Belters: Finalists compete in the studio round of Viet Nam Idol 2012 to be aired tonight. — File Photo

HCM CITY (VNS)— The studio round of Viet Nam Idol 2012, featuring eight male candidates on the first night, will be broadcast live on VTV3 tonight.

Ten of 16 winners of the theatre round named last Friday, eight females and eight males, will be selected for the next round of the popular reality show.

The eight male candidates will showcase their ability to "own" the stage as well as the ability to performing in perfect teamwork with the music band.

There will be the first time candidates are performing in front of an audience of millions.

"It is not an easy task for people who have never performed on a huge stage or appeared on live television show," organisers said in a press release.

Starting from this round, the audience can send messages through mobile phone to vote for their favourite candidate.

Two candidates who receive the most votes from audience in the first week will be the first two winners enter Top10.

The eight female candidates will compete next Friday.

The top 10 contestants, with two males and two females chosen by the audience and other six chosen by the jury – composer Quoc Trung, singer My Tam and director Quang Dung – will be announced on the last Friday of the month.

For several days now, the contestants have been honing theis skills under the guidance of music director Huy Tuan, vocal music teacher Nam Khanh and pianist Ly Huynh Long. — VNS