Afghan Star (TV series)
Afghan Star is a popular reality television show which searches for the most talented young singer in Afghanistan. The program is broadcast on the Afghan Tolo TV channel.
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[edit] Format
The format of Afghan Star is similar to the British Pop Idol or the French Nouvelle Star and their many spinoffs, though it is independently produced and not a licensed adaptation. The program starts with auditions from aspiring singers in their late teens and early 20s. A panel of judges choose the best auditionees and puts them through to the public voting round of the contest. At this stage, each week every singer performs and the viewers vote for which singer they prefer using their cell phones. In every round, whoever gets the lowest amount of votes leaves the competition until just one is left, who is declared the winner.
[edit] Seasons
[edit] First season
The first season of Afghan Star was launched in September 2005, with over 1000 hopefuls from around Afghanistan gathering to partake in the talent search. The eventual winner of the series was Shakeb Hamdard from Kabul who released his debut album Mashalla in late 2007.[1]
[edit] Second season
Afghan Star season two started in August 2006 with auditions in Kabul, Mazar, Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Peshawar. The talent net was widened with Afghans from Pakistan and Iran encouraged to participate. The second Afghan Star was even more successful than the first, with Najibullah Mahmoudi a 35-year-old man from Mazar voted the winner. He has signed a recording contract with Barbud Music, the same company that released Shakeb Hamdard's music.[2]
[edit] Third season
The third season of Afghan Star debuted in October 2007. Auditions were held in Kunduz and Ghazni as well as cities visited in previous series. At this stage, Afghan Star became one of the most watched and talked about shows on Afghan television, regularly attracting 11 million viewers per episode. The high profile of the show meant heightened security was introduced around the studios and contestants of the show. The eventual winner of the third series of Afghan Star was Rafi Naabzada, once again from Mazar.[3][4]
[edit] Fourth season
The fourth season of Afghan Star debuted in December 2008. Changes to the format of the show were introduced, including an extra show broadcast per week. The ultimate winner of the season was Lima Sahar from Jalalabad.[5]
[edit] Fifth season
Afghan Star's fifth season started airing in October 2009, concluding in December of the same year. Auditions were conducted from all the cities visited in previous seasons. However, Nazir Khara and Monesa Sherzada-Hassan (the only female judge) did not return to the judging panel for this series. Instead, Ahmad Fanos became a new judge.[6] Wali Sazesh, a student from Herat was the winner of the series.
[edit] "Superstar" season
A special "Superstar" season of Afghan Star was scheduled for in Autumn 2010. The series will only feature contestants from previous seasons of Afghan Star. The eventual winner of the contest will be crowned the "Superstar" of all Afghan Stars.[7]
[edit] Judges and host
The judging panel and the host of the show have changed over the years, but the most recent line-up are as follows:
- Ustad Gulzaman has been a judge on Afghan Star since season one. He is renowned in the music industry in Afghanistan specialising in Pashto songs, and has been recognised as an Ustad in music. He is also an accomplished composer and poet.[8]
- Qasem Rameshgar has been a judge on Afghan Star since season four. Born in Kabul, Qasem Rameshgar attended the Arts Faculty of Kabul University where he studied music. After graduation he went to Russia to study the guitar for 4 years, between 1992 and 1996. He is now the head of the Afghanistan Music Centre, after being involved in music for 27 years.[9]
- Ahmad Fanos has been a judge on Afghan Star since season Five. Originally from Kabul city, Fanos gained a master's degree in communication from Saint Petersburg in Russia. He subsequently studied singing, and released the famous song "Zendage Shor-e-Nazanin Darad". He specialises in Ghazal songs.[10]
- Omaid Nizami participated in Season three of Afghan Star where he made the Top 12. During Season 4, Omaid acted as the co-host for Afghan Star conducting many of the behind the scenes interviews and discussions. However, he was promoted to centre stage as the main host of the series, as a result of previous host, Daoud Siddiqi's departure to the United States (See below).[11] He returned as the main host of series five.
[edit] Afghan Star - the film
US distributor Zeitgeist Films released a documentary film about the third season of Afghan Star starting June 26, 2009. In January 2009, the British-produced film (directed by Havana Marking) won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival: World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary and World Cinema Directing Award: Documentary.
The previous host of the Afghan Star TV series, Daoud Sediqi, travelled to the United States in February 2009 as part of the promotion of the film worldwide. Sediqi did not return home to Afghanistan. He instead applied, and was subsequently granted asylum in the United States in June 2009.[12] Previous to working on Afghan Star, Sediqi had been a DJ on Arman FM and a presenter on Tolo TV. He hosted all of Afghan Star's first four seasons, and was one of the most recognised names in the Afghan media at the time.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ "Background". afghanstar.tv. http://afghanstar.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=34&Itemid=54&lang=en. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ "Background". afghanstar.tv. http://afghanstar.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=34&Itemid=54&lang=en. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ "Afghanistan's Pop Idol breaks barriers". bbc.co.uk. 25 February 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7262967.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ "Afghan Pop Idol winner declared". bbc.co.uk. 21 March 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7309029.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ "Afghan Star Final Highlights". afghanstar.tv. 24 March 2009. http://afghanstar.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=262%3Aafghan-star-final-&catid=46%3Alatest-news&Itemid=70&lang=en. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ http://afghanstar.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=34&Itemid=54&lang=en
- ^ http://afghanstar.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=502%3Ain-search-of-afghanistans-first-superstar&catid=82%3Asuper-star&Itemid=111&lang=en
- ^ "Ustad Gulzaman". afghanstar.tv. 26 December 2008. http://afghanstar.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77%3Austad-gulzaman&catid=37%3Ahost-and-judges&Itemid=58&lang=en. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ "Qasem Rameshgar". afghanstar.tv. 26 December 2008. http://afghanstar.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78%3Aqasem-rameshgar&catid=37%3Ahost-and-judges&Itemid=58&lang=en. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ http://afghanstar.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=377%3Aahmad-fanoos&catid=37%3Ahost-and-judges&Itemid=58&lang=en
- ^ "Omaid Nizami (Host)". afghanstar.tv. 01 February 2009. http://afghanstar.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=180%3Aomaid-nizami-host&catid=37%3Ahost-and-judges&Itemid=58&lang=en. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ Afghanistan's 'Ryan Seacrest' a Star Far from Home
- ^ "One Afghan’s Own Private Exit Strategy". afghanstar.tv. 24 March 2008. http://afghanstar.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=263%3Aone-afghans-own-private-exit-strategy&catid=46%3Alatest-news&Itemid=70&lang=en. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
