Local singer Elisa Chan emerged as the overall champion in the 21st edition of Best of the Pop, a singing competition organised by local broadcaster TDM, which held its award ceremony at the Macau Cultural Centre on 19 July.
According to a TDM statement, Chan bagged the highest prize – the Golden Award – as well as the Best Producer Award, Best Arrangement Award and Favourite Song Award for her song “Desire 404.”
“In life, people may have to shoulder a lot of burdens, expectations and desires, which may cause us to feel very tired physically and mentally,” Chan said after the ceremony. “But with this song, I want to tell everyone that we can leave behind these desires and expectations, and can live our lives very simply and happily.”
Some of the other winners of the contest included Benjamim Soares, whose song “Tired of Running” earned him the Best Composition Award. Soares, along with five other local talents including Whale Belly and Roberto Madan ft. Claudia Koh, also won Favourite Song awards.
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After his win, Soares took to Facebook where he posted a message to thank his supporters. “I put my heart and soul into my music and I’m currently working hard on new songs (that are coming very soon),” he wrote.
This year also saw the inclusion of new prizes such as the Best Internet Popularity and Marketing Award, which went to the child pop group, Maxchill for their song “We chill, Maxchill.” Michelle Tun, meanwhile, won the Best Positive Energy Award with her song “Ling Long.”
Reflecting on the development of Macao’s music industry, the producer of Best of the Pop, Rony Chan, said that there were improvements in the calibre of local singers and their songs each year. “There is much more creativity,” he noted. Chan pointed out that local singers were “more daring in terms of trying out different styles of singing,”
A total of more than 160 music talents participated in this year’s competition, which had 51 songs vying for a prize pool worth more than 200,000 patacas. Voting for the competition began online in May via the TDM website.
