A celebration of what Asia is about

MANILA, Philippines - Artists from Asia for Asia. This is what Eliot Kennedy and Brian Grant wish to produce when they finally tap the five members who will comprise a new Pan-Asian female-group making a dent in Asian entertainment scene. Eliot and Brian represent FarWest Entertainment. The former was part of the team that developed Spice Girls, S Club 7, Five and Blue.

“It’s not just about the looks,” says Eliot of the project cum search. “Absolutely not. I mean don’t get me wrong. Asia has incredibly beautiful people and the rest of the world knows that. But it also has incredibly talented people and the rest of the world doesn’t know that yet. Both Brian and I have had the benefit of having very good careers and we get to travel and we know that there are incredible talented people here that we don’t see on TV in the West. We don’t hear on the radio in the West. We are proud to be part of the project that will endeavor to take that and make that.”

Eliot and Brian will get five ladies from the Philippines, China, India, Japan and Korea. The 25 aspirants will attend a six-week intensive training on singing, dancing and performing at the Lotus Academy in Hong Kong. They will work closely with a choreographer, vocal coach, nutritionist and gym instructor. One girl from each country goes home every week. Auditions will start on Aug. 15 while the training begins Sept. 15.

“At the beginning of the week, there’s a surprise,” shares Brian who will make a documentary on the search. “Each group is given a song. During that week, they will learn a routine and do lots of things with a choreographer and singing coach.”

It sounds like a reality TV show. But it is definitely not.

“It’s not just a talent show. It’s a school of excellence,” clarifies Brian. “They gotta be really good. They’ve gotta be sing. They’ve gotta be dance. Dance is being able to take a choreography.”

How is this group different from the other female bands gracing the mainstream charts? According to Eliot, the group will be different. The girls won’t be styled the same way. They will showcase their individual identity. People can have their favorites.

“We are not trying to make them all sound the same,” he says. “We want to keep those differences — the cultural differences, the musical influences. We want to make sure we catch much of these girls’ individual character and culture as possible. So these girls will become ambassadors.”

The unique sound the five ladies will create is what Eliot and Brian look forward to and find interesting.

“That’s what we have to find out. How they will sound all together,” says Brian. “That’s also one of the joys of it.”

There will be a songwriting camp at Peter Gabriel’s studio in England commissioning the services of artists like Gary Barlow, Amelia, Alisha Dixon, All Saints, Lil Boots, Jonathan Wang to write pop songs with cultural elements for the girls. These songs will be the official tracks for the group’s debut album.

“The whole concept of this company is to make stars that emanate from Asia to the west, not the other way around,” says Brian. “We want this to be a celebration of what is great about Asia — talent, culture and individuality. All of those things,” adds Eliot.

Meantime, Brian and Eliot are on the talent hunt to get simply the best.