Get ready to turn up the volume: Eurovision Asia is taking televised music competition to another level.
Building on the global popularity of the Eurovision Song Contest, Eurovision Asia will be the region’s boldest music show yet, offering artists in the Asia-Pacific region a vast platform on which to show off their talent.
A mix of established stars and emerging talent will sing original songs in the name of their country, deploying slick choreography, lavish costumes and plenty of Asian confidence.
On one unforgettable night, millions of music fans across Asia and Australia, and the world will watch the same show at the same time, encountering a range of new sounds and rhythms. And at the end of it Asia will have chosen a new icon.
It won’t be easy. From South Korea to India and from China to Japan, some of the world’s most ancient cultures are now producing its most modern pop. Asia’s booming music scene doesn’t fit neatly in any box. It spans the spectrum — from electronic to dance via R&B and hip-hop, all written with local flair and flavour. Some artists take traditional bhangra beats and Oriental sounds and give them a contemporary twist. Others start from scratch to create radical tunes that make the masses move. Talk of “eastern promise” is a little late. As music enthusiasts will see at Eurovision Asia, the future of pop music is already here.
Korean pop, known affectionately as K-pop, leads the way. Its slick songs draw on many genres. Whether serving a dubstep break or flirting with a euro-pop chorus, artists inevitably deliver deliriously upbeat hooks. Leading global trends as much as they follow them, K-pop idols have dived into the trap music scene, making the most of melodic synthesizers and crisp snares.
K-pop stars don’t march to the beat of their own drum. They take the drum, rip it open and set the dance floor on fire with slick, highly-choreographed dance routines and a strong emphasis on fashion and style. Korean rapper PSY — known for his iconic horse-riding dance and viral music video for “Gangnam Style” — epitomizes the fun.