MUMBAI: With the 11th season of singing reality show American Idol airing on Indian TV, its broadcaster Big CBS Prime has taken up a unique on-ground initiative to create buzz around the show. Having partnered with the crowd sourcing platform Talenthouse India, it has launched a campaign to hunt for English solo music performances in sync  with the show to crown the first ‘Prime Idol’.

As part of the contest, participants can submit a solo English performance of their favourite song and upload it on talenthouse India’s official website before 3 December 2012. A public voting phase will commence from 4 December and the participant with the highest number of votes will receive gift vouchers worth Rs 10,000.

A pre-decided jury comprising of officials from the channel as well as the crowd sourcing platform will go through all the submissions  and the winning entry will be selected from amongst the qualified submissions on 28 December which will then feature on Big CBS Prime. The winning entry will feature on the channel and the winner will stand a chance to receive an LCD TV worth Rs 50,000. Two runners-up will be awarded music systems worth Rs 20,000 each.

Big CBS Network EVP & business head Anand Chakravarthy said, “We consistently challenge ourselves to provide our audiences with the latest and best of international entertainment and a superior television viewing experience. This time around we have chosen a unique platform to involve our target audiences. Our association with Talenthouse aims to extend the excitement and anticipation that American Idol generates by giving one Indian a life changing opportunity.”

Talenthouse India CEO Arun Mehra said, “We believe, every single person has a creative streak waiting to be discovered. We are proud to be associated with the Big CBS Network to create an extension of American Idol with this unique promotion. India is a hub of music talent and we are excited to provide our creative community a platform to showcase this talent on the channel.”

The reality show American Idol premiered on 15 October and simulcasts on Big CBS Network’s channels Prime, Love and Spark, every Monday-Thursday at 9pm.