Four new amazing Australian music acts have been given a shot at stardom after an intense selection process by commercial radio heavyweights.

In the highly competitive New Artists to Radio (NA2R) event, the four finalists were chosen from more than 160 emerging artists who had yet to sign a record deal. Co-ordinated by industry association, Commercial Radio Australia, NA2R has established a reputation for discovering home-grown talent that strikes a chord with radio audiences.

The four finalists are:

Mark Wilkinson: A Sydney singer/songwriter who credits U2, Coldplay and Jeff Buckley among his influences

Bobby Kidd: A Melbourne pop/rock musician who plays a diverse range of instruments

Celebrity Drug Disasters: A five piece band from New South Wales who fuse rock and dance

Kurtis: A Byron Bay outfit performing mostly funky dance tracks

All four acts will perform live at Luna Park on October 13 before a panel of judges and radio representatives with the winner chosen that evening. The successful act will then perform the next night at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) before more than 850 Australian radio executives and on-air presenters.

Chief executive officer of Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner, said the winner would also receive $100,000.00 in radio advertising across the four major radio networks down the east coast of Australia.

'The winner will be heavily promoted by Austereo, Nova, Australian Radio Network and Macquarie Regional Radio which is a fabulous kickstart to their career,' Ms Warner said.

'The commercial radio industry takes its commitment to finding, and fostering, new talent seriously. NA2R has launched the careers of Delta Goodrem, Thirsty Merc and Jade Macrae, to name a few, which shows how successful the initiative has been.

'The standard of entries in 2006 was exceptionally high but ultimately the judges felt this year̢۪s four finalists had real radio appeal.'

NA2R was also supported by MySpace website, attracting significant interest across Australia to the event. (source cra)