Dr. Annie Gray

And we want to have that freedom to be able to adjust things based on the culture.

We didn't have the money anyway.

We were under extreme tight budgets.

Ultimately, I think it made much more sense to do it that way where we had an ability to adjust.

Televisions were also becoming a staple feature in people's homes.

Multi-generational households were tuning in to watch and the show became a big hit.

By the third series, an estimated 11 million people were watching each episode.

The events themselves were probably the biggest concerts you would have had in that country for a long time.

We were getting like, you know, three, four hundred people into a recording.

But basically, a lot of these guys would become somewhat famous.

Then they would go and get invited to sing in weddings and receptions and other things.

So they start earning an income and people pay sometimes quite a bit of money to come in and perform.

And through those processes and film clips and other things, I think we went from like zero music domestically being produced in Afghanistan to maybe more than 50% of our music that we were broadcasting were Afghans in Afghanistan producing that music.

And in series 14, history was made.

Zahra Alam was the first female winner of the competition, a watershed moment for the country.

However, the success of the show and the chance for women to sing and dance on television came to an abrupt end in 2021.

The return of the Taliban have seen the musical scene that blossomed during their absence crushed.

Musicians have fled the country and playing music and musical instruments have been banned.

I think the show had an impact.

That impact doesn't just go away.