indian idol 3..the CoUntdown

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!

Indian Idol is a 'made-for-television phenomenon' that combines drama and reality with music, humor, thrill and glamour. The last two seasons of the show experienced a collage of emotions, raising levels of viewer frenzy and excitement coupled with the contestants' tears and joys, heartbreak and jubilation, learnings and achievements. With its immense popularity, Indian Idol showcases exceptional talent on the nation's biggest platform. The phenomenon of following this journey and ultimately picking that 'Ek Awaaz Jispar Ho Desh Ko Naaz' becomes an integral part of the viewers' lives drawing ardent support and a voting frenzy.

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."

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.

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