After a seven year hiatus, CMG, the China Media Corporation & Presidential Broadcasting Company of Kazakhstan, have brought back ‘Silk Way Star’.

The competition will last 10 weeks and feature 12 artists from across Europe & Asia. The competition is being held in the Kazakh capital Astana. The 12 artists are:

• Armenia – Saro Gevorgyan
• Azerbaijan – Sabina Zadeh
• China – Zhang HeXuan
• Georgia – Avtandil Abeslamidze
• Kazakhstan – Alem
• Kyrgyzstan – TAMGA
• Malaysia – Yazmin Aziz
• Mongolia – Michelle Joseph
• South Korea – KANDIS
• Tajikistan – Fakhriddin Hakimov
• Turkmenistan – Dovran Shammyev
• Uzbekistan – Madinabonu Adilova

The format of ‘Silk Way Star’ is as follows:

• In each of the first nine episodes, the jury alone will determine the results of the contest
• In shows 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8, one singer will be eliminated from the contest
• Seven acts will make it through to the final, the top five scoring artists and the singers from China and Kazakhstan
• The winner will be selected by 50% expert jury voting and 50% by online voting
• The first nine episodes have already been recorded in Astana
• The final of Silk Way Star will take place live on Saturday 22nd November

You can watch the first episode below, as well as view the results:

1. Malaysia – Yazmin Aziz – 126 points
2. Uzbekistan – Madinabonu Adilova – 122 points
3. Turkmenistan – Dovran Shammyev – 120 points
4. Georgia – Avtandil Abeslamidze – 120 points
5. Kyrgyzstan – TAMGA – 114 points
6. China – Zhang HeXuan – 114 points
7. Kazakhstan – Alem – 112 points
8. Tajikistan – Fakhriddin Hakimov – 106 points
9. Armenia – Saro Gevorgyan – 106 points
10. Mongolia – Michelle Joseph – 104 points
11. Azerbaijan – Sabina Zadeh – 104 points
12. South Korea – KANDIS – 92 points

Let us know what you think about the Silk Way Star – either in the comments below or on our FACEBOOK, BLUESKY, TWITTER, YOUTUBE, INSTAGRAM and TIKTOK pages.

The Eurovision Community, which Eurovision Ireland are a part of, celebrates diversity through music. Please keep your comments respectful. We will not tolerate racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, body-shaming or any other derogatory or hostile language.

Author: Richard Taylor

Source: Eurovoix World & YouTube/Jibek Joly TV