Indian Idol is one of the prestigious show in India. It is one of the first shows that has produced great singers who are leading in Bollywood right now. It has given an opportunity to many young unknown names in the country. Indian Idol considered as genuine singing show in the country.
Indian Idol Winners List: All 16 Seasons (2005 to 2026)
I am going to reveal the Winner names & what is the current status of the winners. Some of them made it big in their career, and few of them have sad stories to tell.
Quick answer: Jyotirmayee Nayak won the most recent series of Indian Idol, taking the season 16 title in the grand finale on 26 July 2026 and prize money of Rs 20 lakh. The singer from Odisha finished ahead of Tanishk Shukla. Sixteen singers have won the show since Abhijeet Sawant in 2005.
| Season | Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2004–05 | Abhijeet Sawant | Amit Sana | Aman Verma |
| 2 | 2005–06 | Sandeep Acharya | N. C. Karunya | Aman Verma |
| 3 | 2007 | Prashant Tamang | Amit Paul | Hussain Kuwajerwala |
| 4 | 2008–09 | Sourabhee Debbarma | Kapil Thapa | Hussain Kuwajerwala |
| 5 | 2010 | Sreerama Chandra | Bhoomi Trivedi | Hussain Kuwajerwala |
| 6 | 2012 | Vipul Mehta | Amit Kumar | Hussain Kuwajerwala |
| 7 | 2013 (Junior) | Anjana Padmanabhan | Debanjana Karmakar | Karan Wahi |
| 8 | 2015 (Junior) | Ananya Sritam Nanda | Nahid Afrin | Hussain Kuwajerwala |
| 9 | 2016–17 | L. V. Revanth | Khuda Baksh | Karan Wahi |
| 10 | 2018 | Salman Ali | Ankush Bhardwaj | Manish Paul |
| 11 | 2019 | Sunny Hindustani | Rohit Shyam Raut | Aditya Narayan |
| 12 | 2020–21 | Pawandeep Rajan | Arunita Kanjilal | Aditya Narayan |
| 13 | 2022–23 | Rishi Singh | Deboshmita Roy | Aditya Narayan |
| 14 | 2023–24 | Vaibhav Gupta | Subhadeep Das Chowdhury | Hussain Kuwajerwala |
| 15 | 2024–25 | Manasi Ghosh | Subhajit Chakraborty | Aditya Narayan |
| 16 | 2025–26 | Jyotirmayee Nayak | Tanishk Shukla | Aditya Narayan |
Abhijeet Sawant – Indian Idol Season 1
Abhijeet born in 7 October 1981, and he is married to Shilpa Sawant in 2006. Sawant is an example that winning a show like Indian Idol does not guarantee your success in Bollywood industry.
Sawant won the title in 2005, and he did well in the industry till 2008. However, he was absent in the music scene for almost a decade. Sawant singed eleven songs between 2006 to 2017 and it the least amount of songs for a man of this caliber.
He went on to work in reality television and released the album Fakira with Universal Music India.
Sandeep Acharya – Indian Idol Season 2
Sandeep born in 4 February 1984, and he married to Namrata Acharya. He died on 15 December 2015 from Jaundice. Yes, you read it right that Sandeep is no more.
He was the winner of India Idol title on 22 April 2006. He could not achieve a lot in the music industry after winning the title. Acharya has the illness that caused jaundice on 15 December 2013.
Sandeep was having fun at a wedding and the relatives rushed him to the hospital, and the doctors said that he was recovering. Unfortunately, he died from jaundice on the same night. Even though he was showing signs of recovery, but his health deteriorated.
Prashant Tamang – Indian Idol Season 3
Tamang born on 4th January 1983 in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. Tamang married Geeta Thapa in 2011 and he has kids with her. He was the third season title winner in 2007 with majority of the votes from the fans.
Interestingly, the mayor of the Nepal invested Rs.10,000 and Nepalese in abroad sent money to spend it on sending SMS votes. He started to work in the Nepali films (six films) and it did not work out at the box office very well. He has launched four albums between 2007 to 2016.
Sourabhee Debbarma – Indian Idol Season 4
Sourabhee Debbarma born on 1985 (date & month not available) is the winner of the Indian Idol season 4 aired from 2008 – 2009.
Fortunately, she was able to remain the industry with little music gigs and she is working with major labels. She did not achieve a lot compared to other contestants. Debbarma maintains a private life, and a lot of people don’t know about her personal life.
Sreerama Chandra Mynampati – Indian Idol Season 5
Sreeram is probably that most popular singer from Indian Idol winner list. People remember him for winning the title in 2010 and he hails from Hyderabad. The Telugu singer goes down in the list of successful Indian Idol winners.
He is still active and getting plenty of work from Bollywood music industry. Chandra won Lata Mangeshkar Award from Andhra Pradesh Government. Mynampati won Dainik Prayukti Sammaan 2017 Award on 31 March 2017.
Sreeram sung for major films like MS Dhoni untold story, and he sung for Hindi, Tamil,Telugu, Kannada, and Marathi. He also signed two films in 2013, but they failed on box office.
Vipul Mehta – Indian Idol Season 6
Vipul Mehta born on 1990 (date & month not available) won the Indian Idol 6 in 2012. He participated in 2008 Amul Star Voice of India season 2 and he could not make it to the finals. In 2012, he participated in Indian Idol, and he ended the show with the title of his name.
He could make it big in the music industry after his first album “Hello Namaste Sat Sri Akal.” Vipul Mehta later on worked on singles with Rowaan Mein, and Vande Mataram – A Tribute to Soldiers. He is working on music videos on his YouTube channel, and make sure to subscribe to him to support him.
NOTE: The Indian Idol producers have selected to air Junior division between 2013 to 2015.
Anjana Padmanabhan (Junior) – Indian Idol Season 7
Anjana Padmanabhan participated in Indian Idol Junior season 1 in 2013. She walked out of the competition with the title. She competed in Airtel Super Singer Junior 3, but she could not win the title. Unfortunately, we could not find enough information about her current status. She lives in Bangalore, India.
Ananya Sritam Nanda (Junior) – Indian Idol Season 8
Anjana Padmanabhan is born on 2002 (age 16) in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. She is the winner of the Indian Idol 2015 in the Junior division. Anjana is growing in the music industry at a little age, and she is estimated to make a fortune by age 30.
She sang for Padhoge Likhoge for MS Dhoni film, and Sun Zara & Mu Kahinki Ete for (Baby 2016 film). Nanda is making big in the industry, but Sritam has not sung any song since 2017. Ananya sang 31 songs in two years, and she is making remarkable progress with a singing career.
Note: Indian Idol production team decided to resume adult version of the competition after season 8.
L.V Revanth – Indian Idol Season 9
Lolla Venkata Revanth Kumar Sharma born on 10 February 1990 (age 28) in Visakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. He is a perfect example of a successful Indian Idol winner because he went on participating in Rock Star, Spicy Singer on Maa TV and Superstar of the South.
He won all contests, and he sang over 200 Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi songs. The 90% of the songs he sang are Telugu songs and he is popular in Telugu industry. Many people don’t know that he is signing in many competitions for over a decade, but he won Indian Idol in 2017.
He is a successful singer before Indian Idol season 9, and he had more professional experience than anyone on the stage. He is only 28, and he has many singing shows title under his belt. Revanth will grow in coming years, and he will go down as a great singer in history.
Salman Ali – Indian Idol 10 Winner
Singer Salman Ali has won the 10th season of the hit reality show Sony Indian Idol. Salman Ali, who hails from Haryana’s Mewat, impressed the audience with his powerful performances throughout the season. He was not only praised by the judges – Anu Malik, Neha Kakkar, Vishal Dadlani and Javed Ali – but also the guests on the show.
He not only clinched the much-coveted Indian idol trophy, but also won a cash prize of Rs. 25 lakh and a Datsun Go car.
Sunny Hindustani – Indian Idol 11 Winner
Sunny Hindustani is the winner of season 11. He took home the trophy and prize money of Rs 25 lakh.
Judges
- Himesh Reshammiya replaced Anu Malik.
- Vishal Dadlani.
- Neha Kakkar.
Host
- Aditya Narayan.
Pawandeep Rajan – Indian Idol 12 Winner
The Indian idol 12 race to win the trophy is between Pawandeep Rajan, Arunita Kanjilal, Shamukha Priya, Sayli Kamble, Mohd Danish and Nihal Tauro.
Indian Idol Season 12 winner: Pawandeep Rajan Is The Winner Of The Show, Arunita Kanjilal Bags Second Position.
Indian Idol 13 Winner – Rishi Singh.
The winner of Indian Idol 13 is Rishi Singh from the Ayodhya. He not just won the trophy but also took home a brand new car along with a prize money of Rs. 25 lakh.
The Indian Idol season 13 air on 10 September 2022. Judges are Neha Kakkar, Vishal Dadlani and Himesh Reshammiya. Host is Aditya Narayan.
Vaibhav Gupta – Indian Idol 14 Winner
Vaibhav Gupta, from Kanpur, won the fourteenth season in 2024, finishing ahead of runner-up Subhadeep Das Chowdhury. Shreya Ghoshal and Kumar Sanu judged the season.
It also marked a return for Hussain Kuwajerwala, who had hosted seasons 3 to 6 more than a decade earlier and came back to present season 14.
Manasi Ghosh – Indian Idol 15 Winner
Manasi Ghosh won the fifteenth season, which ran across 2024 and 2025, with Subhajit Chakraborty as runner-up. Aditya Narayan returned as host.
Jyotirmayee Nayak – Indian Idol 16 Winner
Jyotirmayee Nayak, a singer from Odisha, won the sixteenth season in the grand finale on 26 July 2026, taking the trophy and prize money of Rs 20 lakh. Tanishk Shukla finished as first runner-up, with Manraj Veer Singh third.
Season 16 was the longest in the show’s history. It premiered on Sony Entertainment Television on 18 October 2025 and ran to 82 episodes across nine months, built around the theme Yaadon Ki Playlist. Badshah, Shreya Ghoshal and Vishal Dadlani judged, and Aditya Narayan hosted, with Udit Narayan guest hosting during the audition and theatre rounds.
Indian Idol Winners: Facts and Records
- Seasons 7 and 8 were Indian Idol Junior. Those two editions were made for child singers and were won by Anjana Padmanabhan in 2013 and Ananya Sritam Nanda in 2015. They are counted in the main sequence, which is why the numbering runs straight through even though the format changed.
- A winner who came back as a judge: Abhijeet Sawant won the first season in 2005 and returned to judge season 5 in 2010, alongside Sunidhi Chauhan and Salim Merchant.
- The most-used host: Aditya Narayan has presented seasons 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16. Hussain Kuwajerwala hosted seasons 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8, then returned after more than a decade for season 14.
- The longest season: season 16 ran 82 episodes from 18 October 2025 to 26 July 2026, the longest in the show’s history.
- Long gaps in the run: nothing aired between 2010 and 2012, and the adult format then paused between 2012 and 2016 while the two Junior editions were broadcast.
- The prize has varied: Rishi Singh took Rs 25 lakh and a car for winning season 13 in 2023, while Jyotirmayee Nayak received Rs 20 lakh for season 16.
- Runners-up have often outlasted winners: Amit Sana, Bhoomi Trivedi and Arunita Kanjilal all built playback careers after finishing second.
Indian Idol Winners: Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Indian Idol 16?
Jyotirmayee Nayak won Indian Idol season 16 in the grand finale on 26 July 2026. The singer from Odisha took the trophy and prize money of Rs 20 lakh, finishing ahead of first runner-up Tanishk Shukla.
Who has won Indian Idol?
Sixteen singers have won the show, from Abhijeet Sawant in 2005 through to Jyotirmayee Nayak in 2026. The full list of winners, runners-up and hosts for every season is in the table above.
Why are seasons 7 and 8 called Indian Idol Junior?
Those two editions were made for child singers rather than adults, and were broadcast under the Indian Idol Junior name. They still count in the main season numbering, so the sequence runs continuously from season 6 to season 9.
Who won Indian Idol 15?
Manasi Ghosh won season 15, which ran across 2024 and 2025, with Subhajit Chakraborty as runner-up and Aditya Narayan hosting.
Who judged Indian Idol 16?
Badshah, Shreya Ghoshal and Vishal Dadlani were the judges. Aditya Narayan hosted the season, with Udit Narayan guest hosting during the audition and theatre rounds.
Who hosts Indian Idol?
Aditya Narayan has hosted the most recent seasons, including 16. Hussain Kuwajerwala presented seasons 3 to 6 and season 8, and returned to host season 14 after more than a decade away.
How much prize money does the Indian Idol winner get?
It has changed from season to season. Jyotirmayee Nayak received Rs 20 lakh for winning season 16 in 2026, while Rishi Singh took Rs 25 lakh and a car for season 13 in 2023.
Conclusion
Indian Idol is a prestigious show in the country. However, shaping the contestant career or winner career is within their hands. Over the years, the eliminated contestant seen greater heights than the winners. Let us know what do you think about our Indian Idol all season Winners in the comment section.
