Shivanand Singh of Hansom Tree, Mahaica; Karamchand Sugrim of Canje Berbice;Vidya Ram of Best village, West Coast Demerara; Dharamraj Mohabir of Hampshire Corentyne; Elizabeth Wong of Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara; and Savita Singh of Trinidad and Tobago are the six contestants that have made it through to the semi-finals of Season two of the E-Networks talent show, Emerging Voices.
At the end of tonight’s show only three of the six will proceed to the next round as they vie for the Grand Prize of Two million dollars.
In addition to the excellent music and performance value, the competition has received much praise for its high standard of production which includes state of the art sets, lighting and sound, digital screens and multiple camera, high definition filming.
The show is judged by US-born Jeffrey Iqbal, Guyanese-born singer/songwriter Purnash Durgaprasad and well-known cultural icon, Dr. Vindhya Persaud.
US-born Iqbal got his first break when he was selected by Golden Globe award and Grammy award (“Slum Dog Millionaire”) winner, AR Rehman, during a televised talent search to participate in Rehman’s US concert. Thereafter, he went on to represent the USA on Zee TV’s SaReGaMaPa, the most prestigious South Asian televised singing competition and was among the top 4 on India’s Raw Star competition which was aired on Starplus.
He has toured the world with Bollywood’ Shreya Ghoshal and, in fact, visited Guyana for the first time and won hearts for Shreya’s 2012 concert here. Jeffrey has sung for Bollywood as well as released his own original songs. He performs extensively at various events worldwide.
Purnash Durgaprasad, is a singer, songwriter, composer, producer and music teacher. He participated in the ZEETV USA edition of SaReGaMaPa which led him pursuing musical studies in India. He is currently an instructor at the Suresh Wadkar Academy of Music, USA. Purnash has performed extensively and had the honour of opening for Sonu Nigam’s Concert in New Jersey in 2012 and Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s Concert in Guyana. He released several original songs including “Guyana Movin” which was released during Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary.
Dr. Vindhya Persaud over the last 20 years has been directing and choreographing the prestigious Naya Zamana production, which encompasses dance, drama and music. In addition, Dr. Persaud who is President of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha has been in the forefront promoting the Indian art forms, including music and singing, and encouraging youthful talent through the various programmes of the Dharmic Sabha. She has hosted shows in Guyana for Bollywood’s top playback singers Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Shreya Ghoshal and Sunidhi Chauhan among others.
Jeffrey and Purnash have been training the contestants though out the competition on their singing while Dr. Persaud has been working on performance elements. The musicians for the show are from India and have all played for Bollywood’s top singers as well as various reality shows in India.
E-Networks promises a grand celebration on this Friday’s Emerging Voices Episode 10 as the top 6 contestants bring out their top acts for the SEMIFINAL ROUND.
Also, viewers will get a change to find out if their favourite performer will make it through to the Finals.
Catch the excitement on E3 at 8pm, E1 at 9pm and on NTN Berbice on Saturday at 7:30pm, NTN Georgetown – Sunday at 6pm.
Facebook Live – Friday at 8pm.
