MUMBAI: On Monday, 11 August, in association with Benadryl, 92.7 BIG FM held the semi-final round of its successful singing competition, Golden Voice, which is in its second season. Of the five finalists selected to represent Maharashtra in the final round, Kanika Joshi was selected by the judge for this event- acclaimed singer/composer Vaishali Samant.

The theme this year is ‘Mitti Ki Khushboo', literally translated to ‘The Scent of the Soil'. In accordance to the aforementioned theme, contestants were required to showcase their vocal abilities through three rounds, viz. Folk, Film and Judge's Choice.

Joshi is pursuing her Masters Degree in Music from Mumbai University and is inspired by the music of Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi. Although Joshi has training in Hindustani Classical music, she has keen interest in Western Classical music; so much so that she is comfortable singing in A and A# keys.

In the interim, celebrated television presenter and ‘old classics' music connoisseur Annu Kapoor dropped by to show his support to the contestants. On the competition, Kapoor said, “India may lack honest people but it will never fall short of singers and dancers."

Speaking on the competition, Samant told Radioandmusic.com, “Since these singers will eventually have to go and sing playback, the parameters of judging will be based on their versatility in various Indian music genres and how they incorporate the theme in their performance."

The final round will be held later this month and will be judged by Shankar Mahadevan.