Sirasa Superstar

Sirasa Superstar is a musical reality show conducted in Sri Lanka by the TV channel Sirasa TV. Its aim is to find the most talented upcoming singer in the country. The competition's first season began in mid 2005 and ended in March 2006. And Season II finished on 27th of octomber. Sirasa SuperStar is similar to the musical reality series: Pop Idol. It'snext appearance (Season 3) is due to take place shortly.

After conducting a series of auditions across the country, 100 contestants are selected for the next round. Next, each contestant is given a chance to perform two songs, and from several groups, final 48 are chosen by the judging panel. Afterwards, the opportunity to engage in the decision-making is handed over to the viewers. From there on until the finals, viewers are given a limited time period to vote for their favorites in the respective rounds (that is, Final 24, Final 12 and Final 2, through the SMS system.

The 12 finalists perform one song each week (two songs in later rounds) based on which the viewers vote. The contestant with the least number of votes is eliminated every week. The final show is held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, among 240,000 audience. According to the number of votes received by each contestant on that day, the one with the higher number is crowned the Sirasa Superstar and the other becomes the Runner-up. For Season II, the winner, will be awarded a Rs. 3.4 million worth car and Rs. one million in cash, in addition to the prestigious trophy.

Judges

Season 1:The judging panel consisted of popular local singers Rookantha Gunathilaka, Nirosha Virajini & Jagath Wickramasinghe. But after the selection of the final 48, it was the public who made their judgments through a public voting system.

Season 2:For the preliminary rounds which saw close to 51000 participants 18 judges were employed. But later on the judging panel consisted of Chandrika Siriwardene, Jagath Wickramasinghe and Raju Bandara. From the final 48 onwards the contestants were chosen by public voting guided by the opinions of the above mentioned judges who were joined by a guest judge each week.

Voting

The final 48 which were chosen from the stage performances performed by the final 100 were chosen by the judging panel. These 48 contestants consisted of 24 males and 24 females. Each sex was divided into 3 groups of eight who took the stage to win the vote of the public. The top 4 of each such group made up the final 24 while the final 12 was chosen the same way.

Season 1:

Popstar Ajith Bandara Won in this Season along with the Runner Up Malith Perera

Season 2

Winner - Pradeep Rangana, the medical student from the University of Ruhuna took the crown by displaying his versatility. While being a bright and popular student at his campus, he has become a household name following the superstar series 2. His most famous songs are Sihina Ahase, Sanda Moduwella & Mey Sauwmye Rathrie

A lot of people thought that it was wrong to send Gayani Madhusha home from Number 12 cause she has a stunningly gorgeous voice which most of the Superstar's in this Season didn't have. Her most popular singles were: Sitha Handai, Duhulu Malak, Awa Pemwatha & Atha Dilisena.

Final 12 of Season I 2006
*01.Ajith Bandara
*02.Malith Perera
*03.Amila Perera
*04.Darshana Pramod
*05.Shihan Mihiranga
*06.Manjula Pushpakumara
*07.Nishatha Perera
*08.Theekshana Anuradha
*09.Waruna Madusanka
*10.Madhawa
*11.Asela Eranda
*12.Mohan Darshana

Final 12 of Season II (2007)
*01.Pradeep Rangana
*02.Surendra Perera
*03.Amila Nadeeshani
*04.Gamini Susiriwardhena
*05.Nadini Premadasa
*06.Sankha Dineth
*07.Buddhika Ushan Premaratne
*08.Manjula Nivanthi
*09.Maheshika Lakmali
*10.Nalinda Ranasinghe
*11.Wathsala Madhumali
*12.Gayani Madhusha

External links

* [http://www.yahaluwo.com/ Yahaluwo.Com]
* [http://www.sankadineth.com/ Sanka Dineth | Official Web Site]
* [http://www.peoplessirasasuperstar.com/ Surendra's Web Site]
* [http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=jeffreyperera&p=v Watch all the Superstar Season 2 Songs (Uploaded By Jeffrey Perera)]
* [http://www.lanka1st.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1509 Sirasa Super Star - Season 2 Videos (with Grand Finale)]
* [http://cregnet.googlepages.com CREG STUDIOS Fan Club]
* [http://pradeeprangana.blogspot.com/ Blog Spot for Pradeep Rangana]
* [http://lankanmusic.com Download Sirasa Super Star Videos]
* [http://www.thamari.com/sirasa-super-star.php Sirasa Superstars Video Collections]
* [http://www.myasia.net/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=12 Sirasa Superstars Forum - Photos]