Guess How Much this Indian Idol’s Voice is Worth?

The 14th edition of India’s version of the popular singing reality show American Idol wrapped up amid much fanfare on Sunday. March 4, 2024. The winner of the Sony TV production was 19-year-old Vaibhav Gupta from Kanpur, who took the judges’ breath away with his phenomenal rendition of the Hindi tune ‘Hum Toh Tere Aashiq Hai’. And what was the reward he took home? – A cheque for the handsome sum of Rs. 25 lakh. Plus, the spritely youth is certainly “going places”... thanks to his additional prize of a brand new Maruti Suzuki Brezza car. Will the victorious Vaibhav be laughing all the way to the bank? Or singing? Or driving?

Vaibhav projected his powerful and nuanced voice to trump those of the five others he was up against in the final round. Indeed, the extraordinary younsgter out-performed Subhadeep Das, Piyush Panwar, Ananya Pal, Ananya Padbanabhan and Adya Mishra over the course of the programme’s final episode. Who does the winner owe his trophy, prize-money and car to? Well apart from himself and those who encouraged him to further his talent, there was the trio of judges. 

These adjudicators were: music composer and director Vishal Dadlani who was once front man of the Indian rock group Pentagram; versatile singer Shreya Ghoshal; and playback vocalist Kumar Sanu. While the former two have judged the event previously, this was Sanu’s first appearance in the capacity. Indian actor and presenter Hussain Kuwajerwala, who has had previous experience at hosting the show, reprised his role as emcee after 11 years. Perhaps India's most adored contemporary singer - Sonu Nigam - was the final episode's special guest.

So, what does the latest winner of Indian Idol plan to do with his winnings? Feed his passion and build on his fan-base, what else? “I wish to make my (own) studio where I can record songs and make many other tracks to entertain the viewers”, exclaimed Vaibhav. “ I can’t wait to do the same and get feedback from my fans. Having a studio has always been a dream and with the prize-money, I can attain the same.” It looks like this young fellow’s voice will take him to greater heights... thanks to his penchant for hitting those high notes. Watch out, Sonu Nigam: this newcomer is waiting in the wings!