MUMBAI: The last leg of the RC Live Regional Finals concluded in Mumbai yesterday with an unprecedented turn of events. For the first time in the 3 RC Live Regional Finals, the format was shattered to allow not 1 but 3 bands from Mumbai. Amidst much cheering and fanfare, Yeshua, Shor Bazaar and Talaash walked away with the honours, qualifying to perform at the RC Live National Finals in Delhi on Feb 29, 2008.Hosted by RJ Manish Vallicha of Mumbai Radio City 91.1FM's City City Bang Bang, the Mumbai Regional Finals at Rangshardha Auditorium was a clash of the titans with spectacularly remarkable performances. The 6 Western Region bands Yeshua, Prayag, Talaash, Shor Bazaar, The Nitish Pires Band and Anhad put up an electrifying show which got the audience on their toes. The regional rounds also accounted for listener feedback on original compositions of the short listed bands which saw extensive air-play on Radio City 91.1FM stations in Western India.

Speaking on the evening's performances Dr. Palash Sen said, "To choose not 1 but 3 bands is a different sort of a stamp on the brilliance of what we have in the city of Mumbai. The evening was a fantastic blend of originality, talent and energy. It is high time that the people in this city realise the kind of talent there is and find ways to nurture talent through platforms like RC Live. It is going to be extremely tough for us to decide the winners at the RC Live National Finals.".

Co-judge Subir Malik added, "I am totally speechless. The freshness, the talent and the enthusiasm of all the bands playing in the Mumbai Regional Finals was superb. We as judges were quite eagerly awaiting the Mumbai Regionals as during the shortlisting process the participants from Mumbai sounded much more competent and in-tune, but the actually performances were way beyond our expectations and we had to ultimately bend the rules to choose 3 bands. Shortlisting just one band at the National Finals is going to be very difficult for us as judges."

"It was the toughest decision ever. I sincerely hope we have been able to pinpoint the true talent in the city of Mumbai. To shortlist just one band in Mumbai would have meant to just ignore the talent we have here" said, Vibhav Rao, Manager, Artists & Repertoire, EMI

Commenting on the tremendous response to RC Live Mr. Rana Barua, National Head - Marketing, Radio City 91.1FM said, "The Regional Finals have concluded and each round has only raised the bar for the next! We along with the judges are already baffled as to how to judge the Finals and identify only 1 winner from the superlative 7 we have hand-picked from across the nation. The enthusiasm and quality of music has been splendid and I'm very proud to say that Radio City will soon present India with a truly gifted Hindi band."

Elated with their phenomenal win, drummer Samuel Shetty, Yeshua said, "We are highly honoured to win the Mumbai Regional Finals of RC Live! It is a great break-through to be recognised and acknowledged as a gospel band. We are thankful to Radio City for giving us this national platform to create a niche for us."

The soft-spoken yet powerhouse lead vocalist, Jayajit Dash, Shor Bazaar said, "We have all taken a risk forming this band but it has paid off very well. This win seems to be God sent! I hope we do better at the RC Live National Finals in Delhi as we aim to be the best band in the world!"

Equally excited was vocalist Rohan, Talaash said, "We are thankful to Radio City. They have taken the initiative that no other radio station or TV channel has taken. It has been Whatte Fun all the way as we as a band have been longing for a platform such as RC Live. It is an honour to be awarded by the likes of Palash Sen and Subir Malik."

Spanning the nation through three regional hubs - Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, RC Live will conclude with a MEGA concert at the National Finals at The Garden of Five Senses, Delhi on February 29, 2008. The winning band at RC Live will not only bag an album release contract with EMI, but Radio City and EMI will also jointly promote the band for the course of one year. Evangelizing RC Live and supporting the cause of finding a truly talented Hindi music band are the Judging Panel and Mentors - Palash Sen of Euphoria, Subir Malik of Parikrama and Vibhav Rao, Manager, Artists & Repertoire, EMI who will judge the month long LIVE musical extravaganza.

RC Live is supported by a robust hi-decibel national promotional campaign comprising extensive outdoors, interactive road shows and on-air elements which got active from January 30, 2008. With RC Live, Croma - the electronics megastore comes on board as Associate Sponsor, while Spykar is the official style partner and Gibson the prize partner. Barista is the on-ground partner with EMI as the music label partner. Agencyfaqs! are the trade partners to the event.