The Voice recently opened up online auditions for Singapore and Malaysia.

Potential candidates are to send a clip, no longer than 90 seconds, of them singing.

But it wasn't a chance to be (insert famous The Voice winner here) that caught the attention of the masses.

Instead, it was one of the stipulations that called for fluent Mandarin speakers who were able to perform songs in Mandarin to be eligible that made people sit up. All races, and nationalities were welcome though.

Backlash

This didn't sit -- and then turn around when you press a button -- well with the some Twitter users.

With some of them offering alternate explanations:

And fluent Mandarin animation to show how they feel:

@TODAYonline "Singing competition calls for contestants who are fluent in Mandarin" pic.twitter.com/j59fpsS3Gp

— iamsulaimi ? (@sulvimi) May 6, 2017

@TODAYonline " Must be fluent in Mandarin " Sure. pic.twitter.com/7OkvHT3NVj

— Haf (@caramelon_mmdap) May 6, 2017

The reality of it

To address the issue, it's probably essential to tackle two points, the perception of what it was, and the reality of what it actually is.

This Twitter exchange perhaps sum up the confusion.

Most of those angry about the exclusion probably associated this version of The Voice with the American one.

Which is understandable, considering the show has been around for long enough to cultivate a strong brand identity.

However, the one that is coming over to Singapore and Malaysia will be specifically aired on Hub E City Channel, which is a Chinese cable channel.

While details are sketchy, some predict that it is trying to emulate the success of Sing! China, which was initially titled The Voice of China, in terms of crossover potential to the ludicrously huge China market.

So, in other words, they are looking for the next Nathan Hartono (fluent Mandarin crooner version) instead of Nathan Hartono (fluent English crooner version).

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