JOHOR BARU: Sabah-born singer-songwriter Gary Chaw is one of the four judges of the Singapore/Malaysia edition of the reality-based singing competition, The Voice.
The multiple-award winning singer is joined by Taiwanese crooner Sky Wu, Singapore-born and Hong Kong-based singer, songwriter and actor Hanjin Tan and Chinese balladeer Della Ding Dang.
Chaw is hopeful that the competition will open doors of possibilities for the contestants.
"When I first started out as a singer, I was blessed to have a lot of people helping me achieve my dream of becoming a singer. I hope the show will give budding singers the opportunity to shine," he said at the show's press conference held at Hotel Jen Puteri Harbour here today.
In order to be on Chaw's team, one needs to have onstage charisma.
"Besides that I'm also looking for unique vocals," he said.
Recently, the Singapore/Malaysia edition of The Voice drew flak among netizens when the show had called for participants who are "fluent in Mandarin" and "able to perform Mandarin songs".
However, Chaw is unaffected by the criticism the show has received.
"There's bound to be agreements and disagreements from people. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I respect that," he said.
Recording of The Voice will take place at the Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios here from tomorrow until year end.
The original show first aired in the US in 2012, featuring judges including Maroon 5's Adam Levine, country singer Blake Shelton, award-winning singers Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams.
The Singapore/Malaysia edition is co-produced by mm2 Entertainment and cable television networks - Malaysia's Astro and Singapore's Starhub.
Co-hosted by Singapore's SPH Radio UFM100.3 DJ Huang Wenhong and Astro's TV personality Siow Hui Mei, The Voice is set to premiere on Sept 17 at 8.30pm on Astro AEC (channel 301 and 306HD).