5 Emerging Musicians To Get Around Before They Crack The Big Time

project aloft

The finalists for Project: Aloft Star 2018 have just been announced which means we’re about to cop an earful of some bangin’ and diverse new talent.

Listeners are able to cast their votes for their fave act, so head to Project: Aloft Star to help them across the finish line. As a bonus, three voters will win 50,000 Loyalty Programme Points each which can be redeemed for hotel stays and more. Tidy.

The competition has spent a solid few months seeking out unsigned musicians across Asia-Pacific to hand in their original demos or music videos, and five musicians from five different countries have officially been chosen to compete against each other during a live show in Seoul.

The winner takes out a record deal with Universal Music so this is nailbiting stuff, you guys.

will smith applause GIF

Get around the final five acts below:

High Tropics, Australia

https://www.instagram.com/p/BljbxpqnpSZ/?taken-by=high_tropics

Repping Australia is singer-songwriter Josh Stewart along with his band High Tropics. Pulled straight outta Queensland and into the comp, High Tropics are known for “infectious garage pop” and have racked up nearly half a mill streams on Spotify as unsigned artists. Bloody hell.

You might’ve also caught wind of two singles they’ve self-released, You Never Made It Easy and Wait For You, both of which have copped regular spins on triple j as well as overseas.

Hanita Bhambri, India

Hailing from India, 23-year-old singer-songwriter Hanita Bhambri crafts melancholy tunes about her personal experiences with love and loneliness. She’ll 100% rope you in with her storytelling and you best believe you’ll feel all the feelings.

Think Ben Howard or Damien Rice.

Blah, Korea

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj1_V8WBpTY/?taken-by=blah__h

Korean artist Blah has been making his mark on Soundcloud for a while now, and at 20 years old that’s quite the effort. While he’s yet to be signed, he’s collaborated with artists like Way Ched and Chamane and continues to get peak listens for every song he drops.

If you’re into James Blake there’s a strong chance you’ll froth Blah.

Nate Nontree, Thailand

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm8rIx6HZ9Q/?hl=en&taken-by=natenontree

Musician and vocal coach Nate Nontree from Thailand has steadily been releasing covers of songs for yonks but now we can finally hear an OG tune of his own. Also appearing as a contender on The Voice Thailand in 2017, Nate’s ability to belt out an absolute banger has been proven over and over again.

Nate touts Michael Bublé, Tori Kelly and Charlie Puth as music inspo.

Eric Kung, Taiwan

A full-time engineer from Taiwan, Eric Kung has been hellbent on making music his life. His passion drives him and he’s been quoted as saying, “I live with music. It’s simple, it’s good and that’s all it matters.” Right on, Eric. Right on.

You can check out all of the above finalists’ tunes and vote at Project: Aloft Star right bloody now!

Aloft Hotels, who have been promoting up-and-coming talent for basically ever with their Live at Aloft Hotels program, are determined to hunt down ripper unsigned artists to give ’em a good hot go so vote away, muso fans.

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