Sony TV confirms 'Indian Idol 5' launch date

Sony Entertainment Television Asia has confirmed the launch date of 'Indian Idol', which returns for its fifth season in April.

The hugely popular reality TV series will see a panel of two new judges including popular singers Sunidhi Chauhan and Salim Merchant.

Strict, loud-mouthed judge Anu Malik will also be returning with either Javed Akhtar or Kailesh Kher.

First 'Indian Idol' winner Abhijit Sawant and runner up Prajakta Shukre are in talks to host the show.

'Indian Idol 5' will return on Monday 26th April, as soon as its sister station MAX (India) concludes coverage of the ongoing 'Indian Premier League' cricket, which ends the week before.

The channel is planning to screen special spin-offs to mark the return of its bankable show. Whilst the show will launch on a Monday, regular weekend episodes will air as usual. Keep it with BizAsia.co.uk for updates as soon as further information becomes available.

It was confirmed earlier this year that Wizcraft Production will replace Miditech as producers of the new series. Auditions have been taking place in various parts of India earlier this month.

Source: Biz Asia News

Anuj Sharma - 'I have tried rock for the first time'

Anuj Sharma is a known singer from Himachal Pradesh. But his big break came when he managed to reach the final 14 in Indian Idol's second season. He had to leave the show, but many felt that he deserved a better chance. So Anuj Sharma was brought back into the show through a wild card entry. And he proved it right by managing to end the season as the runner up.

Now he is back in Mumbai from Himachal to complete his journey as a national level musician. Anuj Sharma has cut his first music album ‘Khwaab’ under the label of Universal Music.



A chat with the singer -
Why did it take you almost three and half years to come up with your first album?
As soon as I finished with Indian Idol, I was booked for one year for shows in the north and all around world. Naturally, there was not enough time to even think about an album, let alone work on it, that too solo.

After a year, my music director Gaurav Dayal told me to plan an album, as a 'thank you' gesture to all the people who had given me a platform on the national level. He said that I needed to give something back to my supporters.  Once I started working on it, we had to be sure that everything was perfect. Original scores, good poetry etc takes time.
Till now, you have done more than 44 albums in Himachal folk music. How is this album different?
It’s so obvious that people would expect a folk influence in my Hindi album, also because of my knowledge and experience of Himachal music. But in reality, it’s not like that. I have tried something completely new for the first time in my album and that is rock music. Gaurav also wanted me to do something new and completely different. I knew that if I tried any Indian music, people would search for the folk influence. So I worked extra hard and sung rock songs.

How have you managed to move from folk to rock as a singer?
Gaurav had given me some CDs to get familiar with the flavour and texture of rock music. I listened to them intently as study material.  Few days later, when I visited him in his studio, he was busy recording some song. He asked me to try it and what I sang was rejected by him. It was a rock song. Later, he gave me a CD and asked me to practise the song. He left me alone for thirty minutes. When he returned, I tried again and he then went on to correct me, tell me the voice modulations, literally trained me on different music platforms. I followed his advice. At that time, I did not know that in reality, Gaurav was actually recording the song. In two takes it was done, and after finishing the recording, he told me what he had done.

Tell us about your experience of shooting a video for your album?
We shot our video at Bangkok. It was the season of Holi. In Bangkok, Holi is played with gusto and for three days, they celebrate. Normally, it takes a two hour drive from the airport to our shooting location, but on that particular day, it took us 11 hours to reach.

Our camera person wanted to take my shot with locals playing Holi in the background. But the driver of our car did not allow it since we had not taken any permission. We felt bad because the festival and the activities would have looked so very beautiful in the video. We just kept driving for 11 hours.

Radio and Music

Sikkim Rock Star keeps promises; send two to Kolkata Indian Idol 5 auditions

Sikkim Rock Star, dance and singing based musical show keeping up its promises has sent two of its participants to the auditions of the Indian Idol 5 and Junior Dance India Dance respectively. The show organised by Singbell GPU Construction Cooperative Society Ltd is in its final stage and grand finale is schedule to be held on the last week of April, the coming month. The music completion had been categorized into three categories that include solo dance, group dance and vocal competition. The music competition had been limited to Hindi and Nepali music only. Winners of both competitions receive the sum of Rs 25,000 each and an opportunity to participate at auditions of National musical shows.

Raja Ghatani, an eleven year old from Singtam have successfully completed the level two auditions of Junior Dance India Dance competition at Kolkata. Talking from Kolkata, Raja told that he has completed the two rounds of competition and to be in the final Top 40 he has to win the third round i.e. the “Taqdeer ki topi” round that is to be held in two days time. He has thanked the Sikkim Rock Star committee for helping him realise his dream of performing in the highest level. Raja added he had been getting the highest marks from the judges and hope that he will get through the next round. In the next round he would be performing Popping and Locking round in front of Judge Terrence Lewis.

Prakash Sundas, another Sikkim Rock Star participants had entered the Indian Idol 5 audition from Kolkata but failed to qualify after the third round at Mumbai. Prakash was the lone participants from Sikkim to qualify for the next round, so far more than 20 participants had tried their luck in Indian Idol 5 from Kolkata auditions. He was judged by Sunidhi Chauhan, noted Bollyhood singer in Mumbai round. He had expressed gratitude towards Sikkim Rock Star for providing him an opportunity.

Sonia Seikh, Organiser of Sikkim Rock Star show appreciated the success of their participants and told that they are fulfilling their words that Sikkim Rock Star would give a platform to perform in the National Level. The grand finale of the show is schedule to be held on the last week of April and in between we had the Kolkata auditions of the Indian Idol 5 as well as the Junior Dance India Dance; after the tough decision from the members of organizing committee, two talented performers each from singing and dancing forms were selected from their previous performances at the Sikkim Rock Star shows, she added. Sikkim Rock Star shall fulfill their words and the winners of the show shall also be given an opening to participate at the national level competitions. All the expenses of the participants and their one company to the auditions are carried by the Sikkim Rock Star.

Tremendous turnover results in stampede at Indian Idol 5 Noida auditions

More than a dozen people were injured in a stampede during the audition for reality TV show Indian Idol at Noida's Sector-62 on Tuesday.

This is the latest in a series of such events that took place in the past one week.

Last Thursday, 63 people, including 26 children and 37 women, were killed in a stampede at an ashram in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh. On Monday, one person died in Mumbai's Vakola area during a police recruitment drive.

On Tuesday, thousands of boys and girls had lined up outside Expo Mart in Sector-62, Noida, to audition for Indian Idol. When the gates opened, they made a mad rush for the entrance triggering the stampede.

The 60 bouncers and 15 policemen who were deployed at the spot could do little to contain the crowd.

Within minutes, candidates fell over each other. Around a dozen boys and girls were injured and were rushed to the Fortis Hospital in Sector- 62. Most of them had fractured their limbs, injured their heads and were bruised.

The organisers were reportedly expecting around 2,000 aspirants but close to 40,000 turned up.

Sandeep Singh, one of the injured contestants from Agra, said: "Hundreds of boys and girls had started gathering in front of the venue since Monday evening. They were tired and everyone wanted to get into the auditorium first. When the gates opened, they made a dash for it." He said there was such a huge crowd that it became difficult for the organisers to control it. "People started falling over each other and the situation went out of hand," he said.

Inspector Hari Mohan Singh claimed adequate police personnel had been deployed for the event.

"The entry to the venue was initially opened for 100 candidates but a large number of candidates rushed in, resulting in the stampede. We had deployed adequate police personnel, including a sub-inspector, as demanded by the organisers. They had their own security as well," Singh said.

Additional forces were deployed at the venue after the incident.

District magistrate Deepak Agarwal said the matter is being probed. "Action would be taken against the organisers if any laxity is found."

New Sunidhi Chauhan Indian Idol 5 Promo Video

Here is a new Sunidhi Chauhan's Indian Idol 5 promo video on Youtube. Enjoy the promo video!!

Indian Idol 5 Auditions Begin With A Bang

Indian Idol season 5 auditions have started. Sony Entertainment Television is soon to start the show with a big bang!

It’s good news for the hidden talents in India who sing very well but just want a break to let the world know about it. The previous editions of the show have been a hit and now it comes back with its 5th edition to entertain us all. It’s an excellent platform for all the budding singers across India. It provides a chance for all aspirant singers to live their dreams king size.

Sony Entertainment Television will be auditioning outstanding singing talents throughout India and select the best among them. Indian Idol is not only a famous in India but it is a popular show overseas as well among the Non Resident Indians.

The Indian Idol Season 5 judges were Anu Malik and Javed Akhtar, singer Kailash Kher and Indian actress Sonali Bendre also judged the show.

Sourabhee Debbarma won the Indian Idol title for season 4 and became the first female contestant to win the prestigious title. She also won a contract of Rs. 1 crore with Sony Entertainment Television. Kapil Thapa won the second position followed by Torsha Sarkar being the third.

Indian Idol season 5 will be aired by summer 2010. Indian Idol season 5 auditions will be held in Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Indore in March.

Indian Idol 5 Auditions in Kolkata dates were 3-4 March 2010, Indian Idol 5 auditions in Delhi starts from 9-10 March 2010, Indian Idol 5 auditions in Indore date is 15 March 2010, Indian Idol 5 auditions in Ahmedabad date is 19 March 2010 and Indian Idol 5 auditions in Mumbai starts from 23-24 March 2010.

Indian Idol 2010 Season 5 Registration information

Indian Idol Season 5 for 2010 is back and I would like to wish all participating contestants "Good Luck". May lady luck shine one you and your singing. Bano Desh ki Awaaz!

Eligibility criteria:
Indian Idol is not only a singing competition but also performance have equal weightage. There are some eligibility criteria like age between 15 to 30 years. Documents for age proof and photograph is required.

Regional audition:
After registration in Indian idol through SMS, there is regional audition round in selected cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Kolkata, Lucknow and many more places. In regional audition about 100 contestants are selected for next level that is theatre round of Indian idol.

Theatre round:
100 selected contestants perform in group or individual as asked in theatre round. Out of 100 contestants 15 are selected for another level that is Piano round.

Piano round:
15 contestants are divided in three groups and each group perform in given week which is recorded as live. Out of these 15 contestants 10 are selected for final spectacular round. Wild card entry also occurs from these contestants.

Now on to the details of Indian Idol 5 Registration:
Dates for Auditions:
1) Date for Kolkata Audition is 3rd March 2010.
2) Dates For Delhi Auditions are 9th and 10th March 2010.
3) Date for Indore Audition is 15th March 2010.
4) Date for Ahmebadad Audition is 19th March 2010.
5) Dates for Mumbai Auditions are 23rd and 24th March 2010.

To Register for Indian Idol 5 2010:
SMS IDOL to 52525 or call 5052525

RULES AND REGULATIONS Indian Idol 5 Auditions:
1. Only those individuals (the “Participant(s)”) who belong to the age group between
15 years to 30 years as on February 1, 2010 can participate in the Indian Idol 5
auditions (the “Auditions”). Participants, who are below 18 years on the date of
Auditions, must be accompanied by their natural/legal guardian.

2. Participant should not be under any contract which will prohibit him/her from
entering into any management contract/recording contract and/or merchandising
contract with Multi Screen Media Private Limited. Participant should not have
any criminal record nor be an undischarged insolvent or of an unsound mind. The
Indian Idol – 5 auditions will be held only in Hindi language. Participants will be
required to fill an application form at the venue of the Auditions.

3. Incomplete/unsigned applications or late entries shall not be considered for
participation.

4. All Participants must carry proof of age and identity such as birth certificate /
school leaving certificate / ration card / college ID/ driving
license/passport/voter’s ID/pan card for proof of age and identity along with 1
passport size photograph plus 1 full length and 1 frontal photograph. Participants
should be a citizen of Indian and of Indian origin. The top 30 finalists of previous
seasons of Indian Idol will not be allowed to participate in the Auditions this year. Registration number does not qualify as being shortlisted for auditions.

5. All decisions made by Multi Screen Media Private Limited in this matter will be
final and binding and no correspondence will be entertained on the same.

Welcome to Indian Idol 2010 blog

Welcome to Indian Idol 2010 blog. We will regularly be updating here. Do keep checking!