Silva Hakobyan of Armenia, the winner of The Next Big Thing 2006

Are you into music? Original music? Then you have eight more days to find out if you are the Next Big Thing. That, incidentally, is the name of the global music talent search launched by BBC World Service and BBC World Television. “Any language, any genre will do,” says Simon Pitts, executive producer of The Next Big Thing 2007, speaking to t2 from London.

Last year, the talent search was done for bands aged 18 years and under. “It was part of a season on young people. But we got loads of email saying ‘Hey, why can’t we enter?’ So we have lifted the age bar this time,” explains Pitts.

The show, the producers assure, is not about a pretty boy or girl singing on TV. “We don’t care how presentable you are as long as you are an unsigned artiste and you are performing original music,” he clarifies.

Musicians like the UK-based crossover star Nitin Sawhney, Latino singer Rodrigo Sanchez and indie songstress Tori Amos are already on board as judges.

The organisers are holding roadshows in Mumbai, Kingston (Jamaica), Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania) and Istanbul (Turkey). “Entries are pouring in from places as far-flung as Cape Verdi and Cameroon, Turkey and Pakistan,” revealed Pitt. They have a lot of faith in India. “There is a lot of talent here with diverse musical styles.”

Contestants have to upload one song (as an audio track or a video) at www.bbcworldservice.com/ nextbigthing2007 by November 18. A short-list will be out on November 26. The five finalists will be announced on December 3.

The chosen five will perform live for the grand jury on December 9 — a session that will be filmed at the BBC’s legendary Maida Vale studios in London. The winner will be The Next Big Thing 2007 and have his/their music played to the BBC’s 183 million listeners worldwide. They will also be invited to perform onstage for a live audience of 3,000 people at London’s O2 stadium at a global concert to celebrate 75 years of BBC World Service broadcasting on December 15. “Last year’s winner, Silva Hakobyan of Armenia went on to have a No. 1 hit back home and played at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles,” said Pitts. That’s reason enough to hit the high notes.

Sudeshna Banerjee