Ria Lawrence (MID-DAY; September 10, 2015)

The small screen may be inundated with music reality shows, but in a first-of-its-kind endeavour, a TV channel is all set to launch a talent hunt focussing on performances on English songs. Titled The Stage, the show will not follow the public voting system and the winners will be declared purely based on the judges’ verdict.

The reality programme will hit the idiot box on October 10. Vishal Dadlani, Monica Dogra, Ehsaan Noorani and Devraj Sanyal have been roped in as the judges as well as the vanguard responsible for nurturing and bringing singing talent to the fore. “At the end of each episode, the performers with the lowest scores will be ‘benched’ and given one more chance to perform on stage and prove their mettle. Whoever doesn’t live up to expectations will be eliminated,” says a source.

Monica, who is on the judging panel, says she is excited about the show, although she was initially reluctant about taking it up. “I think it is amazing that such big entities are now backing and taking interest in English music and talent where it has never been done before. To find somebody from Assam or Rajasthan… You would not expect to hear such voices singing Rihanna or Bruno Mars. I was convinced show and the fact that they knew that I would be uncomfortable with judging. But they said since I was uncomfortable, I will be fair,” adds the singer-actress.