Singaporeans in Sing Off China's top 16

Home-grown a cappella group MIcappella are getting a shot at fame in China, on the singing contest The Sing Off.

The spin-off from an American reality show of the same name - which got canned after its third season - made its Chinese debut this month.

MIcappella - comprising six vocalists aged between 26 and 30 - are among the top 16 acts.

In an e-mail interview from Shenzhen where the show is being recorded, band manager Diana Tan, 30, said: "The idea of being on national TV in a country as large as China is still pretty surreal.

"But I'm sure once (the episode we're on) is broadcast, we'll start to understand the full scope of how large this programme, and the audience size, is."

The band have been there for the past 12 days and have recorded one episode so far.

The competition is open to talents from all over Asia, with participants mainly from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. MIcappella are the only ensemble from Singapore.

The chance to appear on the reality show was an opportunity too good to be missed, said Ms Tan.

She added that the band - which comprise Goh Junyi, a public-relations executive; Ng Wei Jin, a financial analyst; and full-time musicians Calin Wong, Eugene Yip, Peter Huang and Lee Ein Ein - are hoping that the show will help them break into China.

The group are not entirely new to reality shows. Last year, they were guests on Taiwan's popular singing-competition show, Super Idol.

Huang said proudly: "We were the highest-scoring group that night. We beat the resident participant and made her sweat a little by putting her in danger of elimination."

Upon hearing that The Sing Off in China was looking for contestants last month, the group sent a selection of online videos to the casting team and kept their "fingers crossed".

Within a week, producers sent the group confirmation that they'd made it to the top 16, and they were invited to perform. If they do well, they will move on to subsequent rounds.

They were unable to give many details, but revealed that they would perform Chinese songs in the show's initial rounds, in the hope of getting the Chinese audience to connect with them.

If they move forward in the contest, they will sing English songs later in the competition, which features judges like renowned Hong Kong lyricist Huang Wei Wen.

When asked about the group's performance so far, Ms Tan said: "The audience seemed to like the group, but results are mostly up to the judges."

The group are keeping mum about the results of the episode they were on, which is likely to be broadcast in China next month.

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