Karaoke master to be discovered

The passion, grit and soaring vocals of a karaoke competition will once again feature at this year’s Sydney Chinese New Year Festival (SCNYF).

The competition brings together lovers of C-Pop (Chinese pop music), J-Pop (Japanese pop), K-Pop (Korean pop) and other classic karaoke varieties.

Beginning with a series of heats and culminating in a final, the singers battle it out to be crowned the SCNYF’s karaoke master.

Project manager of the competition, Billy Kwong, said it is a free event that is open to anyone who wants to take part.

“A lot of people love to sing but they don’t know how to express themselves. Karaoke is a good platform for singers to share their skills,” he said.

Mr Kwong hopes that the competition, in its third year, will broaden karaoke’s audience. He is aware of its popularity in East Asia but would like to promote it to everyone.

The first of two heats was held at Mizuya Japanese Restaurant and Karaoke last Saturday. Singing hopefuls got on stage and sang their hearts out to songs of love and loss. Family and friends were there to cheer them on. At the end of each performance a panel of judges gave their opinion.

Three singers were chosen by a panel of judges to go through from the first heat to the final, which will be held on the main stage at the SCNYF Markets in Belmore Park on January 21 from 8 to 9:30pm.

Finalist Neville Lai expects the atmosphere to be different at the final. Karaoke is often performed in small rooms, so the larger venue of Belmore Park will bring different pressures.

Another finalist, Eric Lui, sings karaoke for the excitement. He said that every time you get up to perform you have to shake off the fear of standing alone on stage.

The last of the finalists from the first heat, Lok Joo, said this was her first time in the competition. She has a passion to sing karaoke.

The second heat will be held at Mizuya Restaurant on Saturday, January 14 from 4 to 6:30pm. There will also be a wildcard draw on January 21 at Belmore Park from 6.30 to 7.30pm.