Chinese Idol

Jan 9th, 2010

(Fu Zhou, China) – Nikki Nova, an American singer from San Diego, has qualified as a Top-10 contestant in Taiwanese Idol (officially called MN Idol). Taiwanese idol is a global competition and Nikki competed against singers from all around the world, each of them singing in the Taiwanese language. Nikki is the very first American to reach the Top-10.

Taiwanese Idol does not subscribe to the Nielson ratings but they estimate conservatively that there were over 50 million viewers tuning in to each episode and many more for the finals. The hosts announced on the air that over 100 million viewers tuned in to the finals. North American viewers were able to watch the show if they had “Dish Network” and subscribe to “The Great Wall” package.

Nikki performed at the finals on Jan. 9th, 2010 in Genting Highlands (located in the mountains about an hour from Kuala Lumpur) at the “Arena of Stars” a 6,000 seat musical amphitheater located at an outdoor theme park. Singers that have performed there include Boyz II Men, Cliff Richard, and Olivia Newton-John.

Nikki sings in both Mandarin and Taiwanese and was the only performer not of Asian descent in the entire competition and the only contestant from the U.S. to make the Top 20, beating out some Native Taiwanese.

Wang Su Jing, one of the judges who is a famous Taiwanese singer, said of Nikki’s last performance: “Looked like an Oscar performance”. The other judge, Bow Xiao Boa, who is a Taiwanese Canadian, said he “felt like he just watched Celine Dion sing a Minnan song on stage.

Nikki sings in both Mandarin and Taiwanese and was the only performer not of Asian descent in the entire competition and the only contestant from the U.S. to make the Top 20, beating out some Native Taiwanese.

Although Tai Idol is a “pop” singing contest patterned after American Idol, Nikki is also a vocalist / keyboardist / guitarist with the rock band “Liquid Blue” which was the first American band signed to a major Chinese record label (Shanghai Audio & Video). Liquid Blue has performed in more than 100 countries, a world record. Among their many performances in China, the band was featured at the 2008 Summer Olympics Kick-Off event for CCTV in Beijing. For more information on Liquid Blue in China, see this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_Blue or their web site at www.LiquidBlue.net.

Hotel/Casino where performers are staying in Malaysia: http://www.rwgenting.com/

Finals Venue (Arena of Stars): http://www.rwgenting.com/en/entertainment/aos/index.htm