RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: A unique global competition is being held in Saudi Arabia these days, targeting beautiful voices without the accompaniment of musical instruments in reciting the Holy Quran (the holy book of Muslims) and delivering the call to prayer (adhan), after the entertainment authority in Saudi Arabia launched this competition under the name Scent of speech.
Five reasons may make the competition one of the most important vocal performance contests in the world, which are:
- The largest international prize: The financial prize presented in the competition is the largest in the history of international talent competitions, with an estimated value of $3.2 million.
- The number of applicants: The number of applicants for the competition reached more than 40,000 participants from 80 countries around the world.
- The first competition of its kind: It is the first competition in the world to test the beauty of the voice in the call to prayer.
- The number of judges: The number of specialized assessors evaluating competitors’ performances is the largest in the history of international competitions, as their number reaches 13 assessors from several countries around the world.
- Vocal performance: The competition is the only one of its kind in the world to evaluate voice talents without the use of any voice enhancers or musical instruments. Contestants rely on their vocal performance and experience in balancing and switching between vocal ranges with different tones, a type of art that has been known for hundreds of years.
