Apr 3, 2023
By: Srishti Magan
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The latest season of the singing reality show Indian Idol concluded on April 2 and Rishi Singh was declared the winner. Singh, who hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya, went home with the trophy, a new car and a cash prize of ₹25 lakh.
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Only 19, Singh’s musical journey started with singing bhajan and kirtan. He was studying for graduation in the Airport Management Programme in Dehradun when he made it to the show. During the show, Singh got a playback singing opportunity for actor Hrithik Roshan’s upcoming project.
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Kolkata’s Debosmita Roy emerged as the first runner-up and Jammu’s Chirag Kotwal took the third place - both were awarded a cash prize of ₹5 lakh each. Bidipta Chakraborty and Shivam Singh, who emerged as the third and fourth runners-up, received ₹3 lakh each. All six finalists were awarded ₹1 lakh each.
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Indian Idol launched in India in 2004. At the time the judges were choreographer Farah Khan, music composer Anu Malik and singer Sonu Nigam. Since then, the show has had multiple seasons, judges, and a spin-off, the Indian Idol Junior. Here’s a look at some of the past winners:
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The winner of season 1, Abhijeet Sawant was a crowd favourite. Though audience votes helped him take home the trophy, judges preferred finalists Amit Sana and Rahul Vaidya. After winning, Sawant released five albums. He was also one of the playback singers in movies like Aashiq Banaya Aapne, Dishoom, Tees Maar Khan, etc.
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The winner of S3, Tamang was a police constable who used to sing in the police orchestra for Kolkata Police before coming on the show. After winning Indian Idol, Tamang launched his debut album and went on a four-city US tour. He went on to sing and act in Nepali movies, and will next be seen in season 2 of the hit web series, Paatal Lok.
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The first female winner of Indian Idol, Debbarma took home the trophy in the fourth season. Hailing from Tripura, Debbarma regularly performs at various concerts across India and abroad. She also holds a Guinness World Record for singing a song hanging upside down for 4 minutes and 30 seconds.
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The winner of Indian Idol S9, LV Revanth is an established playback singer who has sung around 200 songs for Telugu and Kannada films. In fact, he sang Manohari for the film Baahubali: The Beginning before appearing on the show. In 2022, Revanth won Bigg Boss Telugu 6.
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Sunny Hindustani won Indian Idol S11. Before appearing on the show, Hindustani polished shoes at a railway station to earn a livelihood. After winning, Hindustani made his playback singing debut with The Body in 2019. He also sang two songs for composer Himesh Reshammiya’s latest album, Himesh Ke Dil Se and made a guest appearance on S13.
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