MUMBAI: Countdown to the glamorous talent hunt of the year has already begun.
After touring six cities for one month and screening over 10,000 aspiring singers, the second edition of the Coke [V] Popstars is all set to challenge the budding singers from the glam capital, Mumbai, the final destination of the tour.
With the Popstars 2 hunt being ushered in Mumbai by the famous four of the first band VIVA, on 19, 20 and 21 May, besides tons of on-ground publicity and on-air promos by the entire Star bouquet, the channel is set to built up the hype around the D-day here.
Initially, the auditions in the city were supposed to be for just one day, but looking at the response in the other cities the music channel has decide to extend it by another day.
According to the Channel [V] content and communication vice-president Keertan Adyanthaya: "The response to Coke [V] Popstars 2 has been phenomenal so far. We are really excited to be in Mumbai. Last year over 1000 girls turned up for the auditions and we believe that this year that number will more than double. Keeping that in mind, we have lined up two days of auditions in the city."
So the Mumbai kudis and mundas (boys and girls) will be having full two days to prove their musical genius.
Kick-starting the special on-ground promos, last year's talent finds, the VIVA girls, visited the youth spots like the café chain Barista, fast food joints McDonalds, shopping plaza Globus, foodie joint Hot Breads, pizza chain Dominos, pubs like Mikanos and Fire & Ice.
On the first day of the promotional activities, the foursome reported dot on the decided time at the Bandstand Barista, 8:25 pm, and broke into a song, literally. There was a big crowd gathered around the café just to get a glimpse of these girls-next-door-turned-stars. After some humming and more, the girls quizzed the crowd and offered freebies to the lucky ones. Just like they breezed in the scene, they zoomed out after 15 minutes of excitement.
For those who have missed the chance to meet the VIVA girls, they can catch the girls today (20 May) at Domino's Phoenix Mills, McDonald's - opposite CST Barista, Fashion Bistro - CST, Big Bazaar, Eros -Sterling, Carter Road, McDonald's - Bandra and Gaiety Galaxy in that order, from 4:30 pm to 9:15 pm. They are also likely to visit the nightspots like Mikanos and Fire & Ice on the 21 May.
While three of the initial five-member band were from the Mumbai and Pune region, the channel, according to Adyanthaya, has a lot of expectations from the participants, not just for their talent, but also for the enthusiasm and energy that they bring to the auditions.
With the jury members --- lead singer of the band Euphoria Palash Sen, Indipop artiste Mehnaz and Channel [V] VJ Purab --- all set to grill the Mumbai participants, the auditions to be held at the St. Andrews Auditorium Bandra (West), a Mumbai suburb, on 22 and 23 May will be the place for some action unlimited.
Though the registration begin at 9:00 am on a first come-first serve basis, it is assumed the queues are likely to be formed at the crack of dawn itself. But with the indiatimes.com contest being held, the lucky few can actually avoid the mad rush.
After being judged in batches of five (in any two-plus-three combination of girls or boys), every participant will be given about 30 seconds to perform and the shortlisted candidates would require to register again for the second round of auditions. Finally, 24 people, selected from across all the centers, will come to Mumbai.
Industry sources say that it would be five-star hotel Hyatt Regency where the intensive last auditions would be held. The last round of audition would yield the the final 10 participants from which the new band would be selected.
The reality show may not have changed the face of music drastically, but did manage to turn around the channel's fortune. While the event this year promises to be bigger than the last one with both guys as well as girls showcasing their musical capabilities, it's really a wait and watch time.

So ab kiska band baajega ?

Also read:

After VIVA, [V] launches hunt for first mixed pop band

"Channel [V] will constitute youth panels in various cities" an interview with Channel [V]'s Keertan Adyanthaya