To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Lebara Mobile UK Asian Music Awards (UK AMA),a talent search is being launched to find an unsigned act to perform live at the event. One lucky winner, chosen by the UK AMA Unsigned judging panel, will win the once in a lifetime prize of performing in front of thousands of Asian music fans at Wembley Arena. The event will now take place on Thursday 25th October 2012 to allow this incredible competition to happen.
Created by CEO Abs Shaid in 2002,the UK AMA celebrate the finest in South Asian culture from around the UK and the world, featuring the best Asian singers, dancers and musicians. The awards are also dedicated to recognizing emerging British Asian talent and the UK AMA Unsigned competition once again shows this commitment to supporting the grassroots scene.
The judging panel will be made up of representatives from the UK AMA team. As well as performing at Wembley Arena, the winner will receive a production deal with Karman/Sony ATV giving them the opportunity to record their song in a studio session which will then be released through iTunes. The winner will also receive other prizes including a Nokia mobile phone with Lebara SIM card and a UK AMA VIP table for 10 guests.
Abs Shaid said: “The awards were first set up to recognize the growth and importance of Asian music in the UK. The event has grown each year and now attracts popular UK stars and established Asian artists from around the world. The 2012 awards are going to be the most impressive to date and it only feels right to give some support to the large number of up and coming Asian musicians still trying to get their big break, through the UK AMA Unsigned competition.”
Russell Atkinson, Managing Director Lebara Mobile added: “We are thrilled to announce the UK AMA Unsigned competition. We know there are so many talented unsigned Asian music acts out there and I’m sure we’re going to be inundated with entries. The UK AMA has always been instrumental in recognizing and rewarding talent and this year it will go one step further by providing this fantastic prize for an up and coming musician to perform in front of thousands of people at Wembley. The awards are all about recognizing Asian musical talent and we hope to find a real hidden talent in the search.”
UK AMA Unsigned competition opens in April and runs until September. To enter the competition, performers must upload a video of themselves onto the UK AMA Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pages/UK-
Nomination categories for the UK AMA opened in December allowing the public to vote for their favorite Asian music acts in 15 categories. The eligibility period for nominations will now be extended to September to accommodate the awards’ change of date. The top five nominees in each category will be announced in September 2012.
UK AMA is the only official awards recognizing and celebrating Asian music in the UK and plans to become as recognizable as the MOBO Awards. Artists who have previously performed at the event include Panjabi MC, Nitin Sawnhey, Bally Sagoo, Jay Sean and Preeya Kalidas. The event has also attracted some top UK pop names such as Alesha Dixon, Sugababes, Taio Cruz and Chipmunk.
To enter the UK AMA Unsigned, visit the UK AMA website from Monday 2 April 2012 www.theukama.com
