Few nations feature music so prominently within all forms of media as India does, so it only makes sense that The Voice is finally getting its own chapter for the world's second largest population. Bollywood stars—Sunidhi Chauhan, Himesh Reshammiya, Mika and Shaan—will serve as the show's first foursome of coaches.
"We are excited to present viewers with The Voice, a show which is already a global sensation, as one of our biggest non-fiction offerings," said Rajesh Iyer, the business head of &TV, the channel that will broadcast the program. "For the first edition, we have a formidable panel of coaches that includes the country's best musicians who will mentor new talent."
It's actually rather interesting that The Voice hadn't gotten to India earlier, considering the nation's predilection for pop music as well the size of its potential market. The vocal competition series has taken off internationally since first airing in the Netherlands during 2010, launching chapters in more than 180 nations around the world. Although our readers might be most familiar with the American rendition—currently hosted by Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Pharrell Williams—the brand is based out of the Netherlands, and owner Talpa Media was just bought for $1.17 billion, if that gives any indication how much the brand might be worth.
"We are very pleased to be collaborating with &TV to bring The Voice to India," said Maarten Meijs, the global managing director for Talpa. "The format has proven to be such a global hit that we're fully confident viewers in India will also sit up and take notice."
Not that India hasn't had a vocal reality competition before. Just as American Idol was the first to open the floodgates in the United States, Indian Idol has also aired on-and-off since 2004, with six seasons.
