Music and Youth
[V] to announce ‘Popstars’ finalists on Thursday
Channel [V] Popstars is all set to announce its first pop girl band.
The names of the girls who have made it to the final five will be made public on Thursday at 8 pm on the channel. The real drama, says the channel, begins now as the finalists go through a complete transition from being girls next door to raving divas. Leading stylists, makeup artists, voice trainers, music directors, lyricists, video producers, and the record companies will work their magic to effect the transition. All this will be captured on camera live.
Popstars travelled across Chandigarh, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Mumbai and Goa auditioning and searching for the perfect five. Jury members toured the six metros making the crucial selection based on voice followed by confidence, and personality.
Extensive tests were conducted when the semi finalists were brought to Mumbai where the girls had to prepare their compositions, make dummy tracks, go through dance training sessions, sing difficult tracks all with a hope of making it as the ultimate pop band. Thursday’s episode will feature the jury visiting the girls at their homes to inform them if they made it or not.
Popstars, launched amid much fanfare (Star TV CEO James Murdoch flew in for the formal announcement) late last year and has been promoted aggressively across the Star network. Novel promotional efforts like three kilometer long banners, wedding bands on the streets of metros and hoardings have marked the Popstars journey. It now remains to be seen if the band lives up to its name.
MUMBAI: Mumbai is about to witness something it has never seen before. The Global Youth Festival arrives on 6-7 December at Jio World Garden with 15,000 attendees and 60-plus experiences sprawled across six sprawling arenas. On its sixth edition, this is no ordinary jamboree—it is a carefully orchestrated collision of wellness, adventure, arts, music, yoga and social change.
Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis will throw open the proceedings with a landmark ceremony, signalling the state’s backing for a movement that has already mobilised youth across 20-plus countries and 170-plus cities. The sheer scale is staggering: 500-plus volunteers powering the machine, 600,000-plus volunteer hours logged across previous editions, and millions of lives touched annually.
The speaker roster is formidable. Diipa Büller-Khosla and Dipali Goenka, chief executive of Welspun India, will share the stage with Malaika Arora in conversations spanning leadership, creativity and culture. Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Mansukhbhai Mandaviya will also attend, reinforcing GYF’s reach into the corridors of power.
But this is not mere talk. The Solaris Mainstage promises concerts from renowned Indian artists. Innerverse delivers a 360-degree LED spectacle of art, technology and sound. The Love and Care Arena houses hands-on projects spanning women’s empowerment, child education, rural upliftment and animal welfare. India’s largest outdoor sound-healing experience awaits. An inflatable obstacle course, neon drifter karts and open-sky bouldering cater to thrill-seekers.
Some have branded GYF the “Coachella of Consciousness.” Others call it “India’s Largest Sober Festival.” Spiritual visionary Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji, who inspired the festival, will deliver the Wisdom Masterclass. Every rupee goes to charity.
After Mumbai comes Kolkata on 14 December. New York looms next year. For one weekend in December, Mumbai becomes the epicentre of youth-driven change—and nothing will be quite the same after.
Tickets available on BookMyShow. Visit youthfestival.srmd.org or follow @globalyouthfestival on Instagram.
