KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 ― Reality singing show The Voice should consider removing Mandarin as a prerequisite for its Singapore and Malaysia edition, local judges suggested.

Malaysian singer-songwriter Gary Chaw, one of the four judges of the hit international franchise's local edition, suggested that arrangements be made to include multiple languages for the programme.

“This is just the first season, but going forward, perhaps the producers could work out something with the franchise rights holder where the show could work in many languages.

“After all, Singapore and Malaysia are multi-racial countries, and so we should diversify,” he was quoted telling Singapore daily The Straits Times in both Mandarin and English.

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Fellow judge Hanjin Tan, a singer-songwriter from Singapore, similarly said he believed this is just the “first step of many steps to come” for the local edition of the show.

“Eventually, if we can have translators on stage, and the licence allows that, we'll get to that step,” he was quoted saying.

The Voice's Singapore and Malaysia edition is open to contestants aged 16 and above of any race or nationality, but controversially requires potential contestants to be “fluent in Mandarin and able to perform songs in Mandarin”.

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The local producer, mm2 Entertainment, reportedly told the paper previously that it obtained the format licence for a Mandarin production based on the evaluation that “it is most commercially viable”, while also noting that contestants will mostly communicate in Mandarin with the show's judges.

“The ability of the contestants to communicate effectively in Mandarin becomes a necessity for the execution of the production as contestants are required to engage the judges extensively, including during the coaching sessions, which are integral to the show format,” a spokesman for the production company was quoted saying.

The two other judges are singers from China, Della Ding and Taiwan, Sky Wu.

The Voice contest, based on the Dutch show The Voice of Holland, is conducted in various languages in different countries.