Industry news
Holiday Inn Express Songwriting Competition winners announced
The winners in the 2014 Holiday Inn Express Songwriting Competition have been announced. The winning entries in each egion were selected by a combination of votes from their fans, the general public and an expert panel of judges.
All four winners will now have their hit turned into a professionally shot music video which will be released in the coming two months.
The winning entries from each market are:
- QuadriHateral from India with the song, Holiday Inn Express which received a total of 135 public votes
- Ugee & Merry from Indonesia with the song, Miss U Holiday Inn Express which received a total of 56 public votes
- Tristan Trent from South Africa with the song Because It's You which received a total of 24 public votes
- Paddyman from the UAE with the song Express Yourself (Everybody got a bit of fun inside) which received a total of 65 public votes
Rewarding and promoting talent
“We wanted this competition to reward and promote smart talent. Holiday Inn Express is all about fun, smart and savvy, qualities which we think reflect that of many musicians. We received some excellent submissions and all the winners really impressed us with their creativity, originality and reflection of Holiday Inn Express brand values,” said Lee Lin Teo, director of Brand Management, Holiday Inn Brand Family, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).
Tresor Riziki, singer-songwriter and winner of the South Africa 2012 Holiday Inn Express Songwriting Competition
The competition ran over six weeks. It received close to 110 entries and more than 2,500 votes and shares were cast. The ten songs with the most number of votes from each country were then shortlisted and a group of expert judges were tasked to select the grand winners based on four main criteria: originality and creativity, melody and arrangement, the contestants’ performing ability and the incorporation of the Holiday Inn Express brand personality.
The South Africa judges included:
- Graeme Watkins, singer from The Graeme Watkins Project
- Tresor Riziki, singer-songwriter and winner of the South Africa 2012 Holiday Inn Express Songwriting Competition.
- Miles Keylock, Editor-in-Chief, Rolling Stone South Africa
- Lee Lin Teo, Director of Brand Management, Holiday Inn Brand Family, IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group)
Riziki, one of this year’s judges and last year’s South Africa winner, is now an accomplished multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter, who is signed with Universal Music Publishing Group and has been featured across South African airwaves and international music channels such as MTV ZA, MTV Base and Trace TV.
For more information about the Holiday Inn Express Songwriting Competition and to listen to the winners’ singles, go to fb.com/holidayinnexpress.
