&TV to launch 'The Voice' on June 6

The Indian adaptation of the international singing reality show will air every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm on &TV.

&TV, the Hindi general entertainment channel from Zee Network, is launching 'The Voice' on June 6.

The Indian adaptation of the international singing reality show will air every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm on the channel. It will replace another reality show 'Killer Karaoke'.

'The Voice' is touted as the purest form of a singing reality show where the contestants are chosen through 'blind auditions,' only on the basis of their voices and not appearances. Pursuing this quest will be musicians and singers Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Mika Singh and Himesh Reshammiya as 'coaches' who build their own teams and mentor talents to reach the finale.

The judges are in search of a voice that will leave the listeners amazed… a voice that will capture the imagination of the entire nation compelling them to 'palat' (turn their head), the channel says.

From the house of Talpa Media and produced by Endemol, the show will unfold in three phases – Blinds, Battles and Live. The blind auditions will have celebrity coaches pick their team only by listening to the voice and not the person. Armed with a buzzer, the coaches can stake claim on the voice that strikes a chord with them, by hitting the buzzer and turning around. Again, in a first, if more than one coach hits the buzzer, the contestant will be the one to choose his or her coach.

In the Battles segment, the coaches will pit two of their team members against each other to sing the same song and decide who moves ahead. In the last leg of the competition – Live, the final candidates will be coached by the mentors and a team of professionals. The top contestants from each team compete against each other and the television audience vote for their favourite voice.

Rajesh Iyer, business head, &TV, says, "We are thrilled to present the Indian edition of 'The Voice', a format that has been a rage globally! The show is our first step towards presenting a high impact weekend property in the reality space that will further strengthen our channel proposition. Positioned as a weekend driver, the show will encourage cohesive viewing that will take viewers on an absorbing and entertaining emotional roller coaster, from start to finish. The format enjoys immense popularity worldwide and we are certain that it will find favour with the Indian audience as they are passionate music lovers."

Deepak Dhar, managing director and chief executive officer, Endemol India, adds, "Yet another initiative by Endemol in its ongoing effort towards bringing endearing and innovative programming to Indian television audiences, 'The Voice' is a show that focusses on finding the nation's next top vocal talent, chosen purely on their singing talent and the quality of their voice. Featuring the country's best unknown artistes and four of the biggest names in music as coaches, this show is sure to sweep the nation off its feet, in its endeavour to find India's best voices."

The channel has roped in Maruti Alto K10 as the presenting sponsor and Ching's as the powered by sponsor.