K-Pop India Contest 2021 Bengaluru Regional Round Ends + Winners Announced

Hosted and organized by Korean Culture Center India (KCCI) and Bengaluru Kwave Fan Club respectively, the regional round of the K-Pop India Contest 2021 was held on October 10.

KCCI has engaged in various activities to bridge the gap between India and South Korea, among which the K-Pop India Contest is one of their biggest hits that has played an integral role in spreading Hallyu aka the Korean Wave, in various parts of India.

Due to COVID-19, the regional rounds were streamed on KCCI’s official YouTube channel. Audiences were able to watch the pre-recorded videos of the participants in the Vocal and Dance category. For the Bengaluru regional round, 10 participants were selected for the vocal category and 10 for the dance category, based on set criteria.

Regional Round Selection Criteria for Vocal:

-Ability: 60%

-Expression and Pronunciation: 20%

-Stage Charisma: 20%

Regional Round Selection Criteria for Dance:

-Choreography which included Composition and Uniformity: 40%

-Technique: 30%

-Stage Charisma: 30%

While the competition was tough, three winners from each category were selected by the judges based on their performances and the above-mentioned criteria.

Winners (Dance Category)

1st Place: Helix

2nd Place: Maria Mize

3rd Place: Nafis Maysaa

Helix

Helix is an all-female dance group, and each of the dancers are well-known among the K-Pop fans in India for their amazing covers and collaborations. The girls have been posting a number of covers on Instagram and YouTube for quite some time.

We reached out to the members and asked them a few questions and here is what they said,

“Through every competition or every dance choreography we cover, we just keep learning and growing to put the best version of ourselves out there. That is our goal, essentially, to put out something more than just dance covers. We want to be recognised as a group who add their own special touch to anything they put out. We have our ups and downs but we overcome them together. To us, Helix is like a family!”

The girls also talked to us about their upcoming plans as a dance community.

“We were kind of disheartened to know that the competition would be all online but nevertheless we had a blast so far. Deciding on our song, practising, picking out our outfits was such a fun process. It’s been a wonderful and thrilling experience for us, as it is every time we take part in the Kpop contest! In the future, we hope to perform in front of an audience, own our own studio, conduct workshops, and who knows! Maybe even create newer groups like Helix so others get the opportunity to show their love not only to K-Pop but also dancing and singing.”

Winners (Vocal Category)

1st Place: Oorja Saxena

2nd Place: Jemimah Raphel

3rd Place: Anunyaa Iyer and Aishwaria Iyer

Oorja

19-year-old Oorja Saxena is super talented and can sing in 20 languages! Her love for Korean music and singing is one of the reasons she looks forward to the K-Pop Contest India and she finds solace in the music during stressful times and further express herself by singing.

She said,

“I really love Korean songs but there aren’t many opportunities to sing, so I always look forward to this competition. I would really like to thank KCCI for conducting this competition this year so smoothly despite the current circumstances. Even though it would be more lively if everything happened live, online is a safer method. I would like to spread this genre to more people with my skills and make Bengaluru proud of me!”

We asked her about her preparations for the regional round and she said,

“I started preparing for quite some time. It would be the rainy season, and my voice would be very vulnerable. So I practised a lot and started recording on time and hard work paid off. I got to see many awesome performances and I’m happy all of us got this chance to express our love for K-Pop. I was pleased to see that K-Pop had attracted lovers of varying ages and professions.”

K-Pop India Contest’s finals are fast approaching and participants from various regions are gearing up to give a great performance. This also includes pressure as this contest is known to have very talented participants. Here is what our Bengaluru finalists have to say,

“I’m excited about the finals…I’m working hard trying to choose the perfect song that suits my voice and wherein I can express my talents to the best. I will give my best. So I hope everyone looks forward to and be moved by my performance!” – Oorja

“Finals are approaching and honestly, we are very very nervous. The moment we got the results, we started worrying about when we should meet for practice, what outfits we should wear this time, which location to shoot at, and the list goes on. I mean we have to up our level! We’re also kind of freaking out because some of the members have exams and we have much less time to practice and perform again. But we’re super excited and are going to give it our best. Since winning doesn’t involve audience voting and is based on the judges, I really hope the best and deserving team wins. But, we are so excited to show what we got once again and prove that we deserve to win. We’re determined on making it a memorable performance! And to our Lexies!💜 please look forward to our performance and be there to watch it when it’s out. We promise to give you good performance with a lot of energy. We love you. Keep supporting us❤️ We’ll make you proud!” – Helix

The final round will be held on November 27, 5 PM IST and will be live-streamed on the Korean Culture Centre India YouTube Channel. The ultimate winner in each category will get a chance to go on a free trip to Korea.