Moncheep Sivasinangkura, the sharp-tongued commentator of popular reality show "Academy Fantasia", is a firm believer in giving young talent a chance to shine.

With the latest "Fantasia" dream team now out on the road, Khru Ped, as he's known to the millions who tune in to the reality show, has been devoting himself to his own project - an album of songs recorded by his own students.

Hitting the shops tomorrow, "Moncheep Studio Student I" features 11 new tunes, with former recording star Moncheep singing one track, his five best students presenting eight more and the winners of a competition he recently organised covering the other two numbers.

Moncheep, who is the former managing director of Mifa International Academy of Music, a subsidiary of music giant GMM Grammy, set up his own singing school 10 months ago.

"It's not a music company. That's not what I want to do. Most young people come to me because they want to be singers. My aim is to help them achieve that dream.

"The album is a reward for the enormous progress they have made in their singing skills. It is produced and promoted entirely by the school, which has no affiliation with Grammy or RS."

"Moncheep Studio Student I" features Nattida "Pang" Kamchai, Parinaswa "John" Parichatkul, Panida "Toon" Setthabutr, Jaruluck "Fai" Ruangket and Nimitr "Mitr" Puengsomsak, all long time students of Moncheep.

"They all have great voices and can sing a variety of genres," says Moncheep, who used to be responsible for selecting new artists for Grammy.

"We are the first singing school in Thailand to produce an album for our students. I intend to put out one album a year. There is no contract with the students. If a star is born, he or she can sign with any music company."

While recording an album is not difficult, promoting it with limited funds may prove tough.

But the massive response to the contest he launched to search for two singers to contribute to the debut outing could be cause for optimism.

Rather than having contestants sing covers, the "Artist Goes 2 U" competition presented entrants with two new songs, with the melodies and lyrics written by Moncheep but no further guidelines provided.

Applicants were told to arrange the songs as they saw fit.

More than 700 hopefuls sent in entries, with six finalists - three men and three women - given one hour each of studio time to record their songs.

"It's very different from an ordinary singing contest. The two winners will have their songs released immediately," says Moncheep who wrote all but one of the songs on the album.

The other track was written by Parinaswa.

Asked if he will record another solo album, Moncheep shakes his head.

"Those days are over. I much prefer working as an instructor," says the 39-year-old, whose last album "Fab" was released in 2000.

After graduating from Mahidol University's pharmacy faculty, Moncheep opened a drugstore but found himself increasingly drawn to the music industry, recording his first album "Nai Sa-ard" ("Mr Clean") in 1997.

Moncheep Studio currently has two Bangkok branches, one at Town in Town and the other at Seacon Square.

Next year, he plans to expand through franchises, explaining that his schools are not just for budding stars but anyone wanting to improve their singing skills.

"Everybody can sing but not everyone can be a singer. To be a singer, you have to have the charisma to attract a large group of people.

"My idol is Thongchai 'Bird' McIntyre. He's a good singer and great entertainer. That's why he's still going strong today."

Tanaporn Tangcharoenmankong

The Nation