MUMBAI: After weeks of anxiety and nail-biting anticipation, the winner of the RC Live’s Bangalore Regional Finals was declared. It was an evening of powerhouse performances from the top 4 bands at St. John’s Auditorium last evening. In an unprecedented turn of events, the judges were unanimous in their decision to name two bands as the regional finalists. The judging panel Palash Sen, Subir Malik, Vibhav Rao felicitated popular local band Swarathma and upcoming talent Ek who won the Bangalore Regional Finals and qualified for the RC Live National Finals to be held in Delhi on Feb 29, 2008.The results were declared after electrifying performances by the 4 short-listed bands Udaan, Ek, Swarathma and Anhad who had Bangalore’s Radio Cityzens grooving to their tunes. The edge of the seat excitement on the performances was captured for all on Bangalore’s Radio City 91.1FM by RJ Vasanthi on Joyride. The regional rounds also accounted for listener feedback on original compositions of the short listed bands which saw extensive air-play on Radio City 91.1FM stations in Southern India.
Speaking on the evening’s performances Dr. Palash Sen said, “I was spellbound to witness the high calibre and the energy levels the bands exuded at the Bangalore Regional Finals. Every performance was superlative and way beyond my expectations and so we chose to shortlist not 1 but 2 bands for the National Finals. The Bangalore Regional Finals have set such standards, bands in Mumbai and Delhi will definitely need to be prepared!”
Equally elated was co-judge Subir Malik who added, “It was an out rightly unanimous decision to name these bands as the winners of the Bangalore Regional Finals. We were tremendously impressed to see the impeccable performances by the bands in Bangalore. It is heartening to see the vast pool of talent in the country and how Radio City has stepped ahead to provide a platform to nurture and support raw talent.”
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Talking of the need for such opportunities, Vibhav Rao from EMI said, “Bands are the next big thing. There is no substitute to Bollywood right now and bands that have the best sound and the attitude to match will fill this void. RC Live is a phenomenal opportunity for bands to experiment with success.”
Commenting on the tremendous response to RC Live Mr. Rana Barua, National Head – Marketing, Radio City 91.1FM said, “The response to RC Live’s Bangalore Regional Finals has been outstanding. We’re glad to identify all this fresh talent that can take our music industry to greater heights. With gifted judges and a robust format driven by stringent criteria, Radio City with RC Live promised to scout the nation in a month to present India with a world class Hindi band. The quality of entries received and the extraordinary feedback from our judging panel, only goes to show that we’re very well on our way to fulfilling that promise.”
Elated with their phenomenal win, vocalist Shashank Venkataramana, Ek said, “It is rare for Hindi bands to get this kind of platform and I’m so thankful that Radio City has created such a unique opportunity for all of us. I thank the Judges for their feedback and for the finals, we will work on our stage presence and deliver a complete package.”
Live-wire lead vocalist, Vasu Dixit of Swarathma said, “Hindi bands need national exposure. We believe in taking the voice to the masses and Radio City has helped bring this dream alive! Live performances are our playground and we will put up a spirited fight at the finals in Delhi.”
Spanning the nation through three regional hubs – Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, RC Live will conclude with a MEGA concert at the National Finals at The Garden of Five Senses, Delhi on February 29, 2008. The winning band at RC Live will not only bag an album release contract with EMI, but Radio City and EMI will also jointly promote the band for the course of one year. Evangelizing RC Live and supporting the cause of finding a truly talented Hindi music band are the Judging Panel and Mentors – Palash Sen of Euphoria, Subir Malik of Parikrama and Vibhav Rao, Manager, Artists & Repertoire, EMI who will judge the month long LIVE musical extravaganza.
RC Live is supported by a robust hi-decibel national promotional campaign comprising extensive outdoors, interactive road shows and on-air elements which got active from January 30, 2008. With RC Live, Croma – the electronics megastore comes on board as Associate Sponsor, while Spykar is the official style partner and Gibson the prize partner. Barista is the on-ground partner with EMI as the music label partner. Agencyfaqs! is the trade partners to the event.
