THE first elimination round of the Na Domo Singing Competition broke new ground as contestants gave transforming performances that captivated the judges and audience at Downtown Boulevard on Tuesday evening.
Sixteen contestants have made it through to the next round next Tuesday after delivering amazing performances.
"We broke new ground in the sense that the overall objective of Na Domo was to develop raw talent, train them and bring them out of their shell so that they could produce better performances," judge Tim Ulacake said.
"We achieved that last night, we have seen amazing transformations from raw talent."
Mr Ulacake was impressed with how some groups who sang sigi drigi style most their lives, came out and took on new challenges with English songs.
"The first elimination was going to limit them because the songs were not their forte but the transformation was amazing," he said.
"These groups have changed their perspective from their usual sigi drigi songs and stepped out of their comfort zone to give amazing performances."
Mr Ulacake also advised the contestants to put in more effort in their song selection and practice sessions.
"Perfect practise makes perfect, so they need to spend a lot of time together if they are groups and get comfortable, know when to come in to sing and their breathing techniques.
"They have seven days to put together a performance that will determine whether they make it to the next round."
Na Domo organiser Epi Fong said the attention the competition was getting was encouraging.
"Every week we see more people come and watch, the momentum is growing and we are grateful because these talents need people to see what they got," he said.