Given the final results and having seen all the final episodes (prize and focus on winner episodes), I am left with this nagging question as to how the winners were chosen.
It is said multiple times in these episodes that Anitha won the maximum of votes.
Sowmya won the judges' votes (jury award). So how come Nikhil is declared the winner? He was neither selected by the viewers nor the judges. So who selected him. They never categorically answered this in any of these programs. Will we ever know what went on in the final selection process?
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Singing in the Final episode of Airtel Super Singer in Vijay TV
The final episode had five singers singing 2 songs each. The format was a 5 minute back-to-back singing of two songs -- one fast and one slow. Surprisingly most singers chose new songs to sing in the final round that they have not tried in earlier rounds.
Maya started off first. She sang a fast number (gundu maanga) first. She had too much going in the song (dance, cheering crowd) etc. that seemed a little distracting. But she sang really well. The second song was a lesser known P Susheela song. It was not enjoyable and had rhythm variations that Maya did not handle properly. In melodies she add a nasal tone that seems annoying a little bit. She can improve a lot. Wonder why she did not stick to her time-tested songs (like kaaka kaaka songs). She didn't show her confident self in this round.
Harish came next. He started off well with Uyire Uyire. Again his singing style of adding electric improvisations at end of each line does not suit this song very well. Also he breaks lines (pauses added) at different points and this affects the flow of the song. After he adds the improvisations at the end he looks at the judges and audience -- as if asking for their feedback or approval. This style of singing might be influenced by his interest in ghazals. But it is not enjoyable at all for songs we are already familiar with in a different formal or flow. Shreenivas commented that Harish kind of sang the song in a happy tone. This again I think comes from this ghazal like singing (where even saddest of lines in the ghazal are sung with a smile and with pauses and improvisations!) Malaysia Vasudevan praised him and added a comment that was interpreted by moi as "you sucked the life out of uyire!" The less said about his second song the better. There was a lot of yelling from him. The song is essentially a pathos song packaged in a disco format. Harish missed the point completely on this song. Also he was out of breath at the end of each line that made the yelling more prominent. He didn't seem confident through out the song.
Harish might have been at a slight disadvantage as he joined the group of 4 a bit late and didn't go through the same training or video taping like the others. I guess he would have had support of his friends for the votes like in the semi-finals.
Anitha sang her "ezhu swarangalukkul" which she had sung in earlier rounds. She was just okay in that song. Chitra mentioned at the end that she was not sticking to the raaga. I don't know about the raaga part but it was clear that Anitha did not stick to the original song at many places. Her improvisations were not confident and her returns to the original line in the song had a lot of room for improvement. Her second song was interesting "kotta paaku". She was a little fast in the song and the musicians couldn't keep up with her. But for some reason I believe she is good in folk numbers rather than melodies (which is termed as her strong point through out in the program). She sings the folk numbers with great feel and pronunciation is also very good. "kanna aatha engal mari aatha", "enna vida" (virumandi), pithamagan song, and this "kotta paaku" shows that she can sing folk numbers well. Her performance was not worth winning the finals.
Gautham was brilliant. He sang poomalai which he had sung well in an earlier round too. He did surprise me. He had transformed a lot in the finals. His kanukkula song from Dhil was full of energy too. He justified his being in the finals very well. But since his performance in earlier rounds were just okay he had not connected well with the viewers, he might have a tough time garnering votes. He was in complete control in the Dhil song. His body language and style had completely changed. His normal swaying motion (which caused the songs to all have the same tempo) was not to be seen. He performed well over all. Good work Gautham!
Nikhil came in last and started off a little off key or flat in the Thendrale Thendrale song. I have always felt that the original song itself (from Kadhal Desam) was a little unimpressive (Mano and Unnikrishnan) so there was little to blame Nikhil (other than the song selection!). But he redeemed himself in the middle of the song when the song goes into high pitch. There was no yelling and he is great control. Also he seemed to be deep concentration for his next song -- ennadi meenakshi! Hearing that song after a long time and thoroughly enjoyed it coming from Nikhil. I thought his pronunciation and accent would falter but he sailed through really well. The end at the high pitch had the required pathos and feel as well as voice control. Nikhil nailed this one! I still had doubts if he would get enough votes but looks like he impressed a lot more people and managed very well with the votes! Also like Gautham, Nikhil seems to have changed his posture and style a lot in this finals. He was not his normal slouching posture and he was singing full-throated style. Good luck to him and looking forward to hearing more melodies from him.
It was a great end to the show with some impressive performances. Don't know if we would get to hear these singers again in follow-up programs?
Maya started off first. She sang a fast number (gundu maanga) first. She had too much going in the song (dance, cheering crowd) etc. that seemed a little distracting. But she sang really well. The second song was a lesser known P Susheela song. It was not enjoyable and had rhythm variations that Maya did not handle properly. In melodies she add a nasal tone that seems annoying a little bit. She can improve a lot. Wonder why she did not stick to her time-tested songs (like kaaka kaaka songs). She didn't show her confident self in this round.
Harish came next. He started off well with Uyire Uyire. Again his singing style of adding electric improvisations at end of each line does not suit this song very well. Also he breaks lines (pauses added) at different points and this affects the flow of the song. After he adds the improvisations at the end he looks at the judges and audience -- as if asking for their feedback or approval. This style of singing might be influenced by his interest in ghazals. But it is not enjoyable at all for songs we are already familiar with in a different formal or flow. Shreenivas commented that Harish kind of sang the song in a happy tone. This again I think comes from this ghazal like singing (where even saddest of lines in the ghazal are sung with a smile and with pauses and improvisations!) Malaysia Vasudevan praised him and added a comment that was interpreted by moi as "you sucked the life out of uyire!" The less said about his second song the better. There was a lot of yelling from him. The song is essentially a pathos song packaged in a disco format. Harish missed the point completely on this song. Also he was out of breath at the end of each line that made the yelling more prominent. He didn't seem confident through out the song.
Harish might have been at a slight disadvantage as he joined the group of 4 a bit late and didn't go through the same training or video taping like the others. I guess he would have had support of his friends for the votes like in the semi-finals.
Anitha sang her "ezhu swarangalukkul" which she had sung in earlier rounds. She was just okay in that song. Chitra mentioned at the end that she was not sticking to the raaga. I don't know about the raaga part but it was clear that Anitha did not stick to the original song at many places. Her improvisations were not confident and her returns to the original line in the song had a lot of room for improvement. Her second song was interesting "kotta paaku". She was a little fast in the song and the musicians couldn't keep up with her. But for some reason I believe she is good in folk numbers rather than melodies (which is termed as her strong point through out in the program). She sings the folk numbers with great feel and pronunciation is also very good. "kanna aatha engal mari aatha", "enna vida" (virumandi), pithamagan song, and this "kotta paaku" shows that she can sing folk numbers well. Her performance was not worth winning the finals.
Gautham was brilliant. He sang poomalai which he had sung well in an earlier round too. He did surprise me. He had transformed a lot in the finals. His kanukkula song from Dhil was full of energy too. He justified his being in the finals very well. But since his performance in earlier rounds were just okay he had not connected well with the viewers, he might have a tough time garnering votes. He was in complete control in the Dhil song. His body language and style had completely changed. His normal swaying motion (which caused the songs to all have the same tempo) was not to be seen. He performed well over all. Good work Gautham!
Nikhil came in last and started off a little off key or flat in the Thendrale Thendrale song. I have always felt that the original song itself (from Kadhal Desam) was a little unimpressive (Mano and Unnikrishnan) so there was little to blame Nikhil (other than the song selection!). But he redeemed himself in the middle of the song when the song goes into high pitch. There was no yelling and he is great control. Also he seemed to be deep concentration for his next song -- ennadi meenakshi! Hearing that song after a long time and thoroughly enjoyed it coming from Nikhil. I thought his pronunciation and accent would falter but he sailed through really well. The end at the high pitch had the required pathos and feel as well as voice control. Nikhil nailed this one! I still had doubts if he would get enough votes but looks like he impressed a lot more people and managed very well with the votes! Also like Gautham, Nikhil seems to have changed his posture and style a lot in this finals. He was not his normal slouching posture and he was singing full-throated style. Good luck to him and looking forward to hearing more melodies from him.
It was a great end to the show with some impressive performances. Don't know if we would get to hear these singers again in follow-up programs?
Nikhil crowned as 'Airtel Super Singer' on Vijay TV
Nikhil crowned as 'Airtel Super Singer' on Vijay TV
Indiantelevision.com Team
(7 August 2006 9:00 pm)
MUMBAI: The wait is over and Nikhil Mathew from Chennai was crowned as the Airtel Super Singer by popular singer S.P. Balasubramaniam. He was prized with a Maruti Swift car, and a trophy apart from the grand opportunity of singing for music director Harris Jeyaraj.
Vijay TV launched Airtel Super Singer in the month of April 2006 with the motive of finding the one unique voice out of 6.5 crore Tamilians. The grand prize for the winner is an opportunity to sing for Music Director Harris Jeyraj in his forthcoming film.
Auditions were conducted across the entire state of Tamilnadu targeting three major zones, viz., Kovai, Madurai and Chennai. The mode of entry of participants for the audition was through CD's and cassettes, Airtel registration, and also on spot registrations.
The judges' panel for the initial ground auditions was constituted by personalities in the music industry such as, singers Malaysia Vasudevan, S.P. Sailaja, Jensi, Dr. Seergazhi Siva Chidambaram and music director D.Imman, Singer Malathi and singer Mahathi. These judges short-listed the candidates in various zones to proceed to the next level of the competitions held in Chennai, informs an official release.
The next levels of competition saw the participants going through a series of extensive rounds testing their skills in music. These levels were judged by a special panel of judges constituting playback singers Anuradha Sriram, Srinivas and Unnikrishnan, who follow the progress of the participants through their journey in Super Singer. Singer Chinmayi anchored the show, the release adds.
Anitha was announced as the viewer's choice, as she had got the maximum number of votes and awarded a trophy and a Laptop. The jury award was given to Somya Mahadevan who participated in the show and was given a trophy and an E-Go electric bike. Sowmya has had classical music training for the past 5 years. She is a student of Meenakshi College, Kodambakkam.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Judges in Airtel Super Singer contest
The intial rounds had several judges whose names are not mentioned in many articles. Here is an attempt to list all the judges who have been spotted during the various episodes. This list might be incomplete.
Chennai
- Gayathri Girish
- S P Shailaja,
- D Imman,
- Malathi
Coimbatore
- Malaysia Vasudevan,
- Mahathi
Madurai
- Prasanna
- Jency,
- Seerkazhi Siva Chidambaram,
3rd round, 4th round, Semi-finals
- Anuradha Sriram
- Srinivas
- Unni Krishnan
Group round
- Vani Jayaram
Emotive round
- Silambarasan
Celebrity round
- Tippu
- Harini
- Sriram Parthasarathy
- Pop Shalini
Finals
- Chitra
- Malaysia Vasudevan
- Ananthji
Chennai
- Gayathri Girish
- S P Shailaja,
- D Imman,
- Malathi
Coimbatore
- Malaysia Vasudevan,
- Mahathi
Madurai
- Prasanna
- Jency,
- Seerkazhi Siva Chidambaram,
3rd round, 4th round, Semi-finals
- Anuradha Sriram
- Srinivas
- Unni Krishnan
Group round
- Vani Jayaram
Emotive round
- Silambarasan
Celebrity round
- Tippu
- Harini
- Sriram Parthasarathy
- Pop Shalini
Finals
- Chitra
- Malaysia Vasudevan
- Ananthji
Nikhil is Airtel Super Singer -- newindpress.com
Here is an article from NewIndpress. The last sentence seems extremely derogatory. Is that sentence worthy of being in a news item article? If that is someone's personal opinion on the show it should have been stated clearly (maybe in a separate opinion column) rather than present this as a news item? Will NewIndPress clarify? Also, there is no mention of the author of this piece of information.
Nikhil is Airtel Super Singer
Saturday August 5 2006 10:29 IST
And the winner is Nikhil Mathew, the MBA student from Satyabhama College! The Airtel Super Singer finalist, who was crowned winner by SP Balasubramaniam, walked off with a Maruti Swift car, a trophy and the biggest prize of all - a chance to sing in a film in which Harris Jayaraj is music director.
Anitha, one of the other finalists, was voted the viewer’s choice and took home a laptop. Conducted by Vijay TV, the Airtel Super Singer contest, which begun in April this year, toured many cities.
The initial ground auditions were scrutinised by an eminent panel of judges including Malaysia Vasudevan, SP Sailaja, Jensi, Seerkazhi Siva Chidambaram, D Imman, Malathi and Mahathi.
Subsequently, the contest moved into high gear and Anuradha Sriram, Srinivas and Unni Krishnan tracked the performance of the candidates. One of the highlights of the contest was the SMS round, where friends, family, neighbours and probably even their dogs, voted in favour of their favourite candidate.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Nikhil wins!!
I wrote that Nikhil could pull a fast on and could be saving the best for the last. And he has! He is the Airtel Super Singer in Vijay TV!.
My comments on the final will be here later.
Here is an excerpt from the Vijay TV's website on the winner
Vijay TV website says:
Here is your chance to congratulate the Airtel Super Singer - Nikhil Mathew!
Name: Nikhil Mathew
Contestant 09
An MBA student (Sathyabama college), he draws inspiration from his mother (a singer). He has been learning music for nearly 10 years from his guru Mr Veeramani. He has learnt to play the miruthangam and has participated in several stage shows. Hariharan is his favourite singer and source of inspiration and A R Rahman, his favourite music director.
Also the following picture at the site shows that Sowmya has won too as a runner up along with Anitha.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)