Vidisenuo Belho bags first runner-up in K-Pop India Contest

Our Correspondent
Kohima, Sep. 25 (EMN): K-pop is gaining popularity worldwide and there is no denying the fact that their music has garnered a lot of fame and popularity in Nagaland as well.

Widening its popularity, many K-Pop related activities have been held amongst fans and upcoming artistes across the state.

On September 23, 20-year-old Vidisenuo Belho from Nagaland was declared the first runner-up in the solo singing competition at the K-Pop India Contest 2020 organised by the Korean Cultural Centre India (KCCI).

Chanchui Khayi from Delhi was adjudged winner of the solo singing competition.

Participants from 18 states competed in singing and dance contest.

Belho performed Heize’s ‘Can you See My Heart’ thrice to bag the first runner-up, which fetched her gift along with a certificate and a free visit to South Korea.

The competition required artistes to sing a song of their choice in a video throughout the contest. For every round, the same song had to be sung and recorded in a new video.

Speaking to Eastern Mirror, Belho, who hails from Kohima village, expressed excitement over winning the runner-up title.

“Actually, I didn’t expect to win the title at all since the winning is 100% based on public voting through online,” she said.

She said it was Keneingunuo Ecilia, the founder of HallyuWave Nagaland, who encouraged her to take part in the mega competition. “I didn’t even think of participating in this event at first place,” Belho shared.

Ecilia expressed her happiness and said that it was a proud moment as an artiste from Nagaland has won a K-Pop competition for the first time.

Belho, a third semester student at Kohima Science College, said she was stunned and motivated to see that many voted in favour of her during the online and the regional rounds.

However, she informed that she fell sick during the final round and couldn’t perform well.

“Since it was through public voting, I got more nervous,” she said, adding that she performed in the final with fever, cough and cold. “I fell so sick that my voice became so hoarse; I couldn’t sing comfortably, but I’m so happy that things turned out well. I didn’t expect to win the first runner-up position,” Belho added.

She said that she never sang any Korean song in any event before. “This is the first time I had ever participated in a K-pop singing competition,” she said and expressed excitement that she will get a chance to visit Korea.

Apart from the big breakthrough, Belho also won some accolades in different singing competitions that were conducted in the state.

She was the winner of solo singing competition during Spero Meliora which was held at Kohima village in 2014. In the same year, she participated in Hornbill Kids Carnival singing competition and bagged the second runner-up.

In 2015, Belho again took part in the Hornbill Kids Carnival singing competition and clinched the first position. She is also a regular performer at Christian Revival Church, Kohima and performed at various weddings, concerts and other events.

HallyuWave Nagaland hosted the online and regional rounds of the K-Pop India Contest 2020 for Kohima. In the online round, 42 participants including 36 from different districts of Nagaland, two artistes from Meghalaya and four from Assam participated.

Through online voting, 23 artistes were selected for regional round where Belho was selected to represent Kohima team in the grand finale hosted by the KCCI.

Online round was held from May 15 to June 15, while regional round was conducted on July 15 and the grand finale on September 12.

Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, both the regional round and grand finale could not to be hosted live. So, the organisers took to online for hosting the contest.

Artiste were selected through 50% Google voting and 50% likes on their videos which were uploaded on KCCI official Instagram page.

The winners of both the singing and dance categories from India were supposed to represent the country in the Changwon K-Pop World Festival in Korea, but this year’s mega event has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year, the winners and runners-up in both the categories will get a chance to visit Korea once the situation improves.

HallyuWave Nagaland which was founded on October 25, 2019 by a few ‘Hallyu fans’ has been working to promote Korean culture for the fandoms in Nagaland and beyond, it was informed.

‘HallyuWave Nagaland’ is a total package of popular ‘Hallyu Wave’ entertainment, culture, music, and dramas. According to the club, their aim is to bring out the skills of talented youth to the maximum and provide a platform to showcase their skills and also to unite all fandoms in Nagaland under one banner.

At present, it has 25 fan bases under the club working on promoting and sharing about K-Pop happenings and events.