Nepal Idol (Nepali: नेपाल आइडल) is a Nepali reality television singing competition that is part of the Idols franchise created and owned by FremantleMedia.[1][2] Nepal Idol 2017 is the first season of Idol Franchise in Nepal which aired on AP1 TV.[3]
In the first season, audition were held at seven cities; Nepalgunj, Butwal, Narayangarh, Birgunj, Biratnagar, Pokhara and Kathmandu. Contestants aged 16 to 30 years of age are allowed to participate.[4] The first ever season of the show was won by Buddha Lama from Pokhara, Nepal in which a total of 93,100,000 votes were cast for the grand finale. Similarly, the second season of Nepal Idol was won by Ravi Oad from Dhangadi. And, the third season of Nepal Idol was won by Sajja Chaulagain from Morang. According to organizers more than 1,25,000 people were watching the Grand Finale Event live on YouTube, which was a record for any Nepalese Television Show to be watched online.[5] Nepal Idol is produced by AP1 TV for Annapurna Media Network.
In the finale event of season 3, the announcement of winner was affected due to COVID-19 positive case from one of the production team member which withheld the finale program and winner was declared by digital method.
For Season 4, all past three judges got replaced by new judges, namely, Sambhujeet Baskota, Sugam Pokharel and Subani Moktan. Bhupendra Thapa Magar was winner of season 4.
For season 5, all judges of season 4 got replaced by Nhyoo Bajracharya, Indira Joshi and Kali Prasad Baskota; who returned to the show again.
"The Nepal Idol logo was transformed to have a 3D feel by Bibek Shrestha, a renowned 3D motion graphics designer and the CEO of Design Karkhana Pvt. Ltd., , enhancing its visual impact."
Format
Nepal Idol also follows the format provided by FremantleMedia from Idol Bible and followed by other versions of Idol Series.
Hosts
As per the format, there is at least one or two hosts both of them being of same gender or opposite gender. Nepal Idol was hosted by television actor and model Sushil Nepal and actress, model, VJ and television journalist Reema Bishwokarma. After announcement of season 2 Sushil Nepal was replaced by versatile and talented media personality Asif Shah who is also Television Producer, music video and tvc director, singer and actor from famous Nepali movie, 'Dui Rupiyan'. For season 3, new host Mampi Ghosh replaced Reema Bishwokarma who moved to Comedy Champions. In 2019, Asif Shah and Mampi Ghosh, previously known as Pawankali, hosted the third season. Similarly, Mampi Ghosh got replaced by Reshma Ghimire in Season 4. Reema Bishwokarma returned once again in Season 5.
Judges
A preselected panel of music industry representatives are given to judge the contestants in prejudge round which is not televised. Actual panel of judges of three or five judge the contestants from Televised Audition to Grand Finale.
Season 1-3
In season one, two and three the judges were Nhyoo Bajracharya, Indira Joshi and Kali Prasad Baskota. Bajracharya is a music composer and singer. He has composed dozens of famous songs in Nepali, Nepal bhasa and Hindi. His popular compositions include "Ful ko aakhaa ma fulai sanasar" with Ani Choying Drolma with his fusion style music. Indira Joshi is a singer, model, and actress. She released the song "'Rato Ghanghara" from her album Dance with Me. She has also sung the item number "Udhreko choli" from the movie Loot. She had already been among top 5 contestants in the first season of Nepali singing reality show Nepali Tara. Kali Prasad Baskota is a singer, musician, writer, and lyricist. His initial hits were the songs like "Chahana Sakiyo" and "Laija Re". Kali had done his singing debut from song "Jaalma" from movie Resham Filili which was one of the biggest hit of that time. His other popular compositions includes "Thamel Baazar" from the movie Loot 2, "Nira" from Purano Dunga movie and one of the biggest hit "Saili". All three judges were replaced in Season 4 as they moved for other reality show, Saregamapa Lil Champs.
Season 4
All three judges from last three seasons were replaced by Sambhujeet Baskota, Subani Moktan and Sugam Pokharel. Sambhujeet Baskota is a Nepali music composer who is considered to be the most popular and prolific music director of the Nepali Film Industry. He has composed over 3,000 songs, which have appeared in more than 250 films. He has composed songs for many Nepali hit films like Prem Pinda, Karodpati, Thuldai etc.[6] Similarly, Sugam Pokharel is a Nepali popular pop singer, songwriter, RJ and music composer who is working in the Nepali music industry since 1995. In recent years, he has been also known as a popular playback singer. He became popular as a playback singer for the song Ke yo Maya ho from the movie Mero Auta Sathi Chha. Most of the Nepali people remember him for the festival song Dashain Tihar. He has given many other hit songs such as Mero Auta Sathi Chha, Mero Sansar, K yo Maya ho, Feri tyo din, etc.[citation needed] Likewise, Subani Moktan is a singer/songwriter and also a music arranger. Besides her own independent music, she also works as a playback singer for movies and a teacher at Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory.[7]
Auditions are held in numerous places in any particular region or country that give most people (audition entry is bound by certain legal requirements such as age and citizenship for example) the chance to sing in front of musical/television producers and if successful, they advance to a recorded televised audition where the show "judges" advance up to 300 people in some countries to the next round.
The Theatre round is where a specially selected group of auditioners from all regional auditions converge (always in the host city) to perform in three sub stages: a chorus line in groups of 10 where free song choices are allowed, a trio (or less commonly a duo or quartet) where contestants must memorize a preselected song to perform and choreograph together, and finally a solo a cappella round where contestants sing a song of their own choice without musical backing in front of friends, family, judges & fellow contestants. Each stage of the theatre round, a number of contestants are eliminated and sent home by the judges, very few contestants brought back during the Wildcards show.
Piano Round: After theatre, top 18 or top 20 contestants are selected. They are divided into 8 or 10 within themselves and 3 or 4 are eliminated from the round. Eliminated contestants are brought back during wildcard shows.
Gala Round: The gala occurs usually pre-recorded where contestants sing in a television studio fully televised; again judges give critiques but beginning at this stage, home viewers vote via telephone and SMS (and in some countries other voting mechanisms including via Internet) who they want to stay in the competition. The contestants are judged by 50% audience vote and 50% judges marking. Gala usually consists of 12 contestants where they perform individually or in a group (usually in elimination day) semi-final contestants sing every week until all finalists have been chosen. Wildcards episode is also featured. Judges can use veto power of no elimination for only one time.
Grand Finale: The Grand Finale occurs when there are three contestants left in the competition. This is the pinnacle of the entire series and often highest-rated show; also for some countries, it is venued in a prestigious location. There are usually group performances and/or special musical guests. Also, it has the best moments of the series which leads up to the announcement of the winner, which is determined by the highest number of votes. When that happens, he or she will perform an encore of the coronation single which sometimes includes pyrotechnics/fireworks. In every round, the set is often changed.
The Project Head of the first-ever franchise singing reality show was Suresh Poudel. He is veteran in Nepali media with the background of working in popular media house in leading position for more than 25 years. The show was directed by Laxman Paudyal. Asst. directors are Manoj K.C. Samaya, Surace Dulal AKA Babu Surace D.C. [] , Mohan Raj Adhikari. Chief Asst. director is Aleen Shrestha. Buddha Lama was the winner of the first season who also happened to be the youngest contestant to be selected.
It was officially announced in early 2018 that Nepal Idol will be back for another season. Season 2 auditions started from March 20 in Bhairahawa. The other announced locations were Dhangadhi, Hetauda, Dharan, Pokhara along with Kathmandu. After the auditions were concluded, the show aired from August 7. The directors for season 2 are Suresh Paudel, Aleen Shrestha and Lokesh Bajracharya. Aleen Shrestha is also the Director of Nepal's first-ever franchise dance reality show Boogie Woogie Nepal. Whereas, Lokesh Bajracharya is a well known name in visual-editing field in Nepal. The show was hosted by Asif Shah (replacing Former host Sushil Nepal) and Reema Bishwokarma. The assistant directors are Mohan Raj Adhikari and Babu Surace D.C.(Surace Dulal). Director Of Photography is Shiva Ram Shrestha.
Audition
The audition for the Second season of Nepal Idol were held on:
This episode featured Hetuda Audition. The contestants selected from pre-judge round in Birgunj also participated in this televised audition.
04
2018 August 17
Dharan Audition
This episode featured Dharan Audition.
05
2018 August 23
Pokhara Audition
This episode featured Pokhara Audition. Neelima Thapa Magar and Bikram Baral won golden mic in this episode.
06
2018 August 24
Kathmandu Audition
This featured Kathmandu Audition. Sumit Pathak won golden mic in this episode.
07
2018 August 30
Theatre Round - 1
Selected contestants were brought in Kathmandu for further performance. Contestants were divided into several groups and they had to perform individually.
08
2018 August 31
Theatre Round - 2
Contestants were divided into trio or duo for group performance.
09
2018 September 6
Theatre Round - 3
Individual performance with live band.
10
2018 September 7
Theatre Round - 4
Individual performance with live band.
11
2018 September 13
Piano Round - 1
Top 20 contestants were selected from Theatre Round and divided into group of 10. First ten performed in this episode.
12
2018 September 14
Piano Round - 2
Four contestants were eliminated from first group.
13
2018 September 20
Piano Round - 3
Second group performed individually.
14
2018 September 21
Piano Round - 4
Four contestants were eliminated from second group.
15
2018 September 27
Gala Round-1 Grand Premiere
Eliminated contestants performed in group. There was Grand Premiere. Top 12 contestants performed.
16
2018 September 28
Gala Round-2 Top 12 Elimination
One contestants from Top 12 was eliminated according to marks obtained by 50-50% judge-audience vote.
17
2018 October 4
Gala Round-3 Top 11
Top 11 contestants performed.
18
2018 October 5
Gala Round-4Top 11 Elimination
One contestants from Top 11 was eliminated according to marks obtained by 50-50% judge-audience vote.
19
2018 October 11
Gala Round-5 Top 10
Top 10 contestants performed.
20
2018 October 12
Gala Round-6 Top 10 Elimination
One contestants from Top 10 was eliminated.
N/A
2018 October 18
Wild Card Special Episode
Three contestants eliminated from theatre Round and three from piano Round was given second chance. Result was based on 100% audience vote.
N/A
2018 October 19
Dashain Special Episode
Revive of past episodes. Review of public, musicians and actors. Dashain greetings from contestants.
21
2018 October 25
Gala Round 7 Top 10
Top 10 finalist contestants performed. Jeshmi Limbu re entered in the show through wildcard. Sandip Chettri, Aayushman DS Joshi and Dipendra K Khanal joined.
22
2018 October 26
Gala Round 8 Top 10 Elimination
Top 10 finalist contestants performed in group. Jeshmi Limbu eliminated from the show. Top 3 contestants of Nepal Idol Season 1 appeared as guest and performed together with contestants.
23
2018 November 1
Gala Round 9 Top 9
Top 9 finalist contestants performed. Sambhujeet Baskota appeared as guest judge.
24
2018 November 2
Gala Round 10 Top 9 Elimination
Top 9 finalist contestants performed in group. Subin Singh was eliminated according to marks obtained by 50-50% judge-audience vote. Prasad team released its trailer.
25
2018 November 8
Gala Round 11 Rock/Pop Special
Top 8 finalist contestants performed. Tihar song was performed. Deepak Bajracharya appeared as guest judge. No elimination was declared.
26
2018 November 9
Gala Round 12
Top 8 finalist performed. Anuradha Koirala appeared as guest.There was no elimination. All contestants were safe.
27
2018 November 15
Gala Round 13 Nepali Folk Special
Top 8 contestants performed on folk theme.
28
2018 November 16
Gala Round 14 Top 8 Elimination
Top 8 contestants performed in duo.
29
2018 November 22
Gala Round 15 Top 7 - Idol's Idol Special
Top 7 contestants performed in duo with their singing idol.
30
2018 November 23
Gala Round 16 Top 7 Elimination
Shiva Pariyar appeared as guest.
31
2018 November 29
Gala Round 17 Top 6 - Patriotism Special
Top 6 contestants performed in national songs.
32
2018 November 30
Gala Round 18 Top 6 - Elimination
Top 6 contestants performed in duo.
33
2018 December 6
Gala Round 19 Top 5 - Audience Choice
Top 5 contestants performed. Arjun Pokhrel appeared as guest.
34
2018 December 7
Gala Round 20 Top 5 - Elimination
Top 5 contestants performed with eliminated contestants. Nir Shah and Dinesh Adhikari appeared as guest.
35
2018 December 13
Gala Round 21 Top 4
Top 4 contestants performed for Grand Finale as it was announced that Top 4 talents will go to Finale.
36
2018 December 14
Home Visit -
Finale contestants went there hometown.
37
2018 December 20
Season Preview
38
2018 December 21
Grand Finale
^Note 1 Episodes are entitled according to rounds.
Nepal Idol Season 3 was officially announced on July 13 by AP1 TV by uploading its promotional video on YouTube.
The directors for season 3 were Suresh Paudel, Aleen Shrestha and Lokesh Bajracharya. The show was hosted by Aasif Shah and Mampi Ghosh, as the previous host Reema left the show and moved to another reality show called Comedy Champion. The assistant director was Mohan Raj Adhikari and Babu Surace D.C.(Surace Dulal) and the Director Of Photography was Shiva Ram Shrestha. The Reality producer was Bishal Aryal and production manager was Manish Banjara (Kaudinya).
Auditions
The audition for the Third season of Nepal Idol was held on:
For the first time ever, the organizer announced Digital Auditions in which, participants can record a video and upload it into Respect & Rise App for audition purpose (due to covid situation). Selected candidates from Digital Auditions were called to Kathmandu for the Studio Rounds.
Airing Date
Official Page of Nepal Idol announced that Season 3 will be airing from 19 December 2019. This time there is a slight change in the format of the show. Host for season 2 Reema Bishwokarma was replaced by Mampi Ghosh (earlier known as Pawankali) as she moved to Nepal's first comedy reality show, 'Comedy Champions'.
Format
For this season tagline of the show is 'संगीतको शिखर' (English: The pinnacle of music) so the format has been designed so that contestants participating are climbing mountain.
Episodes
After airing wildcard special episode, due to fear of COVID-19 virus outbreak production and airing of Nepal Idol was postponed for 139 days. Nepal Idol resumed from August 6, 2020.
Episode No
Date
Round
Description
01
2019 December 19
Open Audition
The first episode featured Kathmandu Audition.
02
2019 December 20
The second episode featured Butwal Audition.
03
2019 December 26
The third episode featured Nepalgunj Audition.
04
2019 December 27
The fourth episode featured Birgunj Audition.
05
2020 January 2
The fifth episode featured Birtamod Audition.
06
2020 January 3
The sixth episode featured Pokhara Audition.
07
2020 January 9
Base Camp (Theater Round)
Top 30 were selected among the contestants who were selected through audition and digital auditions. Out of 30, 15 contestants performed.
08
2020 January 10
15 leftover contestants performed. Out of 30 contestants, 17 including Golden Mike Holder were selected for Camp - IV
09
2020 January 16
Camp 4 (Piano Round)
Top 17 Contestants performed
10
2020 January 17
Top 17 Contestants performed, 5 contestants eliminated.
11
2020 January 23
Gala Round 1
Top 12 contestants performed.
12
2020 January 24
Gala Round 2
Top 12 contestants performed.
13
2020 January 30
Gala Round 3 Elimination 1
Top 12 contestants performed in duo.
14
2020 January 31
Gala Round 4
Top 11 contestants performed.
15
2020 February 6
Gala Round 5 Elimination 2
Top 11 contestants performed in duo.
16
2020 February 7
Gala Round 6
Top 10 contestants performed.
17
2020 February 13
Gala Round 7 Elimination 3
Top 10 contestants performed on Valentine's Special.
18
2020 February 14
Gala Round 8
Top 9 contestants performed.
19
2020 February 20
Gala Round 9 Elimination 4
Top 9 contestants performed in duo.
20
2020 February 21
Gala Round 10
Top 8 contestants performed.
21
2020 February 27
Gala Round 11 Elimination 5
Top 8 contestants performed with last season's contestants.
22
2020 February 28
Gala Round 12
Top 7 contestants performed.
23
2020 March 5
Gala Round 13 Elimination 6
Top 7 contestants performed.
24
2020 March 6
Gala Round 14 Lok Geet Special
Top 6 contestants performed in Lok Bhaka.
25
2020 March 12
Gala Round 15 Elimination 7 Idol's Idol Special
Top 6 contestants performed with their own singing idol.
26
2020 March 13
Gala Round 16
Top 5 contestants performed.
27
2020 March 19
Gala Round 17 Elimination 8
Top 5 contestants performed.
28
2020 March 20
Wildcard Entry
5 Contestant performed to compete for wildcard entry
29
2020 August 6
Wildcard Results
Kiran K Bhujel re-entered show as wildcard contestant.
30
2020 August 7
Gala Round 18
Top 5 performed.
31
2020 August 13
Gala Round 19 Elimination 9
Neshon Pun Magar Eliminated
32
2020 August 14
Gala Round 20
Top 4 performed
33
2020 August 21
Gala Round 21 Elimination 10
Kevin Glan Tamang Eliminated
34
2020 August 22
Gala Round 22 SEMI FINAL
Finale Performance form Top 3
35
2020 August 27
Season Preview
Journey of Top 3
36
2020 August 28
GRAND FINALE
Winner: Sajja Chajlagain
1st Runner Up: Pravin Bedwal
2nd Runner Up: Kiran Kumar Bhujel
Special Episodes
Episode No
Date
Episode Title
Description
1
2020 May 18
Arthur Gunn Special
Special episode to celebrate Arthur Gunn's success as runner-up in American Idol.
2
2020 June 18
Lockdown Special
Special episode as airing of Nepal Idol was discontinued due to fear of COVID-19 outbreak. Special music video featuring contestants of last season was premiered.
AP1 TV confirmed season 4 by publishing promo released on July 21, 2021. Since judges from last 3 season were hired by another reality show SaReGaMaPa Lil'l Champs Nepal, Nepal Idol have new faces for this season. Digital Audition was started from August 17. The directors for season 4 were Suresh Paudel,. The show was hosted by Aasif Shah and Reshma Ghimire. The assistant director was Mohan Raj Adhikari.
List of New Judges and Hosts
AP1 TV organized Press Meet on August 20, 2021, in its office to announce new judges and host for Nepal Idol Season 4. Following are new judges for Nepal Idol.
Sambhujeet Baskota is a Nepalimusiccomposer. He is considered to be the most popular and prolific music director of the Nepali Film Industry. He has composed over 3,000 songs that have appeared in more than 250 films.
Sugam Pokharel (Nepali:सुगम पाेखरेल) is a Nepalese pop singer, music composer, songwriter and radio jockey. His first solo recording, Mero Sansaar (2001), became a top seller in Nepal.
3
Subani Moktan
Judge
Subani Moktan is a singer, songwriter and music arranger. She also works as a playback singer for movies. She is a teacher at Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory. She is daughter of Kunti Moktan, a popular singer.
4
Asif Shah
Host
Asif Shah is a Nepali presenter, actor, director, producer and singer who has host Nepal Idol Season 2 and 3 earlier too.
5
Reshma Ghimire
Host
Reshma Ghimire is a Nepali model, and actress who was first-ever verified Nepali TikTok User. She is known for playing Nepali music videos. She is one of the most loved and followed TikTok and Instagram celebrity in Nepal and also a winner of Miss Purbeli 2014.
Digital Audition
Due to COVID-19 and no permissions granted for physical audition, the production company announced Digital Auditions starting from August 17 for a month through APON App, an OTT platform developed by Annapurna Media Network.
Physical Audition
Few of the selected participants from digital auditions will be called for physical audition in various cities which includes Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Pokhara and Kathmandu.
The fifth season of Nepal Idol was confirmed by AP1TV by publishing announcement video in its digital platform. The show was directed by suresh Paudyal.Chief Asst. director is Mohan Raj Adhikari and Asst. director is Nimesh Rajbag.This time there shall be auditions in 8 cities of Nepal starting from Birtamod, Jhapa and ending in Kathmandu. The auditions will be held on:
Birtamod (Koshi Pradesh)
Bardibas (Madesh Pradesh)
Hetauda (Bagmati Pradesh)
Attariya (Sudurpachim Pradesh)
Surkhet (Karnali Pradesh)
Dang (Lumbini Pradesh)
Pokhara (Gandaki Pradesh)
Kathmandu (Nepal's Capital City)
The season will be premiered on March 8, 2024 as confirmed by organizers. Prabhu Pay has partnered Nepal Idol Season 5 as Digital Voting Partner and Vivo Nepal partnered with Nepal Idol as a title sponsor. Likewise, Redbull Nepal as Energized By partner.
Judges
In Season 5 past judges Kali Prasad Baskota, Nhyoo Bajracharya and Indira Joshi returned to Nepal Idol once again. Also Reema Bishwakarama was back as a host once again along with Asif Shah. This was announced through promo video published by AP1 TV.
List of Episodes
There shall be total of 32 episodes, eight episodes showing Open Audition, two Theater Round episodes, Four Piano round episodes and remaining Gala Rounds including Wild Card and Grand Finale. The runtime of this season would be 120 minutes per episodes.
On June 7, Vice Chairperson of Annapurna Media Network announced that, AP1 is bringing Nepal Idol Junior, a spinoff kids version of singing reality show after the completion of Nepal Idol Season 5. The logo was announced on July 17, 2024. The digital auditions starting on Afno Digital App.
Controversy and lawsuit
On 1 September 2017, the judges of the content announced that they would use their "veto" and not allow the elimination of any contestant at the end of that episode. The hosts announced that the votes received for that episode would be added to the next weeks elimination scores. However, the move drew considerable criticism on social media, with many accusing the producers of trying to make more money or trying to save their "favourite" contestant.[8] After that they had to face a lawsuit against them.[9]
A lawsuit was also subsequently filed by a local lawyer against Nepal Idol and the channel broadcasting the show, in which the plaintiff claimed that the judges did not allow the elimination to save their "favorite" contestant and not disclosing the result of the vote. This lawsuit was dismissed by the court, finding that the plaintiff did not have "sufficient grounds for their claim".
