The Dream Players, a talent competition for aspiring artists, kicks off its new season on Thursday September 20, when it will showcase the talent of six new participants before a panel of expert judges at Al Wahda Mall.

The grassroots initiative, produced by BrandMoxie, continues to provide local talent with an opportunity to perform before an audience and receive exposure as well as critical feedback from judges.

The contestants at this month’s singing competition are six singers aged between 24 and 39, and features an Australian, a Palestinian, an Indian, an Emirati and Filipinos. The judges this month, all seasoned industry professionals are Michelle Nickelson, President and COO of Mirage Holdings, Terry Borden, a Hollywood music producer, Manar Al Hinai, a writer and creative designer of her clothing line ‘Lucky Nooni’ and Kera Thompson, an American model and designer.

The production team at The Dream Players is excited to bring back the new format for the competition by giving contestants a chance to perform two songs from different genres and featuring performances by previous participants. “These contestants were shortlisted after a talent search over summer and we think the competition will be fierce,” says Sana Bagersh, Executive Producer of The Dream Players.

All participants will be awarded “composite cards,” or industry-formatted resumes, while the winner will receive a complimentary ‘logo,’ all developed by BrandMoxie. Al Wahda Mall, as community sponsor, is offering retail gift certificates.

Bagersh explained that The Dream Players attracts talent from a wide talent pool, from part time ‘shower stars’ to schools and universities music students. “We launched The Dream Players at the start of the year and the response has been phenomenal. People in the community see The Dream Players as a springboard for their careers. And there are some nice surprises. For instance, when Osama El Kamel, a Sudanese engineer, won in February, his brother was aghast; he had no idea that his brother could sing,” she said.

The Dream Players was set up as a social initiative by BrandMoxie to nurture and support up and coming artists by providing them with guidance and some professional support.