DiGi Live Sekolahku Berbakat Shines Spotlight on Secondary School Talent in the Klang Valley

2 teams each from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor win spots in national finals

Shah Alam, 5 June 2012 – The DiGi Live Sekolahku Berbakat regional finals saw two past finalists from 2011, ‘The Salbiah’ from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Cheras and ‘Mahligai Gemalai Sari’ from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Methodist Klang making it into the finals again this year, each representing Kuala Lumpur and Selangor respectively.

Joining them in their regional victory were ‘Leeleesm’ from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Puncak Alam as the other Selangor finalist and ‘Palu Mas’ from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seri Saujana as the other Kuala Lumpur finalist at the DiGi Live Sekolahku Berbakat regional finals in the Klang Valley. The four teams were crowned state champions after beating 13 other teams per state respectively, with their distinctly unique and creative interpretation of music and dance, at the state level competition finals held at the One Utama Shopping Centre.All four Central Zone winning teams with Roziyati Abdul Rahman, DiGi's Head of Campaign Management

Second time finalist ‘Mahligai Gemalai Sari’ took the stage with an impressive performance of ‘Zapin Fusion’ for the Tarian Glamer category. Team member Nur Syahira Hazmi commented, “We worked extra hard this year and it paid off when our group emerged a finalist once again. We are very excited that our modern Zapin performance which had elements of hip hop and jazz made a lasting impression on the judges. It was definitely a tough fight.”

Another second time finalist, Nurul Syazwani, the lead singer of ‘The Salbiahs’ who entered the Band Glamer category this year, said “Our group of five have worked hard so that we have a chance of emerging among the top three this year. We added on more funky elements and practiced a lot more this year as we modernised the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee’s ‘Jeritan Batinku’ for our performance.”The 29 Group of Finalists for the DiGi Live Sekolahku Berbakart Central Zone Regional Finals

Meanwhile, ‘Palu Mas’ wowed the judges with their contemporary Gamelan performance in the Band Glamer category. Farah Hazihah of the six-member band said, “Our teacher, Puan Hazira Hamsah worked very hard with us. We just wanted to showcase traditional Gamelan in a way that complements modern music styles, hence the contemporary twist to our performance.”

Roziyati Abdul Rahman, DiGi's Head of Campaign Management said, “We wanted DiGi Live Sekolahku Berbakat to be a platform for youths to express themselves and showcase their talent. DiGi has always supported the voice of our youth and we want to encourage more to join this event, which is in its third year running. Over the last three years, we have seen amazing talent and each year the talent seems to gets even better.”

The next state finals will be held on 10 June, involving students from the Southern states consisting of Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor. The national finals which will see 13 finalists in competition will take place on 1 July at Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur.

DiGi is also introducing an online category for the first time, where interested students who are unable to attend the auditions or those who did not make it to the Zone Finals are allowed to submit their online video entries via the official website www.DiGi.com.my/DLSB from 5 March to 22 June 2012. The top three entries with the highest number of votes will qualify to compete in the National Final together with the other school finalists.

Running from 5 March to 30 June 2012, the DiGi Live Sekolahku Berbakat competition is open to all secondary school students. To join, students may participate as a solo act or form teams of two to six members and register either with their respective schools or online at www.digi.com.my/DLSB for either one of the following four categories, namely singing (Vokal Glamer), band (Band Glamer), dance (Tari Glamer) and stand-up comedy (Lawak Glamer).

The stages of competition are as follows:
• Auditions held in eight states, namely Penang, Perak, Pahang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor
• Four Zone Finals after the Auditions held in the Southern zone (Johor, Melaka & Negeri Sembilan), Central zone (Selangor & Kuala Lumpur), Eastern zone (Pahang), and Northern zone (Penang & Perak).
• 10 selected teams/solo acts from each zone compete in their respective Zone Finals with the exception of the Central zone, which has 30 teams/solo acts.
• Top three Most Voted Online Entries via the DiGi Youths Facebook page will proceed to the National Finals as well.
• Top two teams from each Zone Finals (except the Central zone with 4 teams/solo acts) and the Top three Most Voted Online Teams/Solo acts will proceed to the Grand Final held on 1 July 2012 in the Klang Valley.

At each level of competition, the qualifying teams will be required to attend a camp featuring motivational training, grooming sessions, and rehearsals to prepare them for the Zone Final.

For more information on DiGi Live Sekolahku Berbakat 2012, please refer to the factsheet attached or visit www.digi.com.my/DLSB