The 11 Indian Idol winners and their best performances on the show

Indian Idol, in its twelfth season, has given us some amazing musical talent over the years. The singing reality show Indian Idol has had 11 winners so far. Many have gone on to record songs for film albums. For many, winning the title was the highest point of their careers. But one thing’s for sure- these singers had to beat more than 10 other contestants on their way to the Indian Idol title. And that is something which can’t be achieved without delivering some stellar performances. 

Here are the 11 winners of Indian Idol so far and their best performances on the show:

#1 Abhijeet Sawant

View Count: 672K+

Abhijeet Sawant was the winner of the inaugural edition of Indian Idol. He had to fight off some tough contenders like Amit Sana in the quest for the title. But Abhijeet made it count where it matters- on the finale, singing his own song “Mohabbatein Lutaaunga”. The performance won everyone’s hearts and led him to the Indian Idol title.

#2 Sandeep Acharya

View Count: 1.4M+

Sandeep Acharya was the winner of the second season of Indian Idol. In one of the episodes, he sang the popular Hindi song “Khaike Pan Banaraswala” and left the judges stunned with his performance. This performance probably was the reason behind his triumph in the end. Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out so well for Sandeep Acharya after Indian Idol and he passed away in 2013. But his fans from the show groove to his songs to date.

#3 Prashant Tamang

View Count: 2.1M+

Prashant Tamang, hailing from Darjeeling, is an Indian singer who participated in the third season of Indian Idol. His story to success is an interesting and inspiring one, as he was a constable in Kolkata Police when he auditioned for Indian Idol 3. Through the show, Prashant gave many amazing performances, one of which is this instance when he performed the song “Bheege Honth Tere”. In the end, it was a landslide victory for Prashant Tamang and he was crowned as the winner of Indian Idol 3. After that, he toured the world and went on to sing in many Nepali films.

#4 Sourabhee Debbarma

View Count: 1M+

Sourabhee was the first female winner of Indian Idol. Originally from Agartala, she took part in the fourth season of Indian Idol. Her most memorable performance came on the show when she sang the hit Hindi song “Lekar Hum Deewana Dil” which had the judges and the audience swerving to it. After winning the title, Sourabhee Debbarma did numerous tours around the world and also made a Guinness World Record by singing a song while hanging upside down for 4 minutes, 30 seconds.

#5 Sreerama Chandra Mynampati

View Count: 2.8M+

One of the most successful winners of Indian Idol, Sreerama Chandra won the fifth season of Indian Idol. During his Indian Idol journey, Sreerama Chandra was not afraid of taking risks like this performance of his where he sang the hit Kishore Kumar song “Aake Seedhi Lagi Dil Pe” in dual role (both male and female voices). His career flourished after winning Indian Idol, singing the Bollywood song “Subhanallah” and even making headways as a Telugu actor. The fifth season of Indian Idol is widely believed to have had the best contestants of all seasons.

#6 Vipul Mehta

View Count: 575K+

The year was 2012. Another season of Indian Idol arrived, a male singer again won the title and again, the singer didn’t find much success after the show. But Vipul Mehta, in his Indian Idol journey, did leave his mark on the show’s fans with some iconic performances like this one. Here, he is singing a classic Mohammad Rafi song “Teri Aankhon Ke Siva” and impressing guest judge Asha Bhosle with his performance. Eventually, he won the Indian Idol title and recorded a few music videos.

#7 Anjana Padmanabhan

View Count: 4.6M+

Indian Idol Junior has had two seasons so far, the first of which was won by Anjana Padmanabhan in 2013. Hailing from Bengaluru, Anjana had an impressive run on the show, with many beautiful performances. In one of the episodes, she performed the Bollywood song “Barso Re” and left judge Shreya Ghoshal (who had originally sung it) mesmerised with her performance.

#8 Ananya Nanda

View Count: 1.1M+

In the second season of Indian Idol Junior, Ananya Nanda delivered one brilliant performance after another. But her best came at the biggest stage, the grand finale when she sang the songs “Nagade Sang Dhol” and “Drama Queen” and left the judges amazed. It was only natural then that she won the title. But her journey didn’t end there; she went on to record many successful songs like “Padhoge Likhoge” in MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. This singer from Bhubaneswar has hit new heights of stardom every year and her career has just begun.

#9 LV Revanth

View Count: 7.4M+

All things considered, LV Revanth was already a popular singer when he auditioned at Indian Idol Season 9. It can be seen here, in his audition performance where he left the judges shocked with his high notes and charisma. He performed the song “Janam Janam” with a lot of fire and rocked the stage, even though there was no background music. Telugu movie fans know LV Revanth as the voice behind blockbuster songs like “Manohari” and “Telisiney Na Nuvve”. So, it can be said that LV Revanth is one of the most successful winners of Indian Idol.

#10 Salman Ali

View count: 46M+

Another graduate from the Indian Idol school, Salman Ali has since sung many Bollywood songs like “Sab Badhiya Hai”. On Indian Idol 10, Salman Ali was one of the strongest contestants which was evident from when he matched judge Neha Kakkar note-for-note while performing “Mile Ho Tum” together. It was only right then that he went on to win the title.

#11 Sunny Hindustani

View Count: 15M+

The last person to have won the Indian Idol, Sunny Hindustani from Bathinda was the discovery of the season. His high notes and melodious voice wowed the judges every time, especially when he performed “Dulhe ka Sehra” with the young Shoaib. It was a match-up of two impeccable classical voices which propelled Sunny to the Indian Idol.

Who do you think is going to win the Indian Idol this year? Season 12 has some amazing contenders and in a tough battle to the final, it is difficult to say with conviction who’s going to win. Pawandeep? Shanmukha Priya? Danish? Or Sawai? Or someone else?