Ruff Neck’z champions
FINE, some may look the part, while many DO NOT look Korean at all. Still, that did not stop them from professing their love for a genre that seems to be infecting many teenagers all over Asia.
After weeks of trying to be the ultimate Malaysian K-Pop sensation via Astro’s K-Pop Hitz Talent Show, a champion was finally announced.
Jay-Son second runner-up
Yup. The results are in. The ultimate champion is Ruffneck’z. The group, along with eight other K-poppers, rocked the house at the grand finale of the K-Pop Hitz Talent Show at Bentley Music, Mutiara Damansara on July 24.
Hosted by Jehan Miskin, the finals saw eight of the best talents rocking out from across the nation. They are Seremban boys Ruffneck’z; all-girl group Dawn’s Arch; the one and only solo dancer Kwan; E.G.S Monsters dancing their way from Johor Baru, quintet Chrome L, duo Jay-Son, UNISEL student Anis and the most experienced of the finalists, 33-year-old Zain.
To make things even more interesting, the competition brought back aspiring superstar from Kedah, 14-year-old Puteri, to join the line-up as the wildcard contestant.
The K-Pop Hitz Talent Show journey began with show producer and host Jehan Miskin venturing in his K-Pop vehicle to four audition locations in the Klang Valley (Wangsa Walk, Berjaya Times Square, The Curve and SACC Mall) seeking the best K-Pop renditions.
Puteri crooning Korean tunes
The contest attracted more than 500 entries, while the auditions saw fans aged between 13 and 32 from as far as Kuantan, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak racing to strut their best K-Pop moves, croon their best K-Pop tunes in the lurid K-Pop fashion to impress judges.
In the last showdown, each finalist was given between four and five minutes to impress the judges comprising TV personality and actress Sazzy Falak; choreographer Pat Ibrahim; Akademi Fanstasia‘s first champion Vince Chong as well as Korea Tourism Organisation managing director Yun Jae Jin.
Contestants were evaluated on their performance, stage presence, originality and entertainment.
First runner-up, Johor Baru boys, E.G.S Monsters along with second runner-up duo Jay-Son proved that they too were the judges’ favourites. They put up a great fight for their chance to win the ultimate Korean experience for a five-day, four-night all expense paid trip to Korea as well as their chance to perform LIVE at the Lotte World Theme Park in Seoul, Korea.
For street dancers E.G.S Monsters who are known for breaking, popping, locking, ‘botting’ moves, the K-Pop experience was something new to them, while Jay-Son wooed the crowd with their hip hop and pop moves to K-Pop remixes of Tonight by Big Bang and 2PM’s Hands Up.
Still, in the end, it was Ruffneck’z night. Coordinated in black and white outfits, Ruffneck’z intricate poetic dance moves electrifying performance to 2NE1, I Am The Best, Big Bang’s Tonight and Lies proved that they were the ultimate K-Poppers.
Zain proving that age is nothing more than a number
Formed about three years ago, the group inspired by Big Bang, consists of four members whose ages range from 16 to 27.
“We’ve worked very hard with daily four-hour long practices while balancing our other responsibilities. We are so excited to be the first ever champions and look forward to performing in Korea.” Ruffneck’z's leader, Yoro Ng said.
Yun JaeJin said the inaugural K-Pop Hitz Talent Show had created a stage for the the K-Pop fans in Malaysia, to “stun us with their mesmerising performance”.
He said that it also proved how overwhelming the K-pop culture is indulged in Malaysia.
Re-Do closing the show and pumping up the crowd
“I hope that the members of Ruffneck’z will enjoy their life-time experience performing at Lotte World Theme Park and we welcome more Malaysian K-Pop fans to visit Korea in the near future,” he said.
The final also brought back favorites from The Curve audition K.I.V as the opening act and from SACC Mall audition Re-Do as the closing act to battle it out to be crowned the ultimate K-Pop Hitz Talent Show Audience Choice Award. Judged by the fans who came to the final, Re-Do came out on top.
The K-Pop Hitz Talent Show is produced by Astro Hitz (CH705) and supported by Korea Tourism Organisation.
The grand final will air on Astro Hitz (CH705). There will also be two more shows that will feature bloopers, funny and emotional moments that did not make it into the previous episodes on Aug 4, while episode 7 which airs on Aug 11 will follow the winners on the Ultimate K-Pop Experience in Korea.
For more information on K-Pop Hitz Talent Show and Astro Hitz please visit www.facebook.com/astrohitz.
The judges: (From left) Korea Tourism Organisation managing director Yun Jae Jin, Vince Chong, Pat Ibrahim and Sazzy Falak
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