Rising star from Kota Kinabalu crowned as Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2013 Champion

KOTA KINABALU: Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2013 (CDI) continues to fuel the singing passion in East Malaysia by bringing the music alive at its climatic Grand Finale at The BED Waterfront Kota Kinabalu last Friday, September 27.

A total of 12 grand finalists, the top two winners from each Area Finals, bested more than 200 aspiring singers in Sabah and Sarawak since the launch in August 2013.

Champion of CDI 2013, Sylvester Lee was in high spirits expressed, “It’s like a dream come true, I never thought I would reach so far and win the title of Carlsberg Diamond Idol. Today, my dream has truly come true and I’m extremely thankful to Carlsberg for creating such a platform for us aspiring singers”.

Sylvester Lee walked home with RM10,000 cash prize, followed by Eve Julie Edwin with RM5,000 cash prize. In support of talented local artistes, the brewer is giving an opportunity to the champion of CDI 2013 to sing at Carlsberg Malaysia’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme named “I Love Chinese Education East Malaysia Charity Concert” for six shows that will be kick start mid next year as a feature artiste.

Mr Teoh Nar Teik, Regional Sales Manager of Carlsberg Malaysia commented, “We are proud to organise CDI for 3rd consecutive years and promoting local talents and music here in East Malaysia.”

“This is Carlsberg’s way of bringing people together and engaging our consumers through various platforms. Our heartfelt thanks to our loyal consumers and customers who have made Carlsberg the most loved beer brand, especially here in Kota Kinabalu”.

Prior to the Grand Finale, these aspiring grand finalists spent a thorough 3-day 2-night Carlsberg Diamond Idol Camp with Team Building Instructor Bonnie Lai from Pine Academy and dance choreography duo, Skyler and Tiffany Liew from Synergy Dance Group. The Camp was enforced in 2012 with the ambition to groom and polish the grand finalists through a series of workshops.

The team who lead the Carlsberg Diamond Idol Camp shared that the finalists were very positive towards discovering themselves.

They also added, “We believe that this camp has certainly contributed and instilled in them the positive attitude that they will need to carry on with their singing career. With so much positive aura throughout these three days, we were confident that they were ready to shine on stage tonight – and the champion has proven us right!”
Since 2011, Carlsberg Malaysia launched the Diamond Idol singing competition to apprehend the increasing growth of young talents in East Malaysia.
It is proud to learn that the 2012 CDI Champion, Ms. Esther Thian has also won gold at the Astro Star Quest Singing Competition this year and is now competing on an international singing competition in Taiwan.