Vijayawada: After receiving an overwhelming response from across the state to participate in the ‘Andhra Idol’ singing contest, the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority today announced the 3 finalists of ‘Andhra Idol’ who will perform and compete for the coveted title at the Amaravati Global Music and Dance Festival on 17^th November, 2018. The finalists were selected at the auditions held at Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao Government Music College, Durgapuram on 15^th November.

More than 100 contestants competed amongst themselves at the auditions, out of which 6 finalists in three different age groups were shortlisted to perform at the festival along with the leading musicians. The contest itself was a show of its own with the audience members singing and dancing along with the contestants and filling the auditorium with an energy that set the mood for the entire day.

The finalists who battled it out till the end were A Jashwanth from Nellore and R. Himani Age from Vijayawada in the age group of 5-12, MSJ Vaishnavi from Vijayawada and Meda Arya from Amalapuram in the age group of 12-25 and  Rajesh Nagavarapu from Vijayawada and  M. Pavani Mokkarala from Vizag in the age group of 25-40. They will perform on Nov 17th at the festival

1. Pavani said, “I am very thankful to AP Tourism for organizing Andhra Idol and giving us a platform to showcase our talent. It will be a dream come true to perform with the music maestros and gain real life experience.”

The participants for the prestigious contest were judged by Sri Madhavapeddi Suresh, Renowned Music Composer, Tollywood.

Sri Madhavapeddi Suresh, Renowned Music Composer, Tollywood and one of the judges of Andhra Idol said, “We always knew that there is no dearth of talent in Andhra Pradesh and the contestants today proved it. It was indeed a difficult time for us to choose a winner since there were many talented singers under the roof. Having said that, the selected winners are truly exceptional and have the potential to be playback singers of tomorrow.”

The on-ground auditions of ‘Andhra Idol’ was a spectacular coming together of talent. Launched on 3rd November, the Andhra Idol website received 20,000+ Page likes on Facebook, 85,000+ views on Festival Promo, 55,000+ unique visitors on the Festival website, 70,000+ pageviews on the website, 3,50,000+ views on Influencer videos on Instagram with a total reach of 3 million+. The online entries were received from all across the state, out of which 110 got shortlisted. Participants were mainly from Nellore, Vizag, Guntur, Kakinada, Vijayawada, Rajamendry, Kurnool and some nearby towns.

Andhra Idol is part of the Amaravati Global Music and Dance festival 2018 which will be inaugurated on 16^th November by the Honorable Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu and the Honorable Minister of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Mrs. Bhuma Ahkila Priya. The free-to-enter festival features power packed global fusion extravaganza by renowned Indian and International Artists from Carnatic, Hindustani, Bollywood, Tollywood, Pop, Jazz, Rock and Folk industry. In addition, the festival will also witness a variety of dance forms including Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi. More details about the festival can be found onwww.amaravatiglobalfest.com.

Amaravati Global Music and Dance Festival 2018 is an annual flagship event of the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority under the Government of Andhra Pradesh to promote Amaravati as a global hub for culture. The festival is expected to draw thousands of Indians and tourists from across the world.