AXN announces Asia’s Got Talent judges

MANILA, Philippines - It’s a yes! Grammy-award winner David Foster, former Spice Girl Melanie C., Indonesian music icon Anggun and Taiwanese-American pop idol Vanness Wu have been named as the celebrity judges for the season premiere of the hit talent search show Asia’s Got Talent on AXN.

Billed as the biggest talent competition in the world, Asia’s Got Talent will light up screens across Asia in March on AXN and will feature some of the region’s most incredible performing artists as they compete to take home the coveted winning title.

Hui Keng Ang, SVP and GM of Sony Pictures Television Networks-Asia, said, “We have put together a superb panel of judges for Asia’s Got Talent. This is definitely our most ambitious original series to date and is very much in line with the type of smart, high-quality local programming that audiences have come to expect from AXN.”

Paul O’Hanlon, managing director of FremantleMedia Asia, said, “We’re proud to say that Asia’s Got Talent will be the largest version ever of the Got Talent franchise, and our judges bring a depth and breadth of experience and talent worthy of this show.”

Anggun made her international breakthrough in 1997 with Snow on the Sahara that was released in 33 countries worldwide, topped music charts in Italy and Indonesia, and made the Top 20 in Finland, France, Japan, Spain and the US. She released five more albums and songs featured in international movies, including the Hollywood box-office hit Transporter 2. Anggun is a recipient of the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French government.

Foster discovered and launched some of the greatest music careers, including Michael Bublé, Josh Groban and Celine Dion. He has created hit songs and award-winning albums for the likes of Earth, Wind & Fire, Natalie Cole, Michael Bolton, Seal, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Chicago, Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban. He has won 16 Grammy Awards and is the chairman of Verve Music Group.

Melanie C. was part of the iconic five-member Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sporty Spice. As a solo artist, Melanie sold more than 12 million records from six albums that she released. She has the second most No. 1 singles in the UK and is also the only female to top the charts as part of a quintet, a quartet, a duo and solo.

Vanness was born in California where he took classes in performing arts, acting and languages before moving to Taiwan at 21 to build his career. His breakthrough came via the wildly-popular Meteor Garden and its sequels. Vanness became part of F4 — now known as JVKV — and released three studio albums. He released his debut solo album in 2002 and followed that with six others, as well as singles collaborating with such musicians as Kanye West, Beyoncé and Coco Lee.

From thousands of applicants, the four judges must select Asia’s most breathtaking performances. Those who move on to the semi-finals will face an even more intimidating judge, the AXN audience at home who will ultimately determine who wins the first season of Asia’s Got Talent. The semi-finals and finale will be held at the iconic Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, with the winner awarded a contract to return and perform live at Asia’s leading entertainment destination.

Asia’s Got Talent is the 63rd version of Got Talent, which won the Guinness World Records title for being the world’s Most Successful Reality TV Format in 2014. The hit format is co-owned by FremantleMedia and Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment.