Another Malaysian singer has done the nation proud! Penangite Brian Chew won the TVB International Chinese New Talent Singing Championship 2016 in Hong Kong on Feb 19. The singing competition was a battle between 12 singers from Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
This is the third consecutive year that a Malaysian has won the competition, after Uriah See in 2014 and Jacqueline Ng in 2015. Amy Wong (2004), Andrew Tan (2006) and Chen Keat Yoke (2009) had also won before.
Another Malaysian, Wengdyy Ooi, also made it to top eight of this year’s competition.
In the first round, Chew sang Taiwanese singer A-Lin’s Forget Love, which got him into the second round with the second highest points total. Chew eventually entered the final four together with the contestants from China, Singapore, and the US.
During the final rounds, his emotional and pitch-perfect rendition of his songs, which included Dee Hsu’s Xin Zhang Pen Xue (Heart Bursting Blood) and Angus Tung’s Mandopop classic Ye Li Ya Nu Lang, won over the judging panel.
The judges were Taiwanese artiste Shino Lin, Malaysian singer-songwriter VChuan, and Hong Kong songwriters Michael Lai and Alan Cheung.
Brian Chew won the TVB International Chinese New Talent Singing Championship 2016 in Hong Kong on Feb 19. Photo: TVB
In an interview transcript provided by Astro, Chew, who was the first runner-up of Astro Star Quest 2016, said he really wanted to win this competition, not just for himself, but also to fulfil the expectations of all those who have supported him all this time.
“I’m glad I was able to express myself through the music the way I wanted to,” he said, adding that he is looking forward to celebrating the win with his family and singing teacher, who all came to watch him perform in Hong Kong.
Chew also expressed satisfaction with the way the competition went for him. “The first song allowed everyone to see the emotional side of me. In the second round, I wanted to bring out the singing style and vibe of the 2000s,” he said.
“In the final, I wanted to use everything I had learnt to try and integrate it into my technique and personality, and come up with a unique singing style.”
In the past, TVB International Chinese New Talent Singing Championship has been a springboard for Asian superstars such as Anita Mui, Alex To, Eason Chan, Grasshopper, Hacken Lee, Leon Lai and Sammi Cheng, who have all won the competition. Here’s hoping Chew will be the next one to make it big!
