Surya TV: Singing talent aged 50+

Titled 'Old is Gold', the show displays singing talent of participants who're 50 years and above from various walks of life ranging from bank managers, school music teachers and cargo service supervisors to stage singers and senior engineers in the corporate world. It is targeted at C&S 4+ group across all markets in Kerala.

The show is aired every Sunday at 9 pm (for an hour) and is spread over 42 episodes in its first season.

The Sun TV Network channel conducted auditions in five cities in Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Trichur, Kozhikode and Kannur and obtained registrations from about 2500 people.

Talking about its research, Aldam Jacob, network head, non-fiction, Surya TV, tells afaqs!, "We had researched the talent pool in the 50+ age group category through scrolls and promos. We were overwhelmed at the number of good quality singers in that age group."

Old Is Gold is being judged by music composer and singer M Jayachandran, who also guides the participants to deliver better with constructive feedback. Before their performance in each episode, the participants undergo rigorous practise sessions for four days with a professional voice trainer and orchestra to hone their singing skills before the actual shoot.

Old is Gold also has an interesting format for elimination - the participants are divided into four groups of six members each and these people vote one or the other participant out and ensure their survival in the show. The ratio of participants is 15 men to nine women, where the contestants rate each other between -5 and 5; the contestant with the lowest score gets eliminated.

Also, in every episode, one best singer is selected and awarded prize money. The participants stand a chance to win money ranging from Rs 5000 to 25,00,000 (that will be given to the season's winner). The channel is looking at shelling out about Rs 31,65,000, as the prize money in the first season of 'Old Is Gold'.

The channel is currently also airing another singing reality show called 'Surya Singer'. Talking about the logic of airing two singing reality shows at the same time, Jacob adds, "Surya Singer is getting over this month and it's a weekday show. Old is Gold is a weekend show and the transition from one to another singing reality show will glide through by the time the new show settles down amongst the audience."

Bheema Jewellers is an associate sponsor for Old is Gold; the channel expects more brand associations in the future. The show is being well promoted through sister channels like Kiran TV, Surya Music, Kochu TV and the radio partner, Red FM.