Now in its third year, the competition kicked off on 1 June and culminated in the finals for the India cluster held over the weekend at Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park. After Acoustics performed alongside four other finalists – When Chai Met Toast, Rohit Vasudevan Diaries, Muhfaad and Abhishek Sharma, in front of a live audience and a panel of judges.
“We’re so happy to be the India winner of Project Aloft Star, amplified by MTV. We had a wonderful night and received great hospitality. Thank you MTV and Aloft!” said After Acoustics.
Established in 2014, After Acoustics is a Pune-based folk rock/country music band. In their early stage of their career, they won the Channel [V] Launchpad 2015 national competition. The win proved to be a great success and helped take their popularity even farther. The band also received the award for the best college band of the year 2015 from Channel [V] thereafter.
Their first single “MeethiChori” was released before they entered the Channel[V] contest. The song went on to win Radio City Freedom Awards 2015. Radio City 91.1FM aired the song multiple times followed by an interview of the band.
They are also ranked 17th in India by Sennheiser in a competition called Sennheiser Top-50 in 2015. Apart from this, they are the winners of MTV Colors of Youth 2016 and many national competitions. They have also judged many college band competitions such as those organized by Symbiosis College in Pune, Sri Sri University in Odisha, NIFFT in Ranchi, and K. J. Somaiya in Mumbai. The band has shared the stage with legends like Mr Shankarmahadevan, Benny Dayal, Vishal Dadlani, Pritam, Agnee, Mr Hariharan, Indus Creed, and Paradigm Shift.
As part of the prize package, After Acoustics walked away with US$10,000 cash prize and will be profiled in MTV Seen and individual winner vignettes to be featured on the competition website projectaloftstar.mtvasia.com. In addition to this, they also get to embark on a 5 city tour with Mixtape, India’s premier artist management company.
“Aloft is a brand built for early adopters who seek the newest trends in technology, design and music,” said Vincent Ong, Senior Brand Director, Asia Pacific Brand Management, Marriott International. “Since its introduction three years ago, Project Aloft Star has seen remarkable success in identifying the next generation of talent showcasing Asia at its best through original music representing the cultural and social diversity that is so rich in this region. With the music competition growing immensely stronger into its third year, Aloft Hotels has set itself apart in the hospitality industry as the leading platform for supporting talented musicians.”
“It’s heartening to see continued strong interest and support from fans and aspiring talents for the third Project Aloft Star, Amplified by MTV competition. Congratulations to the winners! A big thank you to everyone who voted and sent in their entries. The judges had a challenging and enjoyable job evaluating the submissions and finalists’ performances. It’s been great for MTV to partner with Aloft to increase visibility of these talented musicians and grow the appreciation of the music scene in the region. We hope this competition will motivate and inspire those in the field to keep creating and performing their music,” said Paras Sharma, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Southeast Asia, Viacom International Media Networks.
The Project Aloft Star 2015 India winner Run Pussy Run was a special guest performer at the finals. The finalists were evaluated on music composition and song-writing skills, international appeal, originality and creativity, technical skill, “wow” factor, showmanship, and stage presence. The judging panel comprised the following representatives from Aloft, MTV, and music industry experts –
India
- Faiz Alam Ansari, General Manager, Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park
- Jagjit Singh, Head of Music Content, MTV India
- Jastirath (Jesse) Julka, Senior Manager, Content Acquisition, Promotion and Syndication, Artist Aloud, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment
- Naveen Deshpande, Founder, Mixtape
- Priyanka Bhattacharya, Founding Partner and Business Director, Curious Mind Entertainment
The finals for the Southeast Asia competition cluster will take place on 7 October at Aloft Bangkok Sukhumvit 11.