MUMBAI: Residents of holy city Varanasi will now hear a new voice on Red FM  Pipping a shortlist of 500 in the Red RJ Hunt, through a process of shortlist, auditions, on-air vote appeals and final online votes from listeners, Avkash Singh won the hunt and has been signed on by Red FM as a full time RJ.

RED FM opened entries for the RJ Hunt contest in October and November, encouraging aspiring RJs to prove their mettle. Out Of Home media promoted the initiative across Varanasi, leading to 500 candidates being shortlisted. They were subsequently auditioned from the 18th to the 20th of November, and the top 15 were invited back for a final ground event, held at a Varanasi hotel, where the finalists were put through a series of eliminatory rounds. From the 15, the Top 3 -- Avkash Singh, Nikita Bhattacharya and Shreya Singhania – got to live their dream of being mentored by Red FM Varanasi's RJs and assisting them on live shows. Ultimately, listeners voted for Avkash Singh, who is now looking at an exciting RJ career with Red FM.

Commenting on the response received from Varanasi, Nisha Narayanan, Senior VP, Projects and Programming, Red FM, said, Varanasi, often heralded as the cultural capital of India, comprises of people from diverse backgrounds -- and very talented ones at that. The wit and confidence, and the talent and flair,  displayed by the youngsters in Varanasi, was indeed heartening. We definitely had a tough time choosing the winner!...