ALOFT HOTELS ANNOUNCES “HANITA BHAMBRI” AS WINNER OF PROJECT: ALOFT STAR ASIA PACIFIC 2018 IN SEOUL

The soulful singer from India beat four other finalists from to win the chance to record and release their single and music video through Universal Music Group

SEOUL, KOREA, SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 - After an exciting finale at the Aloft Seoul Myeondong, Hanita Bhambri emerged as the ultimate winner of this year’s Project: Aloft Star Asia Pacific - a competition that identifies the hottest emerging music talent from around the globe, offering them a chance to kick-start their careers - spearheaded by Marriott International’s Aloft Hotels in partnership with Universal Music Group & Brands (UMGB), the brand strategy division of Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment.

From the 1,000+ original song entries and more than 70,000 online votes cast, five finalists including Australia’s High Tropics, Southeast Asia’s Nate Nontree from Thailand, India’s Hanita Bhambri, South Korea’s Blah and Greater China’s Eric Kung from Taiwan battled it out onstage for the ultimate prize. Hanita Bhambri wins the chance to record and release her original track and music video through Universal Music Group and their prestigious labels.

The finalists performed live at Aloft Seoul Myeongdong in South Korea to a venue packed with more than 100 influencers, global media, Marriott loyalty members and guests. Thousands of fans worldwide joined the excitement, watching via Facebook live. Each finalist performed one original song to a panel of judges from Aloft, Universal Music Group and music industry experts. The four judges evaluated on showmanship and stage presence, technical skill, the “WOW” factor, creativity and originality and international appeal, along with original song writing and music composition.

“I feel so blessed to be chosen as the ultimate winner. Music has always been a passion of mine and I’m so thankful to Aloft Hotels and Universal Music Group for giving me this opportunity to follow my dreams. I can’t wait to share my music with new fans around the world.” said Hanita Bhambri, this year’s Project: Aloft Star Asia Pacific winner.

“The energy and excitement in the room from both the guests and the contestants was palpable. Each of the five bands did a phenomenal job in their performances, it was really hard for us to choose one final winner,” said Devraj Sanyal, Managing Director and CEO, India and South Asia, Universal Music Group. “It was really close, but in the end, we were all very impressed by Hanita Bhambri’s showmanship and her original piece really moved me.”

Aloft Hotels has been fostering and incubating emerging musical talent around the world for over a decade. Project: Aloft Star is a global artist discovery competition running in four regions around the world[1], powered by Marriott International’s partnership with Universal Music Group & Brands (UMGB). Marriott International’s “Different. By Design” Aloft Hotels are hotspots for music makers and music lovers from around the world.

Mike Fulkerson, Vice President, Brand and Marketing, Marriott International Asia Pacific, commented: “Project: Aloft Star is a global competition and the Asia Pacific edition simply gets larger each year. This is the first time we’ve combined all Asian finalists together in one big blowout finale in Seoul. This competition captures the brand’s belief in self-expression through music and is closely linked to our Live at Aloft Hotels performances which invite local musicians to perform at our hotels worldwide.” 

Three lucky online voters who correctly guessed the winner also won 50,000 loyalty points each, redeemable for stays at participating Marriott International hotels around the world and other rewards.

NOTES TO EDITORS

BIOGRAPHIES OF THE FIVE FINALISTS FROM EACH REGION:

High Tropics

Dubbed as “infectious garage pop” by Rolling Stone, High Tropics is the moniker of Queensland based singer-songwriter Josh Stewart and his band. The indie rockers have already built a steady following, packing out venues along the East Coast of Australia and amassing close to half a million streams with their last two singles ‘You Never Made It Easy’, and ‘Wait For You’.

Nate Nontree

Nate Nontree is a singer, musician, voice teacher and interior designer from Bangkok, Thailand.  Although he majored in interior architecture, Nontree is a classically trained pianist and always loved to sing.  In high school, he started making cover videos on YouTube, later joining University Big Band (C.U. Band), cutting his teeth in the Bangkok live music scene before appearing on The Voice Thailand in 2017.

Hanita Bhambri

While studying brand management at MICA, Hanita had hopes of connecting with people on an emotional level through her amazing storytelling. This talented musician’s songs are often melancholic reflections about love and loneliness, revolving around her personal experiences. She has creatively collaborated with Miti Adhikari and Christian Wright, at Abbey Road Studios in London.

Blah

Blah has been uploading and distributing his own music on Soundcloud since he was a university student, reaching out to a broad audience. He’s also participated as a featured artist and producer for notable Korean artists including Way Ched and Chamane. As a musician, Blah’s life-long goal is to continue producing and performing music that allows many people to relate to his tunes emotionally.

Eric Kung

Eric Kung is a singer, musician, and an information systems engineer based in Taiwan whose musical style has been influenced by John Mayer. Although working as a full-time engineer, Eric has dedicated his life to music. Every song represents the different stages of his life. “I live with music. It’s simple, it’s good and that’s all it matters,” says Eric.

LIST OF JUDGES AT FINALE:

SAAY is a 24-year-old Korean R&B singer-songwriter who made her debut in 2017. SAAY’s first encounter with rock music was through her own brother who played in a Rock and Roll band. Watching Michael Jackson’s MTV performance as a child was a turning point for SAAY and inspired her to pursue a career in R&B and pop music. She soon relocated to Seoul and SAAY debuted as the leader and lead vocal of the girl group called ‘Evol’ in 2012. In 2016, she signed to Universal Music Korea as a solo artist. She is currently showcasing her talent at many of the industry’s major upcoming events and festivals.

Alex Dyson is a renowned Australian music industry personality who has a highly engaged following among Australian youth as well as local musicians and talent. One of the longest serving Triple J radio breakfast presenters, both with the Matt and Alex and Tom and Alex breakfast show for seven years, Alex woke up early every morning to chat on-air with their 1 million+ weekly listeners, produce humorous material for Triple J socials, write and act in sketches and promotional videos for Triple J merchandise, and interview an extensive list of touring musicians and Hollywood actors.

Shu Ping Liang is Marriott International’s brand leader for the Select Service brands in Asia Pacific – Courtyard by Marriott, Four Points by Sheraton, Fairfield by Marriott, Aloft Hotels, Element Hotels, Moxy Hotels and AC Hotels by Marriott.  Shu Ping is responsible for the development, localization and implementation of brand experiences, marketing strategies and integrated programs for her portfolio of brands, supporting over 150 hotels in more than a dozen countries. 

Devraj Sanyal, is the Managing Director & CEO of Universal Music Group India & South Asia. Under his leadership, the company has become a music-based entertainment business, with a broad array of activities across labels and recorded music, music publishing, live, merchandising, brand partnerships, artist promotion and audiovisual content creation.   UMG is India’s leading label for Indie & non-film music.

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[1] Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Europe and the Americas

Hanita Bhambri (centre), winner of the Project: Aloft Star Asia-Pacific 2018; Shu Ping Liang (second right), Director, Brand and Marketing, Marriott International Asia Pacific, and Devraj Sanyal (right), Managing Director & CEO of Universal Music Group India & South Asia.

Hanita Bhambri emerged as the ultimate winner of Project Aloft Star Asia Pacific 2018 at Aloft Seoul Myeongdong.

Korean R&B singer, songwriter and producer SAAY rocked the stage with a special performance at the Project: Aloft Star Asia-Pacific final at Aloft Seoul Myeongdong

About Aloft Hotels

With over 150 hotels now open in over 20 countries and territories around the world, Aloft Hotels, part of Marriott International, Inc., delivers a fresh approach to the traditional staid hotel landscape. For the ‘always on’ next generation of traveler, the Aloft brand offers a tech-forward, vibrant experience and a modern style that is different by design. Aloft is proud to participate in the industry’s award-winning loyalty program, Starwood Preferred Guest®. Members can now link accounts with Marriott Rewards®, which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® at members.marriott.com for instant elite status matching and unlimited points transfer. For more information, please visit www.alofthotels.com and follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

About Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content in more than 60 countries. Featuring the most comprehensive catalog of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. Universal Music Group is a Vivendi company. Find out more at: http://www.universalmusic.com.

Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 6,700 properties in 30 leading hotel brands spanning 130 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company also operates award-winning loyalty programs: Marriott Rewards®, which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®. For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram.

About Marriott Rewards, which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG)

Marriott International’s award-winning loyalty programs – Marriott Rewards, which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and SPG – unite 29 unique and iconic global brands and over 6,700 distinctive properties in 130 countries and territories around the world, providing members with endless inspiration to travel the world. The programs, operating under one set of unparalleled benefits, enable more 110 million members to earn points toward free hotel stays, and achieve Elite status faster than ever, seamlessly and easily book or redeem points for stays throughout the portfolio. To enhance their travels, member may indulge in nearly 120,000 experiences offered on Marriott Moments, Marriott Rewards Moments and SPG Moments. When booking direct on Marriott.com, SPG.com or any of Marriott’s mobile apps, members can take advantage of exclusive Member Rates, free and enhanced Wi-Fi, mobile check-in and checkout, Mobile Requests and, wherever available, Mobile Key. To enroll for free or for more information about the programs, visit members.marriott.com. Travelers can also connect with Marriott Rewards on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and learn more about #spglife on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Beverly Cheng

Senior Brand PR Manager, Asia Pacific, Marriott International

E: Beverly.cheng@marriott.com M: +852 9540-0305

Alethea Lam

Vice President, Communications, Asia Pacific, Marriott International

E: Alethea.lam@marriott.com