Hong Kong's creative set and music lovers of all ages convened for a lively and spirited musical celebration for the ages, featuring more than a dozen artists performing everything from city pop to metal. Held on July 22nd at the Kowloon International Trade & Exhibition Centre (KITEC), "Music Wonderland" was attended by more than 1,200 people, who were linked by a shared love of music and ready to let loose after two years of pandemic-fuelled lockdowns and restrictions. The event was hosted by Supernova, a Hong Kong-based organisation which aims to foster the local art scene, and connect like-minded people through community-based events, exclusive spaces and a wide range of products and services.

As the city springs back to life, a large crowd pumped energy into the arena, which boasted whimsical decorations inspired by "Alice in Wonderland", from giant mushrooms to puffy clouds which floated across the ceiling. A sea of pink filled the venue, as the audience came dressed in their best Alice-esque attire, ready to take a fanciful journey down the rabbit hole with some of the city's most talented musicians. The event was orchestrated and headlined by Supernova's resident musical director and curator, DJ Sidtrus, who performed a special EDM set to wrap up an unforgettable day. The concert was also supported by another community-based organisation and members club, House 44, whose co-founders Roland and Felix Li were two of the many performers to take to the stage.

Singers were selected to perform through a rigorous selection process which took place over a 6-month period from January to May, with more than 200 singers auditioning across the city. Coming from all backgrounds and walks of life, the mix included amateurs to professional artists, with a final 32 selected to perform in a live round elimination contest, held at Lau Bak Freespace Livehouse in West Kowloon Cultural District. The final 16, picked by a panel of professional vocal judges and a live audience vote, went on to earn a coveted spot to perform in Music Wonderland.

During the concert, the energised audience grooved along to the dynamic combination of genres and musical styles represented by the performers. The slate of talented artists who lit up the stage included Cary, a lead vocalist of the underground band, Pleasure Garden; Rona, Cantopop singer and artist with hits previously gracing Hong Kong's Cantopop charts; Jon, who has performed with Sally Yeh and Edmund Leung; Bonnie, singer and rapper who made her big-stage debut; Wing, former female lead vocalist for vocal group V.O.X., and many others. Cary said that the Supernova concert was "a great breakthrough to transition from my rock singer past to more K-pop and EDM styles," while Jon said, "I never thought I would be standing on a stage again in front of 1,000-plus people; it was a life-changing experience."

Supernova's musical director, Sidtrus, closed the evening with a heart-thumping EDM set which embraced his signature futuristic approach to music. The Hong Kong-based DJ and EDM producer is celebrated for his unique and forward-thinking sound, incorporating cutting-edge elements into his compositions. In 2021 December, he launched his music single NFT "Take Me Home", which garnered close to HK$3 million in sales after all 3,000 copies were sold, earning this track the title of top five highest music NFT sales in Asia, and the record of single highest sales in DJ music NFT album in Hong Kong.

"It's such a crazy experience," said Sidtrus. "I started off making music from my bedroom and now I've sold HK$3 million worth of my music. If you ask me, NFTs are the future of music."

As he prepares for the next stage of his music career, Sidtrus is adamant about giving fans the opportunity to not just listen to, but to own a part of his music, closing the gap and creating value within the experience. His unique approach underscores his belief that artists should be able to connect directly with their fans, without having to depend on a record label or entertainment company, or a 'lucky break'. "NFTs have really changed the game," said Sidtrus. His single, "Take Me Home", is the first of six NFT albums that he plans to release every six months, to chronicle his musical journey. His second single, "Supernova", appropriately named after Supernova, the platform that catapulted his music career, was released in July 2022 and has already racked up an impressive 100,000 plays in the first 10 days of the track being on Spotify.

As Supernova embarks on the next evolution of the brand, one rooted firmly in the digital frontier, fans can expect more live music festivals, singles to be released as NFTs, exciting collaboration projects, and a Supernova Spotify channel to shine a light on up-and-coming talents, and foster a community of fans aimed at amping up the music scene in Hong Kong.

Now in its fifth year, the "Ear Up Incubation" music mentorship programme reached another milestone for the local music industry when 14 Hong Kong based groups were chosen as finalists in the long-awaited Ear Up Music Festival in April 2022.

Along with local rock band, Kolor and independent singer-song writer, Kendy Suen, the 13 rising musicians among the finalists delivered their best to the live indie music lovers.

Covering a variety of music genres, the groups took five major awards including the "Ear Up Grand Prize", the "Ear Up Creativity Award", the "Ear Up Performance Award", the "Ear Up Audience Award" and the new "Ear Up Branding Award".

Despite the continuous challenges created by the COVID-19 situation, a year-long training programme concluded with the 13 groups among the 14 finalists displaying their talents at the Festival which was held in the Macpherson Stadium.

The power of the female voice could not be overlooked in this year's "Ear Up Incubation" programme. In a diverse range of music, the female voice opened up new possibilities. Combining heavy metal and electronic elements with Cantonese songs, FIESTER delivered a colourful style of music to music lovers. DAWN saw music creation as a vast and unknown sound adventure, taking into account the song's composition, and bringing an alternative colour side to Cantonese songs. CHOR sang in a psychedelic atmosphere, leading the audience into the music and into another place where they could feel the message and be genuinely moved. Growing up in music, Yuki Lovey used piano elements from everyday sounds such as metal parts, glue, wood, water and typing to explore themes like personal growth, suffering, and the relationships between people to deliver healing effects to busy urbanites.

Indie band sounds are the soul of Ear Up Music and fans enjoyed alternative rock, electronic, metal, fusion, jazz-pop, neo-soul, R&B, rap and dream-pop in Cantonese, English, Mandarin and Japanese songs.

Uchu Yurei brought progressive rock, jazz-fusion, Japanese film soundtracks, and classical music into their musical universe. Project "Narratist" told stories using notes and rhythms that blended jazz, rock, and classical music to create a pleasant and profound sound journey for the audience, while RAM provided the audience with an alternative rap rock music experience. The Kowloon K wrote songs with improvisational elements of the instrument and were constantly experimenting with new possibilities by combining city-pop and jazz-pop. Inspired by jazz-pop, soul and funk punk, Nervous System surprised the audience with its diversity of music. With dream-pop and shoegaze as their main music backbone, Tofu Kingdom provided fans with another musical experience through their indie-pop style paired with fantastic and exciting music videos.

Wandering between the electronic music of hip hop, electro, trip and house, the duo BEAT FRIDAY showcased unique music and visual in their performance. While Bedroom Party created rhythmic and dreamy music using the computer's digital music workstation software in their bedrooms.

The 'big chaos' music style of Higgo Raj blends R&B, EDM, disco, hip hop, and more in a rhythmic musical journey. While Lester Lam incorporates pop music, R&B and indie into his singing and writing.

Uchu Yurei, a progressive and instrumental band, offered an impressive music performance and won the "Ear Up Grand Prize". The city pop representative Kowloon K got the "Ear Up Audience Award" and was the online live viewers' the clear favourite. Higgo Raj was the winner of the "Ear Up Performance Award" who showed his music passion with his talented band. "Ear Up Creativity Award" went to BEAT FRIDAY, who demonstrated an innovative combination of music and visual content. Lester Lam, the singer-songwriter, was the winner of the new "Ear Up Branding Award".

Ear Up Music is a music label that was tasked by the Renaissance Foundation Hong Kong to develop a sustainable and diverse music ecology in the city and nurture rising young music stars. Sponsored since 2016 by Create Hong Kong (a Government unit that aims to develop Hong Kong into a regional creative capital),the label created the "Ear Up Incubation" programme to spotlight new music in Hong Kong and in neighbouring regions and beyond.

Apart from dedicated small group mentorship sessions, the programme also includes a series of performance workshops and international forums for young musicians to enhance their live performance skills, understand the latest industry trends and discover potential collaboration opportunities. Live house showcases and school showcases are also arranged for incubatees to gain performance experience and build up a fanbase. All the incubatees are selected through an open recruitment and audition process organised by Ear Up Music.

GRAMMY® Award-winning multiplatinum powerhouse Maroon 5 are one of pop music's most enduring artists and the 21st century's biggest acts. To date, the universally renowned Los Angeles band have achieved multiple GRAMMY® Awards and become the most successful duo or group on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this century; with 32 records charted and 15 Top 10 singles. Maroon 5 holds a Top 40 record for the most #1 hits among pop duo or groups with Eleven entries and have earned Twenty-Two Top 10 entries on the chart. They are the only band to achieve these accolades. Maroon 5 reaches over 45 million monthly Spotify listeners, and after completing their "2021" tour, they have played over 750 concerts in 30+ countries selling over 7,500,000 tickets worldwide, remaining "one of the world's best-selling artists."

Maroon 5 stand out as not only one of pop music's most enduring artists, but also one of the 21st century's biggest acts. To date, the universally renowned Los Angeles band have achieved three GRAMMY® Awards and become "the most successful group in the history of the Billboard Hot 100" with 12 Top 10 entries, earned 20 Top 40 hits making them the only band to ever do so, sold over 36 million albums, 48 million singles worldwide, and earned gold and platinum certifications in more than 35 countries. The band won over fans and critics alike with the hybrid rock/R&B sound they introduced on their debut album, Songs About Jane and their double platinum album, It Won't be Soon Before Long. Maroon 5 went on to release studio albums, Hands All Over, which featured the anthemic "Moves Like Jagger," and Overexposed. The band's fifth studio album, V, debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top 200 chart and featured the #1 hit singles "Maps," "Animals" and "Sugar," helping the band set a record for the most #1's by a group in the Top 40 chart's 20-year history, with 9 in total. The music video for the album's GRAMMY- nominated single "Sugar" has notably logged a record setting 2+ billion views to date.

Maroon 5's released their 6th studio album, Red Pill Blues, in late 2017 via 222/ Interscope. The debut single off the album, "What Lovers Do," [feat. SZA] introduced the band's latest body of work with a proverbial bang; accumulating over 574 million Spotify streams and 252 million YouTube/VEVO views. The band's most recent single is the highly anticipated track "Wait," which has quickly climbed up the Top 40 and Hot AC radio charts and already clocked over 134 million Spotify streams. The band's newest single "Girls Like You" ft. Cardi B has quickly risen to the top of the charts. The single sits at #1 at Top 40, #1 at Adult Pop, #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached #1 on iTunes and Spotify, all while accumulating almost 300 million Spotify streams and 641 million YouTube/ VEVO views.

Due at Singapore National Stadium, 28 November 2022. The Singapore Sports Hub is a state-of-the-art, fully integrated sports, entertainment and lifestyle hub. Located on a 35-hectare site within the city at Kallang, it features a unique cluster of world-class facilities. As the centrepiece of the Singapore Sports Hub, get the best of live sports and entertainment at the 55,000 capacity National Stadium and enjoy spectacular views of the waterfront and Singapore city skyline.

Currently no tickets available. Check back again soon for exclusive access to tickets!

A new survey by the leading virtual private network provider NordVPN revealed that Singaporeans spend 27 years and 1 day of their lifetime online. Compared to the average life expectancy, which in Singapore is 83.5 years, that is almost a third of their lives.

During a typical week, Singaporeans spend a bit more than 54 hours using the internet, which is the equivalent of more than two days. Out of those 54 hours per week, more than 18 hours are spent working.

The average time Singaporeans start browsing the internet each day is 9:17 – and they don't log off until 21:47.

The biggest amount of Singaporeans' time per week – 7 hours and 17 minutes – is spent watching videos on platforms like YouTube. Just an hour less – 6 hours and 16 minutes – is spent streaming TV shows and films on platforms like Netflix, Amazon Video, or Hulu.

A further 5 hours and 32 minutes a week are dedicated to scrolling through social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, while 3 hours and 34 minutes are spent listening to music on Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, and similar platforms.

In addition, 2 hours and 32 minutes/week are used for online shopping, 2 hours and 23 minutes are used for making video calls, while another 1 hour and 46 minutes are spent playing games such as Fortnite or Minecraft.

"Most of us seek to ease and enrich our daily lives with various online platforms and services. However, barely anyone thinks about their online security or the privacy of the data they provide to apps and websites.

"Long hours spent on the internet increase the risk of becoming another cybercriminals' victim – current global circumstances have made them even more active," says Daniel Markuson, a digital privacy expert at NordVPN.

The survey was commissioned by NordVPN and conducted by the external company Cint between January 11-18, 2022. The survey's target group was residents of Singapore aged 18+, and the sample was taken from national internet users. Quotas were placed on age, gender, and place of residence.