In March the European Broadcasting Union announced that it had reached an agreement with SBS — Australia’s Eurovision broadcaster — to create and develop a Eurovision concept for the Asia-Pacific region. In fact, as some Eurovision fans were busy screaming, “Australia can finally leave Eurovision!”, SBS was already planning to launch Asiavision in 2017 with 12 competitors and a potential reference group including representatives from China, India, Japan and South Korea.
Details remain a little sketchy. Although we know Australia is likely to host the inaugural contest, we don’t have a host city, dates, participating countries…or anything else. In an effort to get the ball and the hype rolling, we’ve compiled a list of twelve potential countries and artists. So from Turkey to Tonga, Mongolia to the Maldives, and everywhere in between, let’s unleash that Asian realness. Let’s do this!
WISHLIST – “ASIAVISION” 2017
Australia – Delta Goodrem
Arguably one of Australia’s most successful artists of all time, Delta Goodrem started stirring the Eurovision pot back in 2015 when she penned “My Girls” — the Australian entry for Junior Eurovision 2015. Hype blew up all around Delta when Australia was confirmed to participate in Eurovision 2016 until the honours eventually passed to Dami Im. However, given the Asian market is one that Delta is yet to crack, Asiavision could be a phenomenal platform to launch a career in the region. She’s conquered wiwivision, now it’s time to conquer Asiavision. Slay, momma!
China – EXO
EXO are one of Asia’s most popular boybands ever. The group debuted as a 12-piece in 2012, with two sub-groups EXO-K and EXO-M performing in Korean and Mandarin, respectively (hence the initials). These boys are gorgeous, with a catchy pop sound. A group of talented singers, dancers and actors, they are serving dynamism and extravaganza for days!
India – Shaarib & Toshi
Now lesbihonest here… Who wouldn’t want to see some high production value Bollywood music at Asiavision? Shaarib & Toshi are pioneers in the Bollywood music industry in India for their ability to mix traditional Indian music and contemporary sounds. If something as visually stunning as Bollywood can be transferred onto a competitive stage, India could be a huge force at Asiavision.
Indonesia – Anggun
This Asian sensation needs no introduction to Eurovision fans. After a stellar performance with an unfortunate disappointing result for France in Eurovision 2012, the beautiful Anggun could catapult her homeland of Indonesia to the top of the Asiavision scoreboard. Anggun is such a huge star in Asia — she is a judge on “Asia’s Got Talent” and Madame Tussauds in Thailand recently began the process of immortalising her in wax.
Japan – Namie Amuro
Japan is one of the world’s biggest exporters of pop music. Its music scene has a cult following in a lot of western countries, particularly Australia and the United States, so it’s incredibly difficult to choose one act to represent the country behind J-Pop. Namie Amuro is a huge star in Japan, with a career spanning three decades. She is often described as the “Japanese Madonna or Janet Jackson” and the “Queen of J-Pop”. A seasoned professional who is still riding the waves of success, she would bring a tsunami of fabulous to Asiavision.
Malaysia – De Fam
One of Malaysia’s hottest girl groups right now is De Fam. The trio — individually known as Sophia, Azira and Cik — have mastered a great pop/RnB sound, fusing rap and perfect harmonies in both Malay and English. Their songs ooze female empowerment. With dynamic staging, they could put Malaysia’s women on top of the Asia-Pacific singing contest.
New Zealand – Broods
Broods are the hottest things on the music scene in New Zealand right now. Melding dance, pop and indie rock into a delicious pot of eargasm, the duo have seen both of their albums chart at number one in New Zealand, in the top five in Australia and even the Billboard 100 in the United States. Their dark sound would make them an act to watch for sure.
Philippines – Moira Dela Torre
Moira Dela Torre‘s big break came during the first season of The Voice of the Philippines in 2013. Landing herself in team apl.de.ap from The Black Eyed Peas, she was unfortunately eliminated during the battle rounds. This didn’t defeat Moira, as she’s gone on to release multiple singles showcasing her exquisite voice.
Singapore – The Sam Willows
A relative newcomer in Singapore is The Sam Willows, a four-piece group made up of siblings Narelle and Benjamin and their friends Sandra and Jonathan. They have a unique sound that blends pop, dance and country elements. Their song “Take Heart” has had over a million views on YouTube and it’s so infectiously catchy that people all over the region would pick up their phones and vote. Le Singapour, douze points!
South Korea – BTS
Before we get y’alls hopes up, getting BTS to represent South Korea at Asiavision is like getting Adele to represent the United Kingdom. They are such a huge name in their homeland that it’s highly unlikely they’d ever say yes to competing, but one can dream, right? Their music and their videos are complex and dynamic, and they’ve managed to win a devout following all around the world. South Korea could easily be the Sweden or Russia of “Asiavision” with a music scene this fierce.
Thailand – WAii
One of the hottest female stars hitting the music charts in Thailand right now is WAii. Collectively her songs have tens of millions of views on YouTube, and she has a great look and sound for a solid Thai pop tune. Her homeland isn’t particularly known for their pop music scene, but everything about WAii could put Thailand on the map! Forget pad thai. There is a new dish of the day!
Vietnam – Trong Hieu
Lucky last on the list comes to us from Vietnam. Trong Hieu is best known for his success on the 2015 season of Vietnam Idol and is everything you would want from what sounds like a Vietnamese Bruno Mars. He’s got the right amount of charisma and spunk, and paired with a great voice, could make Vietnam a standout in the contest.
What do you make of our suggestions? Who would you like to see grace the stage at “Asiavision” 2017? Let us know your favourite Asian pop artists in the comments section below!
Delta goodrem will never be in any completion Josh, why would she want to, she does not need it, anyone that is established in the industry like Delta would be embarrassed if she lost, it would hurt her identity. No established artist in there minds would ever compete in Asia or Eurovision, why would they do it unless they are stupid. That is why SBS could not get a big artist like Delta. Delta is not stupid. SBS were lucky to get Dami in 2016, essentially they sent there best artist that is not established and Dami im is the… Read more »
I’m still waiting for Wiwivnloggs to publish an article entitled: “AsiaVision 2017: EXILE to Represent Japan?”
Hopefully in the next few weeks. 🙂
Agreeing with the comment that Korea would be the real force in Aisavision as opposed to Sweden in Eurovision. K-pop has been huge for like past decade in East Aisa and even in Southeast Asia so that the fan base is insane, though K-pop is usually not my cup of tea. If they send SNSD, BTS, BIGBANG, EXO or some well-known groups, they, at least, will win the televotes for sure. As for Jolin Tsai from Taiwan, I don’t think China will agree with the idea of Taiwan joining the competition ’cause they consider Taiwan as their part of territory.… Read more »
I just wanna say that is my country, Bangladesh, decides to participate, we should totally send Mila AKA the Shakira of Bangladesh.
Nah fam SK should send Girls’ Generation (and bring back Jessica) or 2NE1 (and bring back Minzy).
As long as TVRI becomes Indonesia’s host broadcaster, I don’t see any winner comes from Indonesia. Hope RCTI or net. will take over soon.
Wah ternyata banyak eurovision fans dari Indonesia :D!
TBH I think I will enjoy the ASC more than the ESC. I love the asian music scene. <3 (Especially J-Pop and K-Pop)
I think that South Korea could easily be the Sweden of the contest. They already send an famous girl group (Sistar) to the ABU Song festival, so I think that we could see some famous K-Pop Idols in the ASC too. ^^
Japan could definitely do better.
@Robyn Gallagher Oops !! Sorry, It was that I thought, that Justin comes from NZ because of his family name : Wellington 😀 Are you sure that he comes from PNG ? Because I rode an article which indicated that he’s from Australia o.O And for Lorde, I agree with you, Lorde’s career doesn’t have to be boosted. And to take part to a contest as the future Asiavision shouldn’t be in her projects. But It could be fun if she waved the flag for NZ at Asiavision and – let’s be honest – why she couldn’t have time to… Read more »
@Josh Salmon Seriously !! Broods for New-Zealand ?! What bad act will be that duo ! New Zealand should be represented by an other artist, who could be more representative of Aotearoa than Broods. I think that Stan Walker (as @Robyn Gallagher quoted in her comment), Justin Wellington or the beautiful Lorde will be just perfect to wave the flag for New Zealand at Asiavision 😀 instead of those Broods 🙁
Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan – I hope these countries would participate.
i’m really looking forward to this! i believe asia has so much to offer when it comes to artistic talents. based on these videos, i can’t pick a favorite either. i’m always put off by vietnamese or any other indo-chinese languages because they sound so weird but the songs here are great! china and japan hates each other, japan and korea hates each other, malaysia and indonesia hates each other, philippines and malaysia, india and pakistan, hong kong and china, etc etc. the first winner of asiavision will be a politically-neutral akin to switzerland and i’m putting my bets on… Read more »
lol no delta pls and yeah stan walker for nz! also love broods
If this happens, South Korea and Japan might be battling for the wins, coz fanbases are strong especially South Korea. Oh well, good choice for our country, Wiwibloggs. #MoiraDelaTorre
@jamaladingdong
I hate Ayu Ting Ting, and don’t really like Agnes Monica
Something like Raisa will be nice
I would like to see Taeyeon Kim.
I – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OrCA1OInoo
Why – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkdtmT8A2iY
I love the idea of sending Namie Amuro to Asiavision! She is popular all over the continent! Japan should either send her, sakanaction, Perfume, Mr.Children or Asian Kung-Fu Gerneration. I hope they would not send any cheap girl group. As for Korea, Miss A or 2NE1 definitely!
@jamaladingdong: Eh, those two are has-beens. I’d rather see the likes of White Shoes & The Couples Company representing Indonesia. But knowing how underfunded public broadcaster TVRI is, my bet is they’ll probably send someone anyone barely knows.
On a side note, Rivermaya for the Philippines? Philippines is not participating on ABU TV Song Festival so it would be interesting who would be their host broadcaster. Public broadcaster PTV or would it be media giant ABS-CBN?
Just imagine SNSD, 2NE1 or Sistar competing for South Korea O_O
That would be one hell of a stage act.
Realistically I could very well imagine an act like Lee Hi who has amazing vocals and a decent amount of fame.
Otherwise a former K-pop group member, too. like Sera from 9muses for example, trying to set foot again in the music industry.
Agreeing that exo would never represent China. It’s always been a more Korea focused group, even moreso now that there’s only one Chinese member left. It would be nice to see them perform but they only do that now with all 9 members, so they’d have to ditch some. If kpop were to go to asiavision, I’d recommend a smaller group like the TTS subgroup from Girls’ Generation. They’re the 3 best singers of the group, so they can sing live, but still give a good performance. I think namie amuro is a good choice. I only heard about her… Read more »
Yeah, I think South Korea should go for a solo singer rather than a group if they’re going down the KPop route, considering how much Kpop is about the overall performance, they’d be safer going with a soloist then having dedicated backing vocal and dancers, as some groups couldn’t even compete (provided Asiavision keeps the 6 people on stage limit). I’d quite like to see someone like CL from 2NE1 perform (though it might not fit her bad girl image), that or if they could get her, HyunA would be perfect.
Elva Hsiao for Taiwan!!!!! Taiwan!!
”Arguably one of Australia’s most successful artists of all time, Delta Goodrem”
Uhmm, I beg to differ.
I understand as a non-Asian this article would have been hard to write, but some of these choices are slightly bizarre. Again know this is just a wish-list, but India would never happen. As an Indian, I’ve never even heard of those two artists and I’m sure I speak for the majority of the population. India is different from other countries in that our big artists aren’t part of big labels like Sony. Instead singers become big here by singing hit songs from Hindi movies(most still have songs). I feel like India would take Asiavision quite seriously and therefore would… Read more »
I hope Asiavision really happens! I’m already excited for it (especially seeing what Japan and S. Korea have to offer, I love J-Pop and K-Pop <3)
But aren't the Arab nations going to participate too? 🙁
EXILE should represent Japan, like seriously! I swear, Atsushi and Takahiro would STORM Australia!
Yay, exciting 🙂 Hope there’ll be more news about it this year. The head question is will we be able to see broadcast though tbh every invented person will dig it anyway 🙂
I think Yuna would be a great choice for Malaysia too! Bringing some sweet indie folk/pop from her earlier days or a bit of hiphop/R&B from nowadays.
BABYMETAL should be representing Japan. Bring that kawaii metal realness to Asiavision.
Asiavision would be interesting. It would be nice to see what other countries from outside Europe would bring to the table. And, I could actually get behind and support Australia’s entries, unlike Eurovision. It could be fun and it makes more sense than having Australia in ESC, at least with ASC they can be full participants.
Might I suggest Ayu Ting Ting or Agnes Monica to represent Indonesia, too.
Yuna from Malaysia though…
@ josh salmon
haha i’m not offended, just thought i’d let you know. i’d love to see exo at asiavision but i highly doubt it’ll happen considering exo-m only has three members left and they practically only perform as one group with 9 members these days (so with exo-k) and mainly in korea.
Jolin Tsai from Taiwan and Taeyang from Korea would be great:-)
@ayla Apologies for offending. Honestly when piecing this article together, I found the structure of EXO to be quite confusing, and I assumed that all members of the Mandarin half were of Chinese background and not Korean. Regardless of where the guys are from though, still so entertaining and would be great for Asiavision. Much love’
@Robyn Gallagher
Stan Walker would be brilliant!
Scrap Broods, I’d vote for Stan!
Delta’s last album is just great! 🙂
I’m a Broods fan. I’d vote for them for sure.
”EXO are one of Asia’s most popular boybands ever. Collectively they include twelve members — six Korean, six Chinese.” exo never had six chinese members. exo-m consisted of two korean members and four chinese members. the chinese members were kris, tao, luhan, and yixing. however tao, kris and, luhan left the group between 2014 and 2015, so there’s only one chinese member left. if you only had done so much as read their wikipedia page you would’ve known this.