HCM CITY— Young pop star Đông Nhi has won the Best Southeast Asian Act award at 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards (MTV EMA), MTV Asia announced yesterday. 

The singer defeated six competitors, Gentle Bones of Singapore, Sarah Geronimo of the Philippines, Thaitanium of Thailand, Raisa of Indonesia, and Yuna and Bunkface of Malaysia.

The nominees were chosen based on their professional activities, including record sales, frequency of appearances on radio and television, online watching and listening, popularity on social media, and ticket sales.

Votes for the Best Southeast Asian Act award were taken through MTV EMA networks, including websites, Facebook and mobile applications.

Nhi was honoured at the MTV EMA 2016 awards yesterday morning in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.  

The event attracted international stars such as One Republic, Green Day and Martin Garrix.

As a graduate of the city’s Music Conservatory, Nhi began her music career as a songwriter. She became a professional singer after singing her own compositions on her first album, The First Step, in 2010. The album became a hit.

Her songs in both Vietnamese and English praise love and youth, and most of them are top hits on online music forums. She has performed in several TV game shows and films.

Her hits include I Wanna Dance, Hey Boy and Bad Boy, named the most favourite songs of 2014 at the Zing Music Awards 2014 launched by Zing Music, a prestigious music online channel. 

Last year, she received the Best Asian Artist at the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) in Hong Kong.

She also brought home the third Golden Apricot for best singer of the year launched by the HCM City-based Người Lao Động (Labourer) newspaper.

Nhi’s first live show, It’s Showtime, attracted more than 7,000 audiences at the 7th Military Zone Stadium in HCM City last month.

“This MTV prize marks my growth in music," said the 26-year-old.

Established in 1994, and originally an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV EMA is a popular celebration of what MTV viewers consider the best in music. — VNS