GBOB World Final to be Held in KL

By Ben Liew  •  in News
Thirsty for JUICE content? Quench your cravings on our Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp

Attention band bois and grrls, it’s time to show the world what you’ve got! Since 2007, Malaysia has been sending its best bands to compete internationally at The Global Battle of the Bands (GBOB) Finals in London. This year, the finals will be hosted by Kuala Lumpur. Rep-resent!

Redberry Events, Organisers of GBOB Malaysia, have sent JUICE word that the World Final will take place on Saturday, 26 February 2011 at KL Live. Expect to see bands from more than 30 countries (like Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, England, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Norway, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Thailand and Ukraine) and from all walks of life (young, not-so-young, professionals, amateurs, signed or unsigned) competing for the prize of US$100,000 band development package, worldwide promotions, and recognition as the “Best New Band in the World.”

Held outside London for the very first-time, the World Final will be preceded by our local qualifying heats where you (via live voting) and a panel of judges will name our champ to go up against the world’s best. The search for the winning Malaysian band to represent the country will be carried out through a series of heats at various live music venues at Johor Bahru, Penang and the Klang Valley. Apart from the chance to compete in the World Final, the National Champion will also be awarded RM50,000 in cash and prizes.

The Qualifying Heats will take place as follows:
Fri 7 Jan – Qualifying Heat 1(Jazz & Blues Discovery, Johor Bahru)
Sat 15 Jan – Qualifying Heat 2 (Soundmaker, Weld Quay, Penang)
Sat 22 Jan – Qualifying Heat 3 (Bangkok Connexion, Jln Ampang, KL)
Sat 29 Jan – Qualifying Heat 4 (The Celebrities Hall of Music, Solaris Mont Kiara, KL)
Sat 12 Feb – National Finals (Dragonfly, Jln Kia Peng, KL)
Sat 26 Feb – World Finals (KL Live, Jln Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur)

A total of 80 bands are expected to perform at the Qualifying Heats where live audience votes count for 50% of the results and a jury of three to five judges made up of respected musicians and industry professionals will count for the other 50%.

So if you’re into world domination and think that your band is the next XX, then e-mail [email protected] for details on how to join. For foreigners, checkout gbob.com. Good luck!

Image GBOB Malaysia