China television's 'Sing My Song' show auditions in Europe

Contestants perform on the stage during the final round of Chinese television reality show Sing My Song Season 2 in this March 14, 2015 file photo.[Photo/IC]

The popular Chinese television reality show Sing My Song Season 3 is now in the process of recruiting participants from Europe, the organizers announced.

Sing My Song is a talent show featuring contestants who perform original compositions, and it premiered in January 2014. In April, 2014, UK's ITV network announced that there would be a British version of Sing My Song, the first time that a British TV network bought a format originally from China.

The show is jointly produced by China Central Television Three and Can Xing Productions, and its European participant recruitment is done by TVB-Europe, the European subsidiary of the Hong Kong television channel TVB.

TVB-Europe is asking its European participants to fill in their application form and submit samples of their work by October 5, through its website www.tvbanywhere.com. Applicants must be over 16 years of age, speak fluent Chinese and must have written their own Chinese songs.

Successful applicants will be asked to do interviews in person in London on October 21 or in Paris on October 24, and those who are picked to go to the next stage will be able to participate in the actual competition in China.

The reality show is presented through three phases: the audition called "the recording", a battle phase called "the single", and a final called "the song".

The four judges choose teams of contestants through a blind audition process. Each judge has the length of the constant's performance to decide if he or she wants that singer-songwriter's self-written, composed, and sung song on his or her album.

If two or more producers want the same contestant, the singer-songwriter has the final choice of producer. This format is very similar to The Voice of China, another popular Chinese talent show, with the only difference being that contestants for Sing My Song perform their original composition rather than covering songs by other artists.

Currently the only judge announced for the third season is Liu Huan, a 52 year old Chinese singer and songwriter. He is one of China's modern era pioneers in pop music and is considered China's King of Pop. The other three judges are yet to be announced.

To contact the reporter: cecily.liu@mail.chinadailyuk.com