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By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, July 6: Sarawakian-born Belle Sisoski has brought great pride to both Sarawak and Malaysia as she achieved an impressive second place in the Commonwealth Song Contest with her song ‘Stop Your Games’.
Out of 56 countries, the 17-year-old’s song was chosen as one of the top seven grand finalists for the contest.
In her own words, the song is about “complex emotions triggered by (Covid-19) lockdown, isolation, adapting to a new way of life, dealing with the loss of normal, a flashback to the fragile early emotional state of childhood, and an expression from the lens of a child.”
The song was also inspired to capture the raw, dark, and complex emotions of the Covid-19 pandemic’s effects while traversing that unusual time, she said.
The music video for ‘Stop Your Games’ can be viewed on YouTube.
Deputy Premier of Sarawak Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian also congratulated Belle for her accomplishments on his Facebook page.
Belle gained popularity on TikTok for her music content, where she showcases her talent in playing a variety of musical instruments such as the piano, sape, violin, guzheng (a traditional Chinese instrument), bass guitar, and drums.
With the TikTok handle @bellesisoski, she has amassed an impressive following of 822k followers and received a staggering 11.9 million likes.
Over 14.5 million people have watched her cover of British singer Sam Smith’s ‘Unholy’.
The Commonwealth Song Contest is a significant international music event that brings together 56 Commonwealth nations, representing a total population of 2.5 billion people.
The inaugural event took place in 2018, coinciding with the Commonwealth Games. This year, the second event was held to coincide with the coronation of King Charles III.
Between 2018 and 2022, more than 20,000 songs were submitted from Commonwealth nations.
A total of seven grand finalists were selected from Australia, Canada, Malta, Malaysia, Singapore, Saint Lucia, and the United Kingdom.
15,630 people took part in the initial public round of voting and over 10 thousand songwriters affiliated with the UK Songwriting Contest and the Guild of International Songwriters and Composers were invited to take part in the second and final round of voting. — DayakDaily
