SINGAPORE - Amritha Devaraj may be of Indian descent, but that does not stand in the way of her love of xinyao - a home-grown Chinese folk song movement.

The 15-year-old student of Crescent Girls' School, who speaks her native tongue of Malayalam at home, began studying Chinese as a second language in primary school. She currently takes Higher Chinese as a subject.

"My teacher told me about this competition and that was how I began listening to Chinese music," she says, referring to the National Schools Xinyao Singing and Songwriting Competition. "Now, I've become interested in Mandarin pop music."

Amritha, who joined the competition's singing category last year, is one of the featured singers on Xin Kong Xia 2019 - a digital album launched on Thursday (Feb 21) at the Ministry of Education by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Manpower Low Yen Ling.

The album - the first released from the competition - combines winning tracks from the past two years.

All 15 songs and three music videos will be made available on www.cpcll.sg. The album's title follows the name of the competition in Chinese, which in turn references Eric Moo's song Starry Sky (1984), which reads as Xing Kong Xia.

Amritha lends her voice to the track, Raintree, which was composed and penned by 14-year-old Xiao Wen from Nanyang Girls' High School.

Xiao Wen won last year's songwriting (creative) category - meant for songs inspired by the Chinese curriculum in school.

The fifth edition of the competition, which is open to students from secondary schools to universities, will kick off in June.

It is organised by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL) and co-organised by Lianhe Zaobao, Jurong Pioneer Junior College and xinyao concert organiser TCR Music Station.

New elements will be introduced by the organisers this year "to allow our children to find their own, new voice of creative expression", said Ms Low, who also chairs the CPCLL.

"One way to do that is to allow them the latitude and freedom to compose their own songs," she added.

The new edition will add a semi-finals round to the songwriting segment, so that more students can get to perform their works in front of a live audience.

A one-day music workshop in past years featuring mentors such as local xinyao pioneers Roy Loi and Chen Jiaming will also be extended to a two-day music camp.

Students taking part in this year's singing category can also opt to sing tracks from the new album.

TCR Music Station's founder Cai Yiren is optimistic that the competition can help cultivate new talents in the local Chinese music scene.

He said: "From the point of view of a musician, the students are producing quality music and lyrics, so we are pleased.

"The best way to cultivate more young talents is to reach out to students and engage them."