MUMBAI: Starting February 2009, Zee Studio has been hosting karaoke bouts called Studio Nites at Soul Fry, Bandra and Soul Fry Casa, Fort in Mumbai.  Hosted by Mihir Joshi, Studio Nites invite patrons of Soul Fry to sing popular movie songs and win exciting prizes from Zee Studio.

Zee Studio now takes this concept one step further and introduces Mumbai’s first-ever movie song Karaoke Championship at Soul Fry Casa where the channel recognizes the best vocal talent on the Karaoke circuit. With this championship, however, it’s not enough just to be a great singer, the winner will be someone who knows a lot of movie soundtracks and sings them beautifully.

The panel of judges for the Karaoke Championship includes pop artistes such as Shibani Kashyap, Anaida, Mansi Scott and Mohan, the lead vocalist of rock band Agnee amongst others. The winner of the championship not only gets a cash prize of Rs 25000 but also wins a chance to represent Mumbai at a national-level Karaoke championship organized by Opus, a popular youth hangout in Bangalore.

Zee Studio has also tied up with 94.3 Radio One to promote this championship.

Zee Studio business head Sujay Kutty said, “Ever since we introduced it in February, ‘Studio Nites’ has been a successful on-ground initiative, giving our viewers a direct interface with the channel. Studio Nites is a platform for celebrating our passion for music from the movies and leaving the audience with a memorable Zee Studio experience. The Karaoke Championship is an extension of this popular initiative. With an attractive bumper prize to be won and music artistes such as Shibani Kashyap, Anaida, Mohan and Manasi Scott supporting us, the championship is bound to generate excitement amongst our target audience.”

The championship commences with semi-final rounds at 9 pm on 27 and 28 May, 3 and 4 June and the winners of each semi final round will compete in a grand finale on 5 June at Soul Fry Casa.