"Annu Malek, Sunidhi Chauhan and Salim Merchant (of composer duo Salim-Sulaiman) will be the judges for Indian Idol 5," a source from Sony TV told IANS.

The show will be a first time experience for Sunidhi, who won Meri Awaaz Suno in 1996, as a full-fledged judge for any reality show. Salim, on the other hand, has been a judge for show Chak De Bachche. But Indian Idol will be a completely new ballgame for him too.

This season of Indian Idol will be the fifth time that Annu Malek would â?¨be sitting in the judge's chair.

In the last season, Bollywood actress Sonali Bendre and Farah Khan teamed up with Annu Malek. But this time, producers have concentrated on getting judges with a strong musical backing.

The show, to be hosted by Indian Idol 1 winner Abhijeet Sawant and former participant Prajakta Shukre, is expected to go on air in April this year.