Nine impressive singers steal the show

The jury --the country's renowned music director Imtiaz Ahmed Bulbul, renowned singers Shakila Zafar, and Kumar Bishwajeet--spent busy hours selecting the best singers in the final round.

1000 singers in the regions signed up earlier and 900 auditioned on Saturday and Sunday. Among them, only 48 male and 41 female singers were chosen for the final round.

Unilever Bangladesh, with ntv as media partner, has been scouting for singing talent throughout the country.

Saleena Akter Asha from Dinajpur was the day's first selected singer. As the jury confirmed her selection, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Zannat Rumman Tithi of Rangpur was another selected singer of the day. She told the newsmen that Close Up might be searching for her.

Other selected candidates are Zinnat Ara of Rangpur, Sharmin Akter Saon of Thakurgoan, Champa Banik of Dhaka, Anwarul Islam of Kurigram, Meraj Rahman of Rangpur, Joyeeta Kunda of Dinajpur and Rumi of Rangpur.

After the competition, Ahmed Imtiaz Bulbul told The Daily Star that he had donned the mantle of a jury for the first time in his musical career. In his words, " I am pleased to see a huge number of enthusiastic singers at the district level. I believe many of them have the potential to make it to the national level."