A Richmond-based Chinese-language radio station is calling for candidates for their 27th Canadian Chinese Song Writer Quest.
The winner of the Fairchild Radio contest will be given $3,000 and will have the opportunity to write for famous artists in Asia through a partnership with Hong Kong-based production company Media Asia.
“The songs need to be written in Chinese but we welcome applicants from all backgrounds," said Seme Ho, promotion director for Fairchild Radio.
"We had composers who didn’t know any Chinese but composed the music, and had a friend write the lyrics for them. And one of them actually was the champion for the year."
There will be 15 songs selected for the second round and posted online for public voting, and the five most-voted songs will enter the finals and get performed on stage in Burnaby in August.
In addition to a champion award, Fairchild will also give $1,500 to the winner of the Best Performance Award at the finals and $1,000 to the songwriter that receives the most votes online.
“We always had participants whose songs were selected by Media Asia,” which has on their books many famous singers, according to Ho.
“Some signed a long-term contract to write more songs for them and launched a music career in Asia.”
Among them are Candy Leung - who has won the championship both in 2011 and 2021 – whose winning song was sold to Media Asia, before being published in Hong Kong and sung by artist Feanna Wong.
The competition was first held in the 1990s in Richmond when the company felt the need to encourage local songwriters to create Chinese-language songs.
“At the time, there were already many Chinese immigrants in Vancouver, and many of them had musical talent,” said Ho, adding that most Chinese immigrants were listening to songs from Hong Kong or Taiwan back then.
“So the people at the company thought, why don't we host a competition to find and give a stage to local talent?”
The deadline for submission is April 18 and people can send the application at https://sq27.am1470.com. The competition is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
