Structure

The show is segmented into four rounds:

Theatre round

Held in Mumbai, contestants perform one song to the panel of judges. The deliberations must limit the contender pool to 28 hopefuls.

Piano round

The 28 semifinalists are split up into four groups of seven each; two girl groups, two boy groups. From each group three finalists are chosen by the public who go on to form the final 12.

Gala round

One contestant is eliminated each week by viewer votes.

Here are some Promos of Indian Idol 3…Promo 1

Indian Idol 3 Best Promos

Indian Idol 3 in Delhi

Indian Idol 3 in Bhopal

Talking of the anchors, the third season of Indian Idol presents a new face – the dashing actor Hussain Kuwajirwala. Young and talented with a huge fan following, also known for his dancing skills and histrionics, he will be able to connect with the 16–30 year old contestants and at the same engage the viewers.

On the other hand Mini Mathur is the continuing factor on the show. She has earned viewers’ trust by being a close confidante of the contestants over the last two seasons. Her bubbly and vivacious nature not only helps her build a strong bond with the contestants, but with the viewers too.

Hussain Kuwajirwala and Mini Mathur

Indian Idol 3 will witness two new judges; Alisha Chinai and Udit Narayan. Commenting on the new judges, Sandiip Sikcand, Chief Creative Director, Sony Entertainment Television, said, “Indian Idol aims to showcase the biggest singing talent from across the nation in the most entertaining and involving manner. This season, the focus of the judges would be to help us find that “One Voice” that will be the pride of the nation. Indian Idol third season will offer a combination of great singing talent and entertainment for our viewers.”

Alisha Chinai

Indian Idol 3 will witness two new judges; Alisha Chinai and Udit Narayan. Better known as the ‘Kajra Re’ girl, who made the nation dance to her tune with this chartbuster. She is one of the pioneers of pop music in India. Her album ‘Made in India’ created history and ushered new trends in pop music thereafter.

Udit Narayan

Our second judge, is an extremely talented male playback singer who is known for his silken voice. Udit Narayan not only sings in thirty languages but also has been acclaimed for every kind of melody – be it soulful, romantic, fast-paced and recently, even pop. He is known for his versatile tone, which appears to flawlessly suit every Indian hero on screen today. With 3 National awards and scores of other awards to his credit, Udit Narayan possesses one of the largest arrays of hit songs in the industry.

Anu Malik

Last but not the least our third judge, Anu Maliik is one of the most successful and multi-talented music directors of today. His straight talking coupled with his ‘singing shayari comments’ has always managed to keep the contestants at ease, making him one of the most talked about judges of Indian Idol. Together they are all set on a journey to ultimately find that ‘Woh Ek Awaaz Jispar Ho Desh Ko Naaz’.

Javed Akthar

And with them is arguably the very best lyricist, writer Javed Akhtar Saab! Javed Saab’s inclusion is a very welcome sign because he is the voice of reason and experience. It would be interesting to note that Javed Saab started out as a film-writer with his friend and partner Salim Khan and they have an impressive number of hits under their belt but they might be best known for their film ‘Sholay’. Javed Saab started his career as a lyricist with the film ‘Silsila’, Soundtrack of which is still extremely popular with Indians and has never looked back!

Indian Idol the hugely popular adaptation of the blockbuster ‘Pop Idol’ format took the nation by storm in its very first season and followed that with an equally popular season 2. While Indian Idol served as the intimate platform for budding singers from across the nation to realize their dreams, the show went on to become the most entertaining and involving show to hit Indian television. In keeping with its philosophy of offering innovative and distinct content, Sony Entertainment Television, is now all set to launch the third series of this groundbreaking phenomenon, Indian Idol with an even bigger bang!

Auditions

This time around, the show promises to bring to the viewers the best singing talent from across the country. To make this possible auditions will be held across the country in 12 cities— Jodhpur – Bhubaneshwar (Feb 15th), Hyderabad- Amritsar (Feb 18th), Srinagar- Nagpur (Feb 21st), Baroda (Feb 27th & 28th), Bhopal (March 7th & 8th), Kanpur (March 12th & 13th), Delhi (March 17th, 18th & 19th), Kolkata (March 24th, 25th & 26th), Mumbai (March 31st , 1st & 2nd April)

To make participation universal and allow for easy registration the channel has set up multiple gateways. Budding aspirants between the ages of 16-30 can realize their dreams by calling to register for a place in any of the above audition centers. The following are the no.s for registration:

* SMS Idol to 2525
* call 5052525 and say Idol (available only on select networks)
* Dial 1255525 (BSNL landline & mobile users which is applicable to all cities)

Lines open from February 10th.

One Crore Contract

This year too Indian Idol will give the people of this nation the opportunity to chase their dreams and the power to make one talented aspirant ‘ Bharat Ki Shaan’. In addition to a recording contract with Sony BMG, the ‘Indian Idol’ will be awarded a contract with Sony Entertainment Television worth Rupees One Crore, thus catapulting him/her to unparalleled stardom, fame and fortune.

Highlighting the essence of this worldwide phenomenon, geared to hit India once more, Albert Almeida, Executive Vice President & Business Head, Sony Entertainment Television, said, “As witnessed in the last two seasons of Indian Idol the third season too promises to take viewer engagement and interactivity to even greater heights while catapulting the Indian Idol into ultimate stardom. This year too, the channel will give talented singers from across the nation the platform to realize their dreams and put fame and fortune within their reach while offering distinctive, breakthrough entertainment. Indian Idol will showcase the best singing talent from across the nation via a 12-city audition. The journey of finding Bharat Ki Shaan—Indian Idol 3 will enthrall the Indian audiences and help them connect, leading to extreme involvement and mass frenzy.”

A production of such magnitude warrants only the best in the industry to make it happen. Sony Entertainment Television is once again partnering with one of the country’s leading production houses – Miditech Pvt Ltd, the international company – Fremantle Media who are the license holders to the format Indian Idol 3.

So get ready to select Bharat Ki Shaan – Indian Idol

‘Chahiye Woh Ek Awaaz Jispar Ho Desh Ko Naaz’!

Indian Idol 1

Indian Idol was brought to India by Sony Entertainment Television, as part of the popular show format, titled ‘Idol’, that has created television history across the world. The first season of show gave India its first ever Indian Idol – Abhijeet Sawant and also tapped hidden musical talent from the nation’s small towns.

Indian Idol created a platform, which is now the goal of every aspiring contestant who dreams to become a singer. With a respected jury in the form of Farah Khan, Anu Malik and Sonu Nigam, and the ever-friendly hosts Aman Yatan Verma and Mini Mathur, Indian Idol has become a rage for music lovers and television viewers across the subcontinent.

Some Statistics about Indian Idol Season 1
. Hooked 55 Million Viewers
. Recorded over 5.5 Crore Votes
. Aapka Abhijeet Sawant, the album, sold over 9 lakh copies, making it the highest selling album in the last five years

The last 12 finalists are thought to have a good chance of finding a place in the Indian music industry and films. For example, Rahul Saxena, who failed to make it to the top 6, has been offered a song by Indian Idol judge and director, Farah Khan, in her new film Om Shanti Om and Amit Tandon got work in a new serial from Ekta Kapoor and Balaji Telefilms.

Indian Idol 2

The Indian Idol Series 2 was announced on Sony Entertainment Television in the month of August 2005 when aspiring singers and artists were informed about the comeback of the show.

The winner of the second season of Indian Idol was Sandeep Acharya.

Many of the top 10 contestants have commenced their singing careers. Neha Kakkar has rendered a song for a pop album where she sings “Chandani Raatein”. Yashashree Bhave has tied the knot and settled down, teaching students music at her home. Panna Gill is doing stage shows.

Eliminated contestant Meenal Jain has done stage shows with Sonu Nigam and also received an offer from Anu Malik. In addition, Antara Mitra, a regular favorite of Anu Malik, has also been presented an offer from many music directors and also is recording her solo album. Antara also gets to sing a duet with the Indian Idol in his album for being the top female contestant. Monali Thakur, has sung for Preity Zinta in the movie Jaaneman(2006), as promised by Anu Malik. There is also an album being made with the top five (which consists of Sandeep Acharya, NC Karunya, Antara Mitra, Anuj Sharma, and Amey Date.)