Voice Teens on Sirasa TV nears final stage

COLOMBO (News1st): The Voice Teen international reality television singing competition, aired on Sirasa TV, has reached its final stage. The 'battle round' of the contest ended last week and would see the competition heading into the 'Knockout Round', from Saturday. Four judges will select 16 competitors from four teams during this round. Of the 16, four will be selected for the semi-finals with the grand finale scheduled for August 1 and 2. "We realized we have to do more for the industry by giving the youth a unique platform for them to showcase their talent, thereby introducing more talented singers, to this industry," Nedra Weerasinghe, the Group Director for Electronic Media Business at The Capital Maharaja Organization Ltd. said. She pointed out that, in the digital space, the contest has garnered more than 165 million views, and 500,000 YouTube subscriptions, portraying that local talents are good enough to be showcased on global platforms. "We have realized that these young people can be very successful in their future," the Group Director added. Meanwhile, Chandana Sooriyabandara, the Chief Executive Officer  (CEO) of Stein Studios at which the contest is held, highlighted the need for a strategy to take music in Sri Lanka to the global platform. "That is the challenge because India has broken all barriers and taken their music across the globe," Sooriyabandara pointed out. However, the CEO stressed that Sri Lanka has the talents to challenge India. Attorney-at-Law Susara Dinal, the CEO of MTV / M Entertainment said Sirasa TV, on which the show is broadcast, is ready to take the reality television industry to the next level. "We chose the Voice, the international reality television singing competition franchise after much consideration," the CEO pointed out. He said the franchise incorporates a very complex process, as such franchises require the adhering to guidelines of intellectual property.