Singapore, 2 September 2012 – Anthea Wang, 16 and Rendy Lauwady, 20 trumped 14 other candidates and emerged the top two winners at the second audition for the Singapore’s leg of tvN K-Pop Star Hunt S2! The duo will represent Singapore for an intensive training at the renowned Korean artiste management company, CUBE Entertainment, with 14 other contestants across the region including Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand as well as new additions, Malaysia, Japan and Vietnam.

Performing in front of the crowd for the Singapore leg of the tvN K-Pop Star Hunt S2, today’s audition saw the Top 16 taking the stage, wowing on-lookers and supporters at Plaza Singapura, with their powerhouse vocals and exuberant dance moves. Two winners eventually emerged triumphant from the intense competition, which saw more than 1000 submitted video entries as well as an additional hundreds of participants from walk-in auditions trying out for a shot at superstar stardom.

Overcoming nerves and the shock of winning, Anthea, currently a student at Kranji Secondary School, shared “I never expected to win! I was stunned yesterday to hear that I had made it through to the Top 16. And being the winner is an even greater surprise. I’m nervous about the thought of going to Seoul to represent Singapore, but my family is very supportive of me, and I’m ready to give the opportunity my all,” she exclaimed.

Anthea’s singing talents were undeniable as she had emerged as a finalist as one of the 309 contestants from the walk-in auditions the day before at StarHub Green. tvN K-PopStar Hunt S2 was her first K-Pop talent competition and her winning song was “Ugly” by 2NE1.

20-year old Rendy, who currently works as an event organiser, could hardly believe that he had emerged as the first runner up. Over-awed with the astonishing announcement, Rendy was almost at a loss for words. Rendy shared, “This is a dream come true. I never thought that I could make it this far in the competition. I just know that I really, really want to be a singer and tvN K-Pop Star Hunt S2 gave me this chance!”

tvN K-POP Star Hunt Season 2 also saw the panel of judges from season one reprising their roles again. Today’s audition saw four judges which comprised of Mr. Eddy Tan, Vice President, Programming of tvN, [V] and Star World, FOX International Channels (FIC); Mr. Park Jae-Hyun, General Department Head of Rookie Development Division, CUBE Entertainment; Singapore guest judge, Founder and CEO of local artiste management company FLY Entertainment, Ms. Irene Ang; as well as special guest judge, Tony An from legendary K-Pop group H.O.T, who will also take on the role as this season’s host.

Said Mr. Tony An, “I’m very happy that the support for K-Pop is very strong in Singapore. I’m also surprised that the standard here is that high.” He understood that the finalists were nervous performing in the public and encouraged them to have more confidence. Echoing his fellow judge’s sentiments, returning judge Mr. Eddy Tan said, “We are impressed by this year’s calibre of talent. Singapore has always been a hotbed of great talent. We are even more encouraged to see many some familiar faces from amongst the contestants.”

“Thumbs up to repeat contestants who kept trying and came back to audition again. We have noticed stark improvements,” added Ms. Irene Ang.

Asked about this year’s competition and the winners, Mr. Eddy Tan remarked, “Anthea and Rendy stood out because they displayed their personalities in their performances, which was the most important.”

When asked on dishing advice to K-pop enthusiasts and future contestants, Mr. Park Jae-Hyun offered some valuable tips, “Practice hard, continue trying, and one day, you will be a Korean superstar. Hard work is essential.”

For winners Anthea and Rendy, the journey to superstardom has only just begun. The two will continue their journey to become the next K-Pop idol when they meet up with the other winners from Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and Vietnam.

To witness the contestants’ journey to stardom, stay tuned to tvN K-Pop Star Hunt S2which will premiere on Saturday, 24 November 2012 on tvN, StarHub TV Ch. 824/ 874 (HD).

Do stay tuned to (x)clusive as we bring you the exciting bits that happened behind the scenes these two day during the auditions of tvN K-Pop Star Hunt S2.

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More information of The Top 2 Winners

Name: Anthea Wang Yi Thong 袁瑜同 – 16
Occupation: Student, Kranji Secondary School

As a walk-in contestant at tvN K-Pop Star Hunt S2, Anthea did not expect to win the competition at all. She was already shocked to be selected as she faced tough competition from other aspiring stars. She was shocked beyond words upon hearing the news that she was selected as the Top 16 and now that she has made it to the top 2, life is even more surreal for her. She hopes to be a punk artiste much like her favourite bands Big Bang, 2NE1 and BAP. She plays the guitar and says that she is really nervous about the thought of going to Seoul. Anthea has to juggle between her training as well as preparing for her O Levels.

Name: Rendy Lauwady (Indonesian) – 20
Occupation: Events Organiser

Rendy is an Indonesian-Chinese who flew all the way to Singapore just for this audition. He works as an event organizer in Indonesia and he often performs in pubs and bars to hone his singing skills. Besides that, the avid Christian also takes time to sing for the church. He is able to speak a little Korean and he’s confident of winning this contest which he did. This jovial 20 year old is set to take the stage away in Korea.