When every performer set the stage on fire

Dubai, May 23rd 2017 - Dubai’s unsung heroes finally got the spotlight at Smart Idol, a competition organised to showcase the talents of emirate’s blue-collar labourers.

Smart Idol 2017 finale held at Sheikh Rashid Auditorium on 19th May, found a host of spectacular talents go up on stage from various labour accommodations in Dubai.

Organised by SmartLife, an NGO licensed by the Community Development Authority (CDA) -Dubai, Smart Idol takes place over 9 months, where more than 1500+ labourer’s from Dubai are auditioned from 15+ labour camps with their singing and dancing talents in the preliminary rounds.

The day though belonged to Pankaj Singh from Farnek who emerged winner in the Dance category and Zulfiqar Ali from Transguard in the Singer category. The winners walked away with prize money of Dhs. 5000 each. This in no way undermined the huge pool of talent that went on display from each one of the other finalists vying for the coveted title.

Says Zulfiqar Ali, ''SmartIdol was an opportunity beyond my wildest dreams. Once chosen as one of the finalists for the finale, through the week I would wait impatiently for Friday and the practice sessions. The training I got there, the way my singing techniques underwent a sea change with the professional mentoring makes me feel so blessed. Today Smart Idol has given me the feeling that I too am somebody and for that I feel grateful.’’

Pankaj Singh adds, ''It was like a dream come true when I walked on to the stage and saw a 1000 plus people assembled there. It has always been my aspiration to showcase my talent to a larger audience, but never knew how to reach there. It is SmartLife and Smart Idol that gave me this impressive stage and through this win, the NGO has reinforced my confidence in myself.’’

For Indrani Dasgupta, Project Lead for Smart Idol it has been an enriching experience. ''I worked alongside an amazing team, some impressive talents that we unearthed from the labour camps in Dubai and I can say with pride that this will prove to be a journey of complete transformation for not just the winners, but for every finalist who went on stage during our Idol finale.’’

All finalists will now become a part of the SmartBand that will garner them opportunities to perform in various corporate events and functions.

For the blue collar talents, it has thus been a mission of realizing their self-worth, with their self-esteem gone several notches high.