Ong), Senior Director of Brand Management, Asia Pacific, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, said, “The aloft brand has always been ready to provide a stage for the hottest rising artists. Over the past two years, the ‘Star Aloft, MTV Co-Creates’ competition has generated strong resonance among musicians and fans. Therefore, we are thrilled to launch the third edition this year to continue supporting emerging musical talents and give them a platform to showcase their musical talents to the public. We are also very pleased to continue our collaboration with MTV Asia, allowing us to maintain our passion for live music, pop culture, and design — areas we deeply care about.”

Paras Sharma, Senior Vice President of Brands & Digital Media for MTV, Comedy Central, and Paramount Channel, Asia, Viacom International Media Networks, said, “We are very excited to collaborate with aloft for the third time. Our two brands share the same vision of supporting the next generation of artists and providing them with a platform to shine. As the Asian music scene continues to grow stronger, the partnership between MTV and aloft will bring vibrant entertainment experiences to young people and help discover the next wave of musical talent.”

aloft Hotels Teams Up with MTV to Launch the Third Star Aloft MTV Co-Creates Music Competition

How to Participate

The “Star Aloft” competition covers major Asian markets and is divided into four regions: Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, with Taiwan newly added this year), Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand), India, and South Korea (newly added this year).

From June 1 to July 25, 2016, bands, singers, and composers can participate in the “Star Aloft” music competition to showcase their talents and compete for the title of “Star Aloft” Champion across Asia-Pacific. This year, participants can submit their works in several new ways, including uploading videos to Youku and audio to SoundCloud, then submitting the corresponding links to the official competition websiteprojectaloftstar.mtvasia.com.

From September to October, finalists will showcase their musical talents to a panel of judges composed of representatives from MTV, aloft, and professionals from the music and entertainment industries. The winner from each region will receive a $10,000 prize and the opportunity to appear on various MTV Asia platforms.

Public Voting

From July 29 to August 22, the public can visit projectaloftstar.mtvasia.com to view the pre-selected entries and vote for their favorites. A lucky voter from each region will win a $1,000 prize. Voting is open to the public worldwide. The top five from each region will be determined based on a combination of public and judge votes.

aloft andMTVBuilding a Platform for Rising Music Talents

MTV and aloft are well-known for supporting artistic newcomers, and some past winners have gone on to achieve further success in their careers. In 2014, the winning group from the Southeast Asia region, GTXperiment (formerly known as Clinton and Ashley) from Malaysia, released their debut album in August 2015. Their tracks, which feature captivating rhythms blending hip-hop and indie pop, including the singles “Highdrated” and “Lost,” even topped the MET 10 Charts on Malaysia’s Hitz FM radio station. They also toured across Asia. Jenny & the Scallywags, the 2015 Southeast Asia champions from Thailand, released their music album in 2016 with the single “Sounds Like Maybe,” which reached No. 1 on Cat Radio’s Thai indie music charts. The 2015 India region winner, Run Pussy Run, performed at the Hornbill International Rock Contest in Nagaland, India, in the same year and won the “Best Composition” award.

As powerful brands in the music and entertainment industry, MTV is the only global music channel with both online and offline distribution channels, reaching millions of music lovers daily. MTV is also recognized as a go-to source for young people to discover new music and artists, hosting numerous large-scale live performances and streaming events, including MTV World Stage in Malaysia, MTV Music Evolution Manila in the Philippines, MTV ASIA SPOTLIGHT, and MTV PUSH.

Since its debut in 2008, aloft has been a trailblazer in the global live music scene, launching and implementing cutting-edge music initiatives and innovatively creating opportunities for emerging artists to showcase their talents. Through its “Live at Aloft Hotels” program, aloft continues to bring live performances by local musicians and well-known artists to guests at the W XYZ Bar in aloft hotels around the world, offering stylish global travelers a one-of-a-kind experience.