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?
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