Vishal Dadlani quits Indian Idol after 6 seasons: 'Can’t stay stuck in Mumbai'

Vishal Dadlani

After the grand finale of Indian Idol 15, singer Vishal Dadlani has announced that he is stepping away from the reality show. Having served as a judge for six seasons, Dadlani has decided he will no longer be a part of future seasons. He made the announcement via Instagram following the season finale, sharing a video with fellow judges Shreya Ghoshal and Badshah.

Vishal Dadlani bids goodbye to Indian Idol

Vishal shared a clip featuring his co-judges but muted the original audio, replacing it with Christian 21's Time.

In the caption, Vishal wrote: "Alvida, yaaro. 6 seasons mein jitna mazaa kiya, uss se bhi zyada yaad aayegi. Haqq se zyada pyaar milaa hai iss show ki vajah se. Eternally grateful to everyone involved."
(Goodbye, friends. I'll miss this even more than the fun we had over six seasons. I've received more love than I ever deserved because of this show.)

He further explained that his decision was driven by the time commitment the show demands.
"I'm literally only leaving because I want my time back. Can't stay stuck in Mumbai for 6 months each year! ✈️"

He added, "Time to get back to making music, playing concerts and never putting on make-up! It's #VishalAndSheykhar season!! 🤘🏽 Jai ho!"

Vishal also expressed his gratitude to the Indian Idol team and said he hopes the show will miss him as much as he'll miss it.

Words in the video read: "That's all from me, folks! Six straight seasons later, tonight is my last episode as a judge on Indian Idol. I hope the show will miss me as much as I'll miss it. Thanks Shreya, Badshah, Adi, Aradhana, Chitra, Anand ji, Sonal, Pratibha, Sahil, Saloni, Muskaan, Abisha, the entire production crew, Vilas, Pakya, Kaushik (Pinky), and all the co-judges, singers and musicians down the years! It really has been home!! That stage is pure love!"

Indian Idol 15 finale: Manasi Ghosh takes the trophy

Singer Manasi Ghosh was crowned the winner of the popular singing reality show on Sony TV. She walked away with the coveted trophy and a cash prize of ₹25 lakh. Manasi triumphed over Subhajit Chakraborty and Sneha Shankar in the grand finale to claim the title.

Still soaking in her victory, Manasi told The Indian Express, "My family was here for the finale. They were crying and cheering. I was blank at first, not knowing how to react. But all of us are really happy. Life has changed in a good way. It's a national platform, so I got a lot of love and blessings from all over."

When asked how she plans to use her prize money, she said, "I want to use some of the amount for my independent music and also buy a car."