Aloft Hotels Launches Quest for Emerging Music Talent in Americas

Starwood’s Aloft Hotels brand is now accepting submissions for Project: Aloft Star (Americas) — the annual talent competition aimed to identify and support the hottest emerging music artists.

For the sixth consecutive year, Aloft is shining the spotlight on rising musical talent and giving these performers the chance to take the microphone at Aloft hotels around the world.

In a special twist this year, Aloft has tapped critically acclaimed indie pop star Ingrid Michaelson (The Way I Am, Girls Chase Boys) to act as special guest mentor for this year’s finalists.

“I’m so excited to be a part of Project: Aloft Star this year – both personally and professionally,” said Ingrid Michaelson. “The platform and support Aloft Hotels offers rising musical talent is fantastic, and I can’t wait to help in this search.”

Through 12 September 2015, unsigned bands and artists across North America and Latin America are invited to upload an original song and photo for the chance to be named the 2015 Project: Aloft Star winner.

An expert panel of music industry insiders will then comb through the submissions to identify the top five semi-finalists who will advance to the next phase of the competition.

New this year, every Monday throughout the first phase, Michaelson will host “Mentoring Mondays” where unsigned bands and artists who enter Project: Aloft Star will be invited to post questions to Michaelson’s Facebook page using #AloftLive and #ProjectAloftStar, for a chance to receive personal feedback and musical guidance directly from the indie songstress herself.

From 28 September – 9 October 2015, the five lucky semi-finalists will be featured on LiveAtAloftHotels.com, where music loving fans from around the world can vote for their favorite.

An expert panel of music industry insiders will then pull together the fan votes and ultimately decide the two contestants who will advance to the live finale round in New York City.

As part of the prize package, the two lucky finalists will receive an exclusive, one-on-one coaching session with Michaelson in New York City in late October. Following the mentoring sessions, the two finalists will then have to duel it out “battle of the bands”-style as they open for Michaelson at an exclusive concert at an Aloft hotel in New York City. The winner will be announced live later that evening.

This year’s Project: Aloft Star winner will receive a recording session with a top music producer, an imaging session with a well-known stylist and Starpoints to use toward stays at any Aloft hotel as they hit the road and go out on tour.

The winner will also be invited to perform during the 2016 Live at Aloft Hotels concert series, with dates to be announced later this year.

“Walk into any Aloft and you know you’re going to hear a killer soundtrack – whether coming through the sound system or from a special live acoustic performance,” said Paige Francis, Vice President of Global Marketing, Aloft Hotels. “Our guests share our passion for musical discovery, and Project: Aloft Star is the embodiment of our quest to find the next big thing. With Ingrid Michaelson’s help and incredible talent, she will add another level to our competition this year.”

Project: Aloft Star is also currently underway around the world including Project: Aloft Star Germany in partnership with Rolling Stone and Project: Aloft Star Asia amplified by MTV Asia. Finalists for both those two competitions will be announced in September 2015.