KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza's niece, Umairah, 13, is among the candidates who will participate in the 27th World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center in California, the United States between June 28 and July 6.
A total of 15 contenders will represent the country in the vocal, dance, music, and modeling categories, this year. 70 countries are expected to participate in the 27th edition of the tournament organised every year in Hollywood.
According to Berita Harian, the talented teen, whose full name is Ummi Umairah Saiful Anuar, will represent Malaysia through five categories and will be performing Siti's original song, Cindai, in the World category.
"This is my first time participating in WCOPA. I want to try something challenging and will perform five songs in five categories.
"These five categories are Contemporary, Open, R&B, World, and Variety. I will also sing a song from the Irama Malaysia genre, Cindai, for the World category.
"My aunt told me to do my best and not be shy. To be honest, I am nervous, I've never been to Los Angeles.
"This competition is big for me. So, I will train really hard. I hope everyone can pray for me to succeed and be able to bring home a gold medal for Malaysia," she said.
Meanwhile, Mycreative Promotion Sdn Bhd CEO, Romli Bidin, said the Malaysian team's participation in the world championship was a golden opportunity for local talents, regardless of age, to showcase their abilities to arts practitioners in Hollywood and to gain attention in the international arena.
"As usual, the Malaysian team consists of multiracial participants from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak.
"A total of six participants are children between the ages of 5 and 15 and nine adult participants (16 years and above). The youngest is 8 years old, while the oldest is 50 years old.
"In total, the Malaysian team will participate in 63 competitions in solo and group divisions. Each individual will participate in at least four categories and a maximum of eight.
"A total of eight contestants will compete in the vocal category, dance (6), modeling (5), and instrumental (1) by playing the sape," he said.
The Malaysian team will also get the opportunity to attend workshops organised by prominent artistes from Hollywood, Nashville, and New York.
Participants also have the chance to receive scholarships from higher education centres for the performing arts in Hollywood and New York worth more than RM2 million.
In addition, they will have the opportunity to pursue a career in Hollywood with leading producers, companies, or performing arts agencies in Hollywood.