Few businesses can take a global pandemic by the scruff of the neck and turn lockdown into a potentially award-winning success story. But then, promo queen Lauretta Alabons is no ordinary businesswoman.
Having built a strong brand as a TV host and live music promoter with husband Ross Knudson, her bulging contacts book and formidable reputation among the Hollywood elite means her calls are always answered, and her latest project hosted celebrity guests only too happy to show up.
So, it’s no surprise that her podcast series, Words, and Music, has not only attracted millions of viewers on the video platform YouTube but won a nomination for Best Host/Presenter in the digital category of the prestigious 26th Asian Television Awards (ATAs) for 2021.
“I’m delighted to have won a nomination for such a well-respected award”, said Alabons. “I’m in such good company among the other nominees. Anything more would be a bonus and an honor.”
The ATAs are among the top echelons etched into the global awards calendar and winners will be announced at a glittering – albeit virtual – all-star ceremony to be aired to an estimated 50 million viewers across 22 countries from Friday-Saturday, December 10-11.
“The Asian TV Awards are a gathering of broadcast media companies and senior media representatives consisting of CEOs, executive producers, and directors. These are decision-makers who can influence what is filmed, when and where,” said Keen Whye Lee, spokesperson for the Awards.
Lights Camera Podcast
When the lights went out around the world on live music gigs and festivals, bringing many established promoters to their knees, the multimillion-dollar music mogul’s world-leading empire was also silenced.
“In 2020, there was absolutely no income”, said Alabons, CEO of the Singapore-based LAMC Promotions, “but it’s not about me. Not only was my company impacted. Bands and solo artists were stuck at home making no money with no outlet or exposure for anything they were working on. They couldn’t meet up in a studio and had to find new ways of collaborating remotely from home.
“I wanted to find a way to give them a chance to reach out and connect with their fans and I also needed a project of my own to keep me occupied and in touch with some of my favorite rock stars as well as stalwarts of the industry such as Englebert Humperdink; icons of the drag scene and Hollywood celebrity photographer Greg Gorman.”
And she did. In spades. But she had to re-ignite her first love of radio broadcasting – which she left behind more than 20 years earlier – and reach into her innate talent for getting her interview subjects to open up and speak candidly about what lockdown meant to them and how it has affected them not only financially and artistically but also in terms of their own mental health.
She drew upon her many years of experience jet setting around the world interviewing icons of stage and the silver screen such as actor Brad Pitt and the inimitable pop idol Elton John bringing her skills to bear in the height of lockdown, which culminated in a series of 24 podcasts that caught the imagination of the select committee behind the Awards.
Lauretta said, “I needed something to keep me occupied mentally and I recognized there was a gap in the Asian market for a show like this.
“As each guest opened up about how lockdown was affecting them, I began to open up about my feelings, too, which is not like me. I’m usually quite closed about such things.”
And she surprised herself in other ways.
She added: “I’m proud of every show we produced & every artist. I know the acts were hurting but they all kept a brave front. It made me realize my own resilience; that I could rise up and produce a show from my own living room.”
