iQIYI’s music competition show ‘Asia’s New Voice’ welcomed a tense and thrilling Hong Kong round in its latest episode. Malaysian representatives Chryse Chan (Chen Ying En) and Amsyar Leee each faced formidable opponents in key battles for a spot in the semifinals, resulting in mixed fortunes—‘Malaysian singing king’ Chryse Chan successfully defeated ‘Golden Melody King’ Nicky Lee in a strong advance, while Amsyar narrowly lost in the playoff and heads to the next stage’s New Voice Breakthrough battle.
This round saw ‘new voice kings’ from Malaysia, Japan, Vietnam, and China compete against invited ‘defending’ singers for a chance to advance. A major highlight was Nicky Lee voluntarily challenging Chryse Chan, saying their styles were similar and he looked forward to a head-on showdown. Upon hearing this, Chryse warmly accepted the challenge, stating that she also sings love songs and was happy to exchange pointers with the ‘Prince of Ballads’ on stage.
In this face-off, Chryse sang ‘To Julian’ (《给朱利安》), her delicate and effortlessly controlled emotional delivery winning unanimous praise from the judges. Nicky Lee, meanwhile, performed ‘Will You Still Remember Me’ (《还会记得我吗》), his heartfelt style undiminished. After the match, Nicky Lee stood up and applauded, complimenting Chryse: ‘You sing so well! Your voice is really amazing, you have a great future ahead of you.’
Jane Zhang described Chryse’s voice as ‘as silky as a little cream cake,’ further praising her: ‘She’s so beautiful, her voice is lovely, and she’s so cute. When she smiles, her eyes curve, she’s especially pretty. Wonderful!’ Leo Ku also commended her for blending ‘ice and fire’ in her handling of the song, for her control and skill: ‘You really know how to interpret a song; your restraint and release are both handled brilliantly. Incredible!’
In the end, Chryse won the judges’ favor by 14 to 7 and advanced smoothly to the semifinals. Though Nicky Lee lost, he generously applauded and encouraged her for the future: ‘You sang beautifully, it was truly wonderful! I think she will become an even greater singer.’
On the same stage, ‘Japan’s singing queen’ Miyuna and ‘Vietnam’s singing queen’ Phuong My Chi also defeated fanshia and Huang Ling respectively, joining the ranks of the semifinalists.
The other Malaysian representative, Amsyar Leee, advanced directly to the playoff due to a bye and faced off against Chinese contestant Wang Honghao, who had earlier lost a fierce battle with Jike Junyi. Amsyar performed the Malay love song ‘Bukan Lagi Kita,’ aiming to showcase his personal style and breakthrough. Jane Zhang praised his wide vocal range and a soft, moving beauty in his voice; Leo Ku highly commended his high register and falsetto, describing Amsyar as possessing ‘a voice gifted by heaven.’ However, the judging panel generally found his performance somewhat restrained that evening, with slightly tense transitions between vocal zones and emotional expression not fully unleashed. Ultimately, he narrowly lost with a vote of 4 to 19, failing to secure direct advancement.
Wang Honghao, with his heartfelt rendition of ‘Premonition’ (《预感》), staged a successful comeback and encouraged Amsyar to ‘keep going and come back stronger.’ Despite the defeat, Amsyar was gracious, candidly revealing that he had overcome his psychological barriers: ‘I’ve already taken that step and will take flight again with even stronger wings.’
Coming up, Amsyar and nine other contestants will battle for just six remaining semifinal spots in the New Voice Breakthrough stage, promising even fiercer competition and heightened anticipation.