The two-member Korean boy band Bily Acoustie took home the Grand Prix trophy at the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Radio Song Festival on Thursday for their performance of “For a Rest,” a mid-tempo acoustic folk song inspired by everyday life.

Thirteen finalists from 10 countries including Australia, Brunei, Malaysia and Bhutan performed at the ABU 49th general assembly at KBS Hall on Thursday. All the contestants were unsigned musicians and were judged by an international selection committee based on the originality and vocal quality of their songs.

Bily Acoustie, which was sponsored by KBS, is comprised of main vocalist and guitarist Hong Joon-seop and Lee Sang-keun on the cajn ― a box-shaped percussion instrument that originated in Peru.

Solo artist Danielle Blakey of Australia was the gold award winner for her L.A. pop-style inspired song “Fearless.” Brunei native Maria Aires won the silver award for her ballad piece “The Sweetest Memory,” while Sammy Ray Jones of Australia won the bronze prize for his reggae and pop fusion song “Rinet.” The crunk trio K-Town Clan from Malaysia also took home the special award for their energetic hip-hop track “Party Animal.”

“The color, diversity, showmanship and collaboration between artists has been truly amazing,” said the festival’s project manager Mark Hemetsberger. “This has the makings of a great Asian and Pacific cultural music event.”

ABU Secretary-General Javad Mottaghi said the performances were recorded and offered to ABU members and other broadcasters around the globe for re-transmission, exposing the young artists to a potential worldwide audience of hundreds of millions of people.

“It has been a marvelous first year for the festival,” he said. “We can only expect to see it grow and grow in the years ahead.”

The ABU is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that assists the development of broadcasting in the Asia-Pacific region and to promote regional and international cooperation among broadcasters. The next ABU Radio Song Festival is set to be held in Australia in 2014.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)