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Work hard: Members of the Golden Dragon poses after they were crowned ASEAN's Best Band. The band aims to become the first commercial Mandarin music band to emerge from Indonesia. — VNS Photo Thuy Hang |
KUALA LUMPUR — The Indonesian band Golden Dragon beat out more than 2,500 bands to win the first ASEAN band competition. The announcement was made during a live concert last Friday night in Kuala Lumpur. The top four finalists, including Sixty-Nine from Thailand, Stonebay from Malaysia and Pancake 80 from the Philippines, were playing a show in the Malaysian capital.
Doning ancient Chinese warrior attire, the seven-member band conquered both the judges and audience with their unique costumes and impressive performances.
As the only Mandarin-speaking outfit in competition's finals, the band received enormous praise from the judges, who gave the band top marks for their last performance.
"The band is unique with its youthful styling of Mandarin music and they're known for their eccentric costumes," said producer Roslan Aziz, who was one of the judges.
Golden Dragon received a 50,000 Ringgit (US$15,500) recording and distribution deal in order to help kick-start their musical career, along with 10,000 Ringgit ($3,000) in AirAsia vouchers. They will also have the chance to perform in an international concert in August.
"We've never expected to be the winner because there were so many good bands in the competition. We were astonished and extremely happy that we won," said vocalist Icun Lin.
Formed in 2000, the band name was inspired by the year of the dragon. The outfit aspires to become the first commercially viable Mandarin band from Indonesia.
The contest, redAMP – Are You ASEAN's Best Band?, began as an online competition that was open to all unsigned bands from the Southeast Asia region.
Co-hosted by the site AirAsiaRedTix.com and MTV, 2,575 bands entered the competition.
Two Vietnamese rock bands, Winfield and Black Infinity, finished in the competition's top ten. — VNS