Ekta Aggarwal, Delhi
Bengaluru Regional Round of the K-Pop India Contest 2020 was conducted online on 9th August 2020 at 5 p.m. IST on the YouTube page, BKF INDIA. The Regional Round organiser on Instagram is Bengaluru Kwave Fanclub – BKF. Here is an excerpt from the statements of the winners of the Dance and Vocal categories regarding their experience of this event.
Dance Category
Ms. Moon Moon (Winner)
Hi, I am Moon Moon and I am 17 years old. I am the winner of the Bengaluru Regional Round in the Dance category. This year’s K-Pop contest was very special for me since it was my first time participating in the K-Pop contest. I’m very thankful to KCCI for organising this contest and the BKF team who handled the Bengaluru Regional Round so professionally. I’m indeed very happy to win the Bengaluru Regional Round and it’s been a phenomenal experience for me. Looking forward to next year’s contest where I’d be performing with my team HELIX and I hope BKF gets to handle it next time too.
Ms. San (First Runner-up)
Hi, I am San, and I am 17 years old. I am the first runner-up of the Bengaluru Regional Round in the Dance category. So, this was my first year of K-Pop Contest India, and what a great experience. When I got to know about KCCI, I didn’t know it was this big of a deal but as I went through their page I was in awe. So, I gave my auditions for the online round. I practiced really hard and finally passed the online round! I was so excited, you have no idea. Then came the regional rounds and not I am not going to lie but I didn’t think I’d make it. I saw others online round covers and they were so damn awesome. I remember not being excited at all when they were going to air the performance video but I literally jumped when my video came. I was on a call with my friends and they were like you are the first runner-up and I didn’t even know how to react to that, well, of course, I was happy and excited but I didn’t say anything. I read all those pretty comments from everyone and it was so warm :’)
Ms. Anuhitha (Second Runner-up)
Hi, I am Anuhitha and I am 22 years old. I am the second runner-up of the Bengaluru Regional Round in the Dance category. K-Pop has always been something that has made me happy, whether it is listening to it, singing, or dancing. I’ve been participating in the contest for a while now and it has always been a very beautiful experience. Being able to perform to my favourite music genre and the songs of my favorite artists has always been very exciting. This is the first time I’ve been in the top 3 and it felt very overwhelming, seeing so many people support me in doing what I love and also cheering for me. Even during the pandemic when we thought we couldn’t participate this year, we were all glad that we got an opportunity to perform and showcase our talents. All of the participants put in a lot of effort and I’m sure everybody who watched our performances loved and appreciated them. Looking forward to many more years of being a part of this event!
Vocal Category
Ms. Oorja Saxena (Winner)
Hi, I am Oorja Saxena and I am 17 years old. I am the winner of the Bengaluru Regional Round in the Vocal Category. It was the first time, I was actually selected for the regionals. With the deadline nearing, I had thought, let me try this year too. Who knows? I might get selected. And then, the congratulatory email had come and I was added in the WhatsApp group. It was actually quite fun and everyone was so nice and supportive that we developed a close bond over a short time. I was pleased to see that K-Pop had attracted lovers of varying ages and professions. We had video calls to relay instructions and I was quite restless to send my video. The deadline came and I recorded my video. For some reason, I was nervous about my performance. The YouTube video was released and I was awed by everyone’s performances and props. All of our hearts were racing with anticipation when the result day came. We kept cheering each other with silly jokes and pure praise. I had never expected to win. It was my first shot! My hands were cold and shaking. I was crying, but with joy. Oh, the release of all that anticipation and nervousness! I was showered with love and support from my family and fellow participants. And the icing on the cake was the cash prizes we received. I felt happy that my talent was recognised by the judges. They were so open and welcoming when I asked them for some feedback about my performance. With K-Pop still being an alien genre to some, the fact that I had successfully sung a song in a different language and style, totally amazed me. I would really like to thank KCCI for conducting this competition this year so smoothly despite the current circumstances. I would like to spread this genre to more people with my skills and make Bengaluru proud of me! Hwaiting!
Ms. Ekta Jain (First Runner-up)
Hi, I’m Ekta Jain and I am 20 years old. I am the first runner-up in the Bengaluru Regional Round in the Vocal category. When I found out about the K-Pop India Contest, I just sent in one of my old covers, not really expecting to get through to the regionals but they must have liked the audition video because I got through. It was surreal for me to be grouped with other absolutely talented singers. I genuinely did not think I stood a chance against them because they were all so good at what they did and had more experience than me. Over the course of time, we all became a really supportive set of friends, bonding over K-Pop and all our favourite groups. The first time I heard everyone’s regional performance was at our live stream and every one of us did a fabulous job to the point where even we didn’t know who to expect as the winners. I still remember when we found out that our results will be out the next day, all of us couldn’t sleep well that night, texting pretty late into the night, trying to calm each other’s nerves. When the winners were finally revealed, I remember that I went back and watched the video at least 15 times because my heart refused to believe that I’d actually be placed in the top 3. Each one of the contenders and all my friends and family were so supportive. Also, our organisers deserve a special mention. They did an absolutely beautiful job, making the entire experience much more amazing. They solved all our doubts and went above and beyond to ensure we faced no hitches and had a lot of fun. Overall, it was honestly a surreal experience, one that helped boost my morale as well as helped me find many like-minded and talented friends. It was one of my favourite contests to be a part of and I’ve got my eyes on the prize for the coming year as well 🙂
Ms. Vidya Parashar (Second Runner-up)
Hello, I am Vidya Parashar and I am 27 years old. I am the second runner-up of the Bengaluru Regional Round in the Vocal category. This year was my 5th time participating in the K-Pop India Contest. I’ve been participating every year since 2016 and every year there’s really an elevation in the amount of talent Bengaluru sees. Last year I didn’t even make it through online rounds, so this time I tried harder and got through. It was a fun experience, having everything being done online. It kind of helped me curb my stage fear as well since there was no stage.
Ms. Tejal T. (Second Runner-up)
Hi, I am Tejal T. and I am 19 years old. I am the second runner-up of the Bengaluru Regional Round in the Vocal category. Ever since I became a K-Pop fan in 2016, I have wanted to participate in this contest, but always resisted out of insecurity. My sister and best friend finally convinced me this year and I’m really glad because it was a wonderful experience. When I qualified for the Regional Round, it was fantastic and I felt so ecstatic. Extra kudos to my sister for helping me shoot all those videos, for the online preliminary round and the regionals. Tons of videos, so many bloopers, and NG takes that ended up being hilarious. Shout out to my parents, sister, and neighbours for having to listen to the same song again and again while we shot all of those videos, to my friends who all help me pick out the best video to send, and all my fellow contestants who are now good friends to me. And a big thanks to the BKF admins who have made this an amazing journey I have cherished immensely.
Check out the Bengaluru Regional Round performances here:
Congratulations 👏👏👏
All the best for the Finals 💐