Movers, shakers and melody makers battle it out to be crowned KroaKING 2024

The finals of KroaKING, one of the best loved singing contests in the city, are scheduled this weekend

Not too long ago when the city was still called Bangalore, its residents would would enjoy live music and karaoke nights, one of which used to be Opus Kroaknights on Sundays. Those melodious evenings were hosted by Carlton Braganza who has brought back the music in a different avatar with KroaKING.

Over the past five weeks, KroaKING as a singing contest, has seen as many as 400 entrants participate. This weekend will see 12 finalists battle it out for an attractive cash prize.

“The idea for KroaKING was born from the Kroak matches that I used to host at Opus on Sunday. What started as a small competition grew bigger every year, moving to 10 cities with a grand finale in Bangalore, until it got shelved a few years ago. However, with the Bangalore Airport opening up to events, the idea of KroaKING was revived,” says Carlton Braganza.

He says the turnout has been surprising with people showing up at The Quad by BLR at Bengaluru’s Terminal 1.

“We’ve had close to 400 registrations over the last two months and after five rounds of qualifiers, we are now at the semifinals with 12 participants,” he adds.

The finalists include a photographer, a seventh standard student, software developers and music educators. On the panel of judges are well-loved names such as Nikhil Chinappa, Vasundhra Das, Grace Maureen, Brian Carvalho and Niharika Parthasarthy among others.

“It’s wonderful to see previous Opus particpants turn industry names and supertars now. Grace Maureen, who was the final season’s winner is a judge now, while a few others have taken on mentorship roles,” says Carlton.