Kollaboration Los Angeles is back for its 15th year on the evening of Thursday, June 26, and this time, they’re bringing the talent at the historic stage at Troubadour in Hollywood, previously named NBC’s “Best Venue in LA” and Rolling Stone’s second best American rock club of 2013. With 14 established chapters nationwide, Kollaboration has become the driving force in bolstering underrepresented Asian American entertainers. As the organization’s founding chapter, Kollaboration LA serves as the flagship of this non-profit grassroots movement and provides a platform for local, aspiring entertainers and future leaders to showcase their abilities and gain recognition in the entertainment industry. Some notable Kollaboration alumni include Far East Movement, Run River North, David Choi, Clara C, Dumbfoundead, and Kina Grannis – among many others.
This year’s finalists are: The Primaries, an unconventional R&B/soul collective and previous opening act for soul singer Dwele, #FOURTY4B, an acapella group who were winners of UCI’s Soulstice Talent Competition and LA Regional Harmony Sweepstakes champions in 2014, Julianne Manalo, a singer-songwriter who was a finalist on American Idol’s “Hollywood Week” and also a past opener for hip-hop chart-topper Macklemore, Phanith Sovann, singer-songwriter, pianist, and humanitarian who was the talent winner of Miss Global International Pageant in 2013, and last but not least, Julynn Kim, singer-songwriter who worked with Atlantic Records and scouted by Universal, Warner, and Sony. Of the five finalists, one standout act will advance to Kollaboration Star to compete against other winners from this year’s eight participating cities.
The guest judges who will be critiquing the five talents are: Oliver Wang, writer of Asian American music and culture, two-time Grammy-winning composer and former Billboard Classical Album chart-topper Christopher Tin, and Gingger Shankar, musician and composer who is best known for her scores on feature films such as “The Passion of the Christ” and “The Forbidden Kingdom.” There will be special performances by modern R&B and future soul singer-songwriter Anderson .Paak and an indie rock band who was last year’s Kollaboration LA winners The Rhee Brothers. Following the performances, the festivities will continue at the Troubadour for the show’s after party with hip-hop DJ Kero One spinning until doors close later that night.
Tickets are on sale at bit.ly/KollaborationLosAngeles2014 and for more information, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/KollaborationLA.
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