Hyderabad Singer Revanth Is Indian Idol 9

Hyderabad: City's LV Revanth clinched the coveted title Indian Idol 9 on Sunday and walked away with a prize money of Rs 25 lakh and a contract with Universal Music. The 26-year-old emerged as a winner by beating another Hyderabadi PVNS Rohit and Khuda Baksh.

Baksh from Punjab is the first runner up and Rohit is the second runner-up. "Right now I am on cloud nine. I am very happy for winning the show. It's not easy to win that title being a south Indian singer. I saw this show as a big opportunity. The four-month journey in this show has completely changed my life," said elated Revanth. Revanth is the second Telugu singer to win the Indian Idol title. The first was bagged by Sreeram Chandra .

He has lent his voice for around 200 songs in southern films and also sang the song Manohari in ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’. Being a known singer in Telugu and Kannada film industry, Revanth was the judges' and audience's favorite. As he said on the premiere episode itself, he joined ‘Indian Idol’ to get recognition nationwide and a chance to debut in Bollywood.

He adds that he wants to get settled in Bollywood and want to learn Hindi as he was mocked for not speaking the language well. “When I started my journey in Indian Idol, a lot of people laughed at me for not knowing Hindi very well. I did feel bad about it, initially, but I did not let anything negative affect me and kept my willpower strong,” he said.

Revanth was born on February 10, 1990 in Srikakulam district. His father died after he was born. He has an elder brother and has been raised by his mother. He credits music composer MM Keeravani for playing a pivotal role in his career for his encouragement. Revanth’s first film song was Jhalak Diklaja in Maha Yagnam, composed by Vandemataram Srinivas.