��������

KARACHI: Aspiring vocalists from across Pakistan lined up to chase stardom as Pakistan Idol returned to the country after a 12-year hiatus with a star-studded jury, wider reach, and a renewed promise to spotlight the country’s untapped musical talent.

Pakistan Idol is part of the global ‘Idol’ franchise, a reality television singing competition format created by British producer Simon Fuller and developed by British firm, Fremantle Limited, which also owns non-scripted formats like Got Talent and The X Factor.

The MHL Global production company, which secured rights for Pakistan Idol 2025 from Fremantle, last month announced that Badar Ikram will produce the show, with Fawad Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, former Strings band mate Bilal Maqsood and Zeb Bangash as judges.

The first episode of the show went on air on Oct. 4, followed by the second on Oct. 5., broadcast on seven Pakistani TV channels simultaneously.

“Pakistani talent is our real asset. If we don’t provide them with our platform, then it would be an unfair thing,” Rahat Fateh Ali Khan told Arab News, on the sidelines of the auditions in Karachi.

“It isn’t a good thing that the show has come back after 12 years but the best part is that we have come fully prepared this time.”

Ikram said producing the show is “an honor and a responsibility” for him.

“We are determined to deliver a show that reflects the passion, diversity, and raw talent of Pakistan,” he said in a statement prior to airing of the first episode.

“From auditions to the grand stage, our team is working tirelessly to ensure the audience experiences the magic of music and storytelling at a truly global standard.”

The first edition of Pakistan Idol aired in Dec. 2013, featuring Bushra Ansari, Hadiqa Kiani and Ali Azmat as judges.

Auditions of participants from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Multan and Sukkur are being aired since Saturday, Oct. 4, trying to make it to the top 30 contestants that will eventually lead to 16 finalists on the show.

Maham Tahir, who hails from the Rahim Yar Khan district, said her audition experience was “really good” and she found the judges to be “kind.”

“[Platforms like Pakistan Idol] are very important for us. Singers like myself, who aren’t valued in the world on a big level, are valued by platforms like these,” Tahir, a student of Lahore’s GC University who was among the top 30 contestants, told Arab News.

“I am fortunate [to make it to the next round]. It’s a miracle for me.”

Bangash, the only woman on the judges’ panel, said they were also looking for females as much as they were looking for male singers.

“Although, I have to say that there are more contestants that are men,” she said, “but that has nothing to do with the platform. I think, as the seasons keep progressing, we’re going to have more and more interest from women.”

Bangash shared they were judging the performances based on a number of things.

“We are trying to be as transparent as we can but at the end of the day, I say that judging music is an interesting idea to begin with because it’s creative expression,” she said. “So, sometimes, it’s subjective, sometimes it’s just the moment [and] sometimes it’s just the song selection.”

Pakistan Idol Season 2 will also be streamed worldwide via UAE-based platform, Begin, that has secured the rights for the show. Viewers in ��������, UAE, Canada and the US will be able to watch it on the Begin app. For those based in the UK, Germany, India, Australia, South Africa and Nigeria, the show can be watched directly via begin.watch.

“The international distribution of Pakistan Idol demonstrates how far South Asian entertainment has come in reaching global audiences,” MHL Global Director Zoya Merchant told Arab News.

“We are proud to see a format rooted in local culture and talent become accessible to viewers worldwide. This collaboration with Begin represents an important step toward integrating Pakistani creativity into the broader entertainment ecosystem.”

DUBAI: The race for the next “Ted Lasso” continues with “Chad Powers,” which seems like it was put together by a bunch of Disney execs based on focus-group results. Sports? Check (American football). Humor? Check. Recognizable storyline that plays well across demographics? Check. Recognizable star who plays well across demographics? Double-check (Glen Powell plays two roles.)

Fortunately, “Chad Powers” is not as horrific as that scenario sounds. And that’s largely due to the undeniable charisma of its star and co-creator. Powell brings his A-game to a pretty flimsy and derivative plot, and the result is a surprisingly layered take on an old idea.

Powell is Russ Holliday, star quarterback at a major US college whose talent is matched by his narcissism. He manages to ruin his chances of a pro career by melting down in spectacular fashion at a televised championship game, punching a fan into a wheelchair-bound kid with cancer.

Time passes and Holliday is working for his dad — a prosthetics specialist for Hollywood movies with whom he has a shaky relationship at best. Russ is asked to deliver some of said prosthetics to a movie studio. On his drive there, he sees (a) a report that the floundering South Georgia Catfish are holding an open call for a new quarterback and (b) a poster for “Mrs. Doubtfire” (in which Robin Williams’ character disguises himself as an old Scottish woman to maintain contact with his kids following the breakdown of his marriage). You see where this is going?

You do.

Holliday heads to South Georgia, where he dons a wig and prosthetics and becomes Chad Powers, a bumpkin who has rarely left the house at which he was home-schooled (a ruse dreamed up with the help of the team’s mascot, Danny — the only person who knows Chad is really Russ). Cue various set-pieces in which Chad must avoid losing his prosthetics or wig.

And Russ needs not only to maintain his disguise, but to nurture a character entirely unlike his own — i.e. humble, likeable, and a team player. Powell convinces both as the preening braggard Russ and the shy, mumbling Chad.

Along the way, of course, lessons are learned and opportunities open up, including a possible romance with the head coach’s daughter, Ricky (Perry Mattfeld). Which sounds cheesy, but the show manages — sometimes — to undercut its often-easy choices with an uneasy tension that makes “Chad Powers” more than the sum of its unimaginative parts.