Hunt begins for the most talented blue-collar worker in UAE

Dubai - Auditions for Season 8 of Smart Idol 2019 will continue for a couple of months, where over 2,000 workers are expected to be auditioned.

To tap the finest talent among aspiring male and female blue-collar workers in the UAE and give them a platform to exhibit their hidden talent to the world, Smart Idol has kicked off auditions in over 30 labour accommodations - almost double from the last year.
Auditions for Season 8 of Smart Idol 2019 will continue for a couple of months, where over 2,000 workers are expected to be auditioned.
In line with the Year of Tolerance, organiser SmartLife, a CDA licensed NGO, has extended this year's Smart Idol competition to cover more companies who pre-select their talented workers from different emirates and send them to Dubai for the audition. The organisers are also ensuring that people of different nationalities are given a chance.
"The Smart Idol team has dedicated four days (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday) a week to cover different labour accommodations where they spend a couple of hours auditioning and rating the enthusiastic contestants. In order to give more workers a chance, contestants can also participate through Facebook. Aspiring contestants can upload their audition video on Facebook with the hashtag #SmartIdol. The contest is a call for aspiring blue-collar workers across the UAE to come and perform songs and dances and show to the world their talent," said one of the team members.
A high profile jury panel will select the top talents, split between singing and dancing performances, who then will be trained and mentored by professionals to fine-tune their skills.
Auditions will conclude by the end of February, after which the screening will be done based on the ratings given by the judges. From these, a set number of contestants will be selected for the quarter finals, after which they will be trained for two months by professional singers and dancers to perform in the semifinal and final round.
Manjula Ramakrishnan, president, SmartLife, said: "SmartIdol is our hugely popular annual event. The kind of spectacular talent that resides in labour accommodations and in our blue collar friends never ceases to amaze us. Our 2019 edition promises to be bigger and better with wider participation and more exciting prizes to be won.''
Smart Idol winners and finalists will become part of SmartBand, which will give them the opportunity to participate and perform at corporate events. The final is scheduled to take place on April 26 in Dubai.
saman@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai