Student beats the odds to win Sunsilk Academy Fantasia
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History was against Seah Hui Xian, yet she edged out two other male finalists to emerge as the inaugural winner of StarHub's first reality singing competition, Sunsilk Academy Fantasia, on Sunday night.
The 19-year-old with powerhouse Mandarin on television, since American Idol made popular the concept of fan votes deciding who wins. Votes cast by the panel of four judges made up 30 per cent of the decision, while SMS votes cast by the public accounted for the rest.
Seah, a top six finalist in 2007's Campus Superstar singing contest, said: "I never thought I'd win. I thought the guys would have a stronger chance than I did because local singing contests have had male winners all along."
Her rivals in the final were Irwin Fua, 25, and Chinese national Zhang Chi, 19. She was speaking to the press at Dragonfly at St James Power Station, where the live show was held and attended by 600 audience members. Seah, a music student at Lasalle album with local label Ocean Butterflies Music, as well as $10,000 in cash from StarHub, among other prizes.
