Neha Kakkar Steps Back From Indian Idol By Choice, Gears Up To Mentor I-POPSTAR Vol. 2

Neha Kakkar is trading her Indian Idol chair for a new one - this time as a mentor on I-POPSTAR Vol. 2, the music reality show where young artists write, produce and perform their own original songs. And as she settles into the new role, the singer is finally setting the record straight about why she left the show that made her a household judge.

Contrary to speculation, Neha says walking away from Indian Idol was entirely her call. "I was the one who told the makers that I would not be able to continue with the show anymore. I received so much love on Indian Idol, so when they came and said, 'We want you for this season as well. We cannot imagine the season without you,' it was very difficult for me to say no," she admits.

Five consecutive years on the same show, she explains, had started to feel repetitive. "I had done the show continuously for five years, and for me, it had become a little monotonous. It was the same routine, and I have always been someone who likes change. So I decided to take a break."

That break, though, was never about quitting music or reality TV - it was about finding something that fit differently. I-POPSTAR, she says, feels personal because of her own background as a pop artist. "I think I will be able to relate to I-POPSTAR a lot because I am a pop star myself. Here, I will also get the opportunity to witness many other pop stars, listen to their performances and mentor them. I think it is a great platform."

Neha also weighed in on how far the industry has come in accepting different sounds. "There is much more acceptance for different kinds of music now, and audiences have become more evolved when it comes to pop music," she notes, adding that quality - not genre - is what wins listeners over today. "We can release any kind of music, and if it is good, it will definitely work and receive love from the audience. Good music is good music, whether it is a slow love song or a dance number."

On the long-running debate about scripted reality shows, Neha didn't hold back. "I-POPSTAR is absolutely not scripted. People's lives are not scripted either." Coming from a modest background herself, she says the emotional moments contestants share are genuine, not performed for cameras. "Most of us Indians come from humble backgrounds, and I have also come from a humble background. If I hear someone's story and genuinely feel emotional, then of course those emotions are real."

In a rare personal admission, Neha also revisited a low point involving her brother and longtime collaborator Tony Kakkar. "Honestly, I had a very solid fight with Tony Bhai. Because we had such a big fight, I reached a point where I thought, 'I am leaving everything. I don't want to do anything. This whole world is terrible,'" she recalls - before clarifying that music was never really on the table. "We are all artists, and artists are very emotional people. Sometimes those emotions come out strongly. But I am never leaving music. How can I do that to my fans who give me so much love? I had to come back."

What excites her most about I-POPSTAR Vol. 2 is its format, unlike anything else currently on air. "I feel the show is truly one of a kind. There is no other show where the artists are doing everything themselves. They are writing their own music, creating their own songs and then performing them."

She's also steering clear of comparisons to other music competition shows. "I don't think we should compare the two shows. They are completely different. Hustle is about hip-hop and rap, while I-POPSTAR is about singers who will be creating and performing songs in a different way."

With a new crop of artists, original music, and a mentor role that plays to her own journey, Neha Kakkar is ready to make I-POPSTAR Vol. 2 her own. In her words: "I-POPSTAR is a completely different show altogether, and we are going to rock it!"