By Usha Wagle Gautam
The final of the Nonresident Nepalese Singing Idol 2015 will be held soon, the organisers said during a programme on Friday.
The singing reality show is being jointly organised by Rupandehi Social Service Initiative and the Nonresident Nepalese Musical Family. Twenty contestants participated in the semi-final earlier in 2015, of which 10 were selected for the final.
As one of the finalists is currently in Nepal, the Idol Committee selected Saruk Sundas as the tenth contestant for the final as a wild card entry. He said, “I am so happy to be a finalist. I always wanted to be a professional singer, and this might be a stepping stone.”
Other finalists said they have been practising for the final and hope the organisers will reveal the date for the competition soon. Co-ordinator and NCF president Shakti Chhetri apologised for the delay. He explained, “The reason for the delay is that we have been looking for a bigger hall to fit more people.”
The finalists will be evaluated by SMS voting and the judging panel’s scores. The panel consists of folk singer Debika KC, NRN NCC Star 2011 Amrit Limbu and pop singer Santosh Pariyar.
During the Friday’s programme, philanthropist and entrepreneur Badri Pandey said he will sponsor the second prize of the competition. Pariyar also got on stage with his Struggle Band to perform his hit songs for half an hour.
Winner of the singing idol will win a cash prize of QR3,600 and a record deal. The runner-up will get QR1,800 and the second runner-up will get QR900. Both will also get six months of free music training. Contestants finishing fourth and fifth will get cash prizes of QR500 and QR400, respectively.