The Radio Star singing contest which ran for a month at the Reef Mall concluded recently. Thousands recorded their voice at a booth set up at the mall to spot untapped vocal talent amongst those living in the UAE.
It was meant for those who always wanted to sing but didn't know where to start.
The contest, held in collaboration with the Channel 4 network and associated channels like 89.1 (Hindi), 104.6 (English) and Al Rabia 107.8 (Arabic), attracted over 2500 contestants across the three languages. Contestants had to register with the respective channel's representatives manning the singing booth at the mall and record their songs, which were later judged by officials of the Channel 4 Radio network.
The semi-finalists were then aired on radio stations according to their language and listeners were asked to vote for their favourite contestant via an SMS, the results of which were announced yesterday at the mall. Yousef Aziz won the contest for singing in Arabic, Roopika Nanjappa for English and Dilip Chander for Hindi.
The organisers note that all the contestants were judged solely on their singing abilities. Roopika, who was adjudged the best voice for singing in English by the listeners of 104.8 channel 4 FM, though born and brought up in Dubai, hails from the Coorg area near Bangalore, says that she "took to singing at a very early age, though not seriously."
When asked what made her take to singing, Roopika, who is a Software Developer, giggles and sheepishly admits that "it was my father's bathroom singing that got me into it. I used to sing in the bathroom too," and that she was happy that her talent was recognised at last. Roopika revealed that her winning was no fluke as she had to go through five different stages of singing before being to the listeners' whims. "But I'm never going to stop singing," she says, "this is a big achievement and even the people at my work place were rooting for me all through and encouraged me."
The three winners were in for a small windfall of sorts, each getting prizes worth nearly Dh26,000, apart from the media spotlight on their achievements.