London, August 15 (ANI): Classical music's most esteemed awards ceremony is doing away with its serious image by holding a Pop Idol-style global vote to uncover the Artist of the Year.

Celebrities including Sir Mick Jagger, Joanna Lumley and Terry Waite have been roped in to promote the Classic FM Gramophone Awards competition.

The vote will be the most extensive survey of classical tastes undertaken so far, as it will be carried out through classical radio stations in thirteen countries on four continents, and will include an estimated 11 million radio listeners.

The votes of these listeners will be counted together with those of Gramophone magazine readers. Besides the overall winner, the poll will disclose the particular favourite artist in specific territories.

James Inverne, the editor of Gramophone, said that he hoped to follow the triumph of television talent contests such as Pop Idol and How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?

"The popularity of classical music is at a high just now, fuelled by the increasing success of downloads and an injection of new stars like two of the nominees for this year's Artist of the Year, Julia Fischer and Joyce DiDonato, as well as some dynamic new conductors," the Telegraph quoted Inverne, as saying.

"It's not quite Classical Idol but there's no doubt that it's not just pop and rock that has its own true superstars," he added.

The nominees for the Artist of the Year 2007 category at the Classic FM Gramophone Awards are: Valery Gergiev, Julia Fischer, Joyce DiDonato, Rolando Villaz¢n, Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Steven Isserlis, Bryn Terfel, Vadim Repin and Natalie Dessay. (ANI)