The selection has been announced. Ranjani, and Vijay had moved into the wildcard by default. The three judges have made their choice for the wild card round. Shreeni has chosen Santosh, Sujatha has chosen Prasanna, and Unni has gone with RaginiSri.
Note that the wildcard round has a voting from the viewers, so we might need to wait more than two weeks before we know who the finalist would be from these five.
Voting also puts an unfair advantage for participants who are already popular with the audience. I am not sure how much the performance in the wildcard round would affect the voting. Santosh would feel this handicap more as he was eliminated early and was not part of the final rounds. So he will have to pull in a major performance to upset the other four. Ranjani and Vijay have made to the last step and so they fresh in the minds of the audience. RaginiSri's exit in the unplugged strings round was disappointing to many (esp. after her brilliant performance in classical and western rounds), so some of her supporters would love see her back in the finals. I reserved Prasanna for the last for obvious reasons! Having the popular Prasanna in the mix is bad news for Vijay, Ranjani and Santosh! RaginiSri is the only one who can give Prasanna a run for the money.
Given that these are the five singers, what do you think they should sing in the wildcard round?
Prasanna: Personally I would love to see him sing a sad song in this round. The song should also have nice variations (not monotonous) and have deep meaning lines. I think Prasanna is the only one in the group that can carry a song like that. A song like "oora therunkitten olagam purinkitten kanmani en kanmani" (Padikkatavan). But in reality, I think he will go with a peppy number to bring down the house! Whatever it takes to get the votes in!
Vijay: I would prefer to see him sing some kind of folk song. Something outlandish, Rajasthani type of song. I think he gets so involved in those types of songs. He has the power to move you in high pitched songs interlaced with detailed notes. He can also go for some upbeat number as he is capable to engaging the audience. But choosing a song where no one knows the lyrics of the song would be to his advantage!! (he always messes up the lyrics!).
Ranjani: I wish Ranjani would choose an song from yesteryears from PSusheela. Something like "gangai karai thottam kanni pengal kootam" (Vaanampadi). There is ample scope for her to show her talents -- sangatis, tune, high sustaining notes and more importantly a variety of emotions! It would be divine to hear this song again in Ranjani's powerful voice.
RaganiSri: She can sing so many varieties. Best would a song in the western genre in which she can showcase her voice very well. She can use that break in this voice very well and it would fit nicely in a westernized song. Wonder if she has tried "sei yethavathu sei" (Billa) on stage before -- it would be great to sing that song. Or she can even go a semi-classical in the mold of MLV and leave a powerful impact. She can surprise us with any song like she did in the uravugal sound or classical round. Would love to see her do a "googly" again!
Santosh: He has to go for a soulful number. Hope he stays away from kuthu and fast songs. Wonder if he will sing the "enna solla pogirai" (Kandukondain Kandukondain) and hit the high notes. It would be great to hear him sing this song of his idol. He can get the right feel, and I have seen him hit the high notes which would go straight to the listener's heart.
That is my take on what I would like to hear them sing in the wild card to get my vote!
Good luck to all!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Prasanna - "the" Super Singer
Lots can be and needs to be written about Prasanna in Super Singer. He is a phenomenon. His earlier prelim rounds, his early exit, reentry, grand performances, then the final exit.. He was the main character in this super singer drama.
He can get into a song and make you feel it completely. The song can be anything --sad, happy, devotional etc. -- it really doesn't matter. He will totally get into the song, and bring it out from his heart. He has a great talent for this.
You can feel the full import of the Tamil lyrics whenever he sings the songs. He is at a loss in other languages (English words in songs gets eaten up! His attempts at Hindi or Malayalam would be disastrous unless someone explains the words to him.) He seems like a self made singer and probably likes to practice all alone. When he sings Tamil songs you first clearly hear the words, and above that he clearly emphasizes and emotes the words he is singing. His amazing talent and intelligence comes through clearly.
He unfortunately gets nervous when he is tested on stage. He has never passed any impromptu tests on stage. It looks like he needs time to digest the song's concept to do a good job of it. He is not an "instant singer" althought he is very intelligent singer and delivers what is needed.
Even more unfortunate is the branding of him as "kuthu" specialist or a "performer". This just injustice to his talent which is understand the importance of the message of the song. If he picks a song the message of the song will reach the audience. But the program has focused only on his performance and kuthu songs more giving an impression that he can make anyone dance when he is on stage. The indirect implication here is that he will be bad behind the microphone in the recording theatre. What is missed by this preception is the fact that he can make people understand the song and also cry when needed. Another point that is overlooked is the confidence that he has on stage. That was his sole strength not "performer" or "kuthu". Once he understands the song, and builds up his confidence there are no barriers.
Sometimes for the sake of creating a feel he does lose control of the song. This was evident in the early part of the super singer show. It was not the case in the latter half (final eight, super sever rounds) of the program. So with proper guidance he can correct himself.
What impressed me most was when he was finally let go from the program in the Uravugal round, he first thought of his supporters. He was not crying for himself but he felt for his fans. Even in that hard moment he gathered up enough energy to sing a song and it ended it with "kalanguthamma en manasu"! Wow! It takes more than courage and talent to do that. He showed great compassion for his audience, which is very important trait for him personally that will allow him to grow as a singer. (It looked like he had pretty much prepared himself to exit in the previous classical round and in this round he faced the decision with a lot of courage).
I am sure we will see a lot more of him in Vijay TV in future (for New Year and Diwali special programs!!). Hope to hear his songs in movies soon. It will be a delight for him to have a hit of his own and not just sing other people's hits on stage.
Prasanna singing "vazhe mayam" and "madai thirandhu" in emotions round. Is there any doubt here about his talent? He makes your cry first, then immediately makes you jump up and dance. What an amazing singer!
Prasanna singing with Ravi in one of the earlier rounds. Amazing how he holds up against a great talent like Ravi
Aha aha... the evergreen "nilavu oru pennaagi" from Prasanna. Prasanna erases any doubt that he can be completely original here. There is no trace of TMS in his singing. What feel! What involvement! I can never forget this song from Prasanna.
Sometimes you have to wonder if his "Perumal" is working in his throat when he is singing the following "venkatachala nilayam" song! S Janaki used to say she does not know how she sings some of the songs, and that she believes that it is her "Kannan" singing. This must be true for Prasanna here.
Here is Prasanna singing "lajjavatiye" (Malayalam)! (he singing from around 3:00 in the first video). This is another case where he goes head to head with Ravi and comes out on the winner. Great singing from both of them. Enjoyable episode with some wise-cracks from everyone involved (esp. in the second video which has the comments from the judges and hostess Chinmayi)!!
He can get into a song and make you feel it completely. The song can be anything --sad, happy, devotional etc. -- it really doesn't matter. He will totally get into the song, and bring it out from his heart. He has a great talent for this.
You can feel the full import of the Tamil lyrics whenever he sings the songs. He is at a loss in other languages (English words in songs gets eaten up! His attempts at Hindi or Malayalam would be disastrous unless someone explains the words to him.) He seems like a self made singer and probably likes to practice all alone. When he sings Tamil songs you first clearly hear the words, and above that he clearly emphasizes and emotes the words he is singing. His amazing talent and intelligence comes through clearly.
He unfortunately gets nervous when he is tested on stage. He has never passed any impromptu tests on stage. It looks like he needs time to digest the song's concept to do a good job of it. He is not an "instant singer" althought he is very intelligent singer and delivers what is needed.
Even more unfortunate is the branding of him as "kuthu" specialist or a "performer". This just injustice to his talent which is understand the importance of the message of the song. If he picks a song the message of the song will reach the audience. But the program has focused only on his performance and kuthu songs more giving an impression that he can make anyone dance when he is on stage. The indirect implication here is that he will be bad behind the microphone in the recording theatre. What is missed by this preception is the fact that he can make people understand the song and also cry when needed. Another point that is overlooked is the confidence that he has on stage. That was his sole strength not "performer" or "kuthu". Once he understands the song, and builds up his confidence there are no barriers.
Sometimes for the sake of creating a feel he does lose control of the song. This was evident in the early part of the super singer show. It was not the case in the latter half (final eight, super sever rounds) of the program. So with proper guidance he can correct himself.
What impressed me most was when he was finally let go from the program in the Uravugal round, he first thought of his supporters. He was not crying for himself but he felt for his fans. Even in that hard moment he gathered up enough energy to sing a song and it ended it with "kalanguthamma en manasu"! Wow! It takes more than courage and talent to do that. He showed great compassion for his audience, which is very important trait for him personally that will allow him to grow as a singer. (It looked like he had pretty much prepared himself to exit in the previous classical round and in this round he faced the decision with a lot of courage).
I am sure we will see a lot more of him in Vijay TV in future (for New Year and Diwali special programs!!). Hope to hear his songs in movies soon. It will be a delight for him to have a hit of his own and not just sing other people's hits on stage.
Following are some of the songs of his that I love.
Prasanna singing "vazhe mayam" and "madai thirandhu" in emotions round. Is there any doubt here about his talent? He makes your cry first, then immediately makes you jump up and dance. What an amazing singer!
Prasanna singing with Ravi in one of the earlier rounds. Amazing how he holds up against a great talent like Ravi
Aha aha... the evergreen "nilavu oru pennaagi" from Prasanna. Prasanna erases any doubt that he can be completely original here. There is no trace of TMS in his singing. What feel! What involvement! I can never forget this song from Prasanna.
Sometimes you have to wonder if his "Perumal" is working in his throat when he is singing the following "venkatachala nilayam" song! S Janaki used to say she does not know how she sings some of the songs, and that she believes that it is her "Kannan" singing. This must be true for Prasanna here.
Here is Prasanna singing "lajjavatiye" (Malayalam)! (he singing from around 3:00 in the first video). This is another case where he goes head to head with Ravi and comes out on the winner. Great singing from both of them. Enjoyable episode with some wise-cracks from everyone involved (esp. in the second video which has the comments from the judges and hostess Chinmayi)!!
RaginiSri -- Relive and Revive!
It was unfortunate to see Ragini be ousted in the semi finals round. RaginiSri has a lot of talent and versatility, but she lacked the confidence. Unfortunately, it looked like she started to believe all the negative criticism and comments. Instead of proving that she could sing all types of songs, she just accepted that she had limitations. I still believe she can sing all the melodies and typical heroine songs if she wants to.
She unfortunately attributes her good and bad performances to others -- like her trainers, judges etc. She tends to forget that ultimately she is the one with the talent and who is doing a great job. It is not the trainer who was singing, it was RaginiSri. It is not her family members or the judges on the stage, it is only her RaginiSri on stage. Once she realizes that there will be no stopping.
As Ananthji said in the program "her voice is the future of playback singing". It is not enough for Ananth to say it, RaginiSri has to believe that statement to make it a reality.
I was glad that she came back in those recall rounds. I absolutely loved her performance of "ellaam inba mayam" and "vegam vegam pogum pogum magic journey" in the Classical and Uravugal rounds. It was magical to hear her go through those difficult numbers.
As a personality it is very clear that she loves music. She appreciates anybody's singing and enjoys it. It is always a treat to watch her when others are singing on the stage. It shows her humility and love for music. A truly likeable personality.
Hope she picks up the pieces and comes back with a bang in the wild card round before the grand final. She can beat the other three in so many different genres if they go face to face in the final round. She is capable. She just has to believe in it.
Her lack of confidence was very evident when she was singing in front of singer Chitra in one of the earlier rounds. Chitra pointed that immediately and said that her posture and facial expressions screamed out: "please eliminate me!". That was very true. This was the major reason for her bad performances earlier in the program. She has to change her body language and show more confidence. She just has to remember what a capable singer she is and was earlier.
I have seen her in other program, especially the one where she was singing with SPB. She was so cheerful there. She was so confident. She did not hold back on anything. I remember her "dol dol thaan" and being completely blown away. I would recommend her to go and view those videos of her singing with SPB. She needs to relive those magical moments; she needs to revive the magic again!
Good luck RaginiSri!
Duet with Ravi in Super Singer. Look at the involvement and enjoyment!
Dol Dol Thaan in other program with SPB. (look how cheerful she is here! Please go back to being this RaginiSri!)
The absolutely beautiful "Vegam Vegam" in super singer (the phrase "kaana kaan inbam inbam" was vintage Usha Uthup style!)
"Elaam inba mayam" in the classical round. Absolute delight!
She unfortunately attributes her good and bad performances to others -- like her trainers, judges etc. She tends to forget that ultimately she is the one with the talent and who is doing a great job. It is not the trainer who was singing, it was RaginiSri. It is not her family members or the judges on the stage, it is only her RaginiSri on stage. Once she realizes that there will be no stopping.
As Ananthji said in the program "her voice is the future of playback singing". It is not enough for Ananth to say it, RaginiSri has to believe that statement to make it a reality.
I was glad that she came back in those recall rounds. I absolutely loved her performance of "ellaam inba mayam" and "vegam vegam pogum pogum magic journey" in the Classical and Uravugal rounds. It was magical to hear her go through those difficult numbers.
As a personality it is very clear that she loves music. She appreciates anybody's singing and enjoys it. It is always a treat to watch her when others are singing on the stage. It shows her humility and love for music. A truly likeable personality.
Hope she picks up the pieces and comes back with a bang in the wild card round before the grand final. She can beat the other three in so many different genres if they go face to face in the final round. She is capable. She just has to believe in it.
Her lack of confidence was very evident when she was singing in front of singer Chitra in one of the earlier rounds. Chitra pointed that immediately and said that her posture and facial expressions screamed out: "please eliminate me!". That was very true. This was the major reason for her bad performances earlier in the program. She has to change her body language and show more confidence. She just has to remember what a capable singer she is and was earlier.
I have seen her in other program, especially the one where she was singing with SPB. She was so cheerful there. She was so confident. She did not hold back on anything. I remember her "dol dol thaan" and being completely blown away. I would recommend her to go and view those videos of her singing with SPB. She needs to relive those magical moments; she needs to revive the magic again!
Good luck RaginiSri!
Some of her memorable songs for me:
Duet with Ravi in Super Singer. Look at the involvement and enjoyment!
Dol Dol Thaan in other program with SPB. (look how cheerful she is here! Please go back to being this RaginiSri!)
The absolutely beautiful "Vegam Vegam" in super singer (the phrase "kaana kaan inbam inbam" was vintage Usha Uthup style!)
"Elaam inba mayam" in the classical round. Absolute delight!
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Semi Final Round -- Thoughts on the Final Three
I followed the super singer but was not writing actively about it. One of the main reasons was because it was too long. It had one wild card round where lots of rejected participants came back into the program (some choices were good for the program) and that pushed the program ahead. Then they are now talking about another wild card round! The program has almost stretched out to an year. I was more looking forward for the "super singer juniors - part 2" to start earlier this year. Looks like that has been pushed out as the regular Super Singer got popular and longer!
Anyway, now that we are the semi finals, I am starting to write down my thoughts. The final three singers are Ravi, Renu and Ajesh. Good singers all of them. But I am wondering what Yuvan Shankar Raja is going to do with them? None of these singers seems to fit into the mold that Yuvan operates in.
Ravi has perfection but his voice seems too thin/sharp and seems to lack a base. He also seems too rigid and into classical a way too much. You can't find mistakes in his singing but at the same time it is not extraordinary to enjoy.
Renu has a great voice, but has not shown any inclination to experiment or come out of her comfort zone. She gives the feeling that it will be very difficult to extract anything out of her.
Ajesh is not versatile at all. He has a long way to go. He has a good grasp of singing basics, but does not exude confidence.
These three choices are not the best of the lot. Yuvan could have done a lot with voices of Vijay, RaginiSri and Prasanna. It was hard to see Ranjani go out the door. Ranjani's powerful voice can be molded easily for great songs that will stay in people's mind. Yuvan could have benefited from these four singers rather than Ravi, Renu and Ajesh.
Anyway, now that we are the semi finals, I am starting to write down my thoughts. The final three singers are Ravi, Renu and Ajesh. Good singers all of them. But I am wondering what Yuvan Shankar Raja is going to do with them? None of these singers seems to fit into the mold that Yuvan operates in.
Ravi has perfection but his voice seems too thin/sharp and seems to lack a base. He also seems too rigid and into classical a way too much. You can't find mistakes in his singing but at the same time it is not extraordinary to enjoy.
Renu has a great voice, but has not shown any inclination to experiment or come out of her comfort zone. She gives the feeling that it will be very difficult to extract anything out of her.
Ajesh is not versatile at all. He has a long way to go. He has a good grasp of singing basics, but does not exude confidence.
These three choices are not the best of the lot. Yuvan could have done a lot with voices of Vijay, RaginiSri and Prasanna. It was hard to see Ranjani go out the door. Ranjani's powerful voice can be molded easily for great songs that will stay in people's mind. Yuvan could have benefited from these four singers rather than Ravi, Renu and Ajesh.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Random thoughts on prelim rounds - 1
Now that all the prelim rounds are done, here are some things that stood out in those rounds.
I thought about writing about one participant who was eliminated in the early round by Srilekha and SP Shailaja. She sang the song from Indian "akkadanu naanga". I believe her name was Ratipriya. I am guessing her name based on other conversations that were shown. They never mentioned her name directly when she was selected (by Srilekha) or when she was eliminated later.
She did a great job in the first round. She seemed very involved in her song while singing and it was joy to listen to her. But unforunately she was eliminated when she sang "appadi podu". It was sad to see her go so early. They should have given her another chance. When they were announcing the names from the waiting list, it was clear that she had had a very hard waiting period. Her eyes were bloodshot, possibly from crying. The disappointment was apparent, as she knew that she could not showcase her talent well. I was hoping against hope to see her in the prelim rounds of other cities, but it was not to be. What a waste..
I am sure she will definitely do well in future.
I thought about writing about one participant who was eliminated in the early round by Srilekha and SP Shailaja. She sang the song from Indian "akkadanu naanga". I believe her name was Ratipriya. I am guessing her name based on other conversations that were shown. They never mentioned her name directly when she was selected (by Srilekha) or when she was eliminated later.
She did a great job in the first round. She seemed very involved in her song while singing and it was joy to listen to her. But unforunately she was eliminated when she sang "appadi podu". It was sad to see her go so early. They should have given her another chance. When they were announcing the names from the waiting list, it was clear that she had had a very hard waiting period. Her eyes were bloodshot, possibly from crying. The disappointment was apparent, as she knew that she could not showcase her talent well. I was hoping against hope to see her in the prelim rounds of other cities, but it was not to be. What a waste..
I am sure she will definitely do well in future.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Chennai: extra final selection round
Some more rounds in Chennai in Airtel Super Singer 2008.
| Videos provided by usertubefan | Videos courtesy: techsiterocks123 |
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Chennai -- more prelim rounds
Judges: Deepan Chakarvarthy and Sunitha Sarathy
(A little bit of screening by Prashanthi, Vinaya and Rajalakshmi)
Thanks to usertubefan for uploading the videos.
Additional video from usaukca in youtube.
(A little bit of screening by Prashanthi, Vinaya and Rajalakshmi)
Thanks to usertubefan for uploading the videos.
Additional video from usaukca in youtube.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Chennai initial episode
Airtel Super Singer's Chennai prelim episodes.
Judges are: Deepan Chakravarthy and Sunitha Sarathy
Judges are: Deepan Chakravarthy and Sunitha Sarathy
| Videos courtesy: latha46 | Videos courtesy: usertubefan |
Friday, July 25, 2008
Tiruchirapalli/Trichy -- final selection
Vijay Super Singer's Trichy final selection round. The judges are Mahathi and Mathangi. The videos are courtesy usaukca who has uploaded these on youtube.
Tiruchirapalli/Trichy -- prelim rounds
Again the prelim selection judges were: Prashanthi, Rajalakshmi, and Vinaya
Final round judges are Mahathi and Mathangi.
Final round judges are Mahathi and Mathangi.
| Thanks to 'usaukca' for posting these on youtube. | This videos in this column are courtesy 'kainrazial' in youtube |
Coimbatore/Kovai -- final selection round
Judges S P Shailaja and Srilekha are together now.
Again thanks to kainrazial for this set of videos.
Again thanks to kainrazial for this set of videos.
Kovai/Coimbatore prelim episode
First round Judges are Rajalakshmi, Prashanthi, and Vinaya.
Prelim roud judges: S P Shailaja and Srilekha Parthasarathy
Prelim roud judges: S P Shailaja and Srilekha Parthasarathy
| This column has set of videos were uploaded by "kainrazial" in youtube. | This column has videos uploaded by "kainrazial" in youtube. |
First episode of Airtel Super Singer 2008 (recap of 2006 season)
The first episode was just a recap of the first season of this program. Thanks to 'ilikesharing', who has uploaded the episode on youtube, here are the clips from episode 1.
Part 1 of Episode
Part 2 of Episode
Part 3 of Episode
Part 4 of Episode
Part 5 of Episode
Part 6 of Episode
Part 1 of Episode
Part 2 of Episode
Part 3 of Episode
Part 4 of Episode
Part 5 of Episode
Part 6 of Episode
Airtel Super Singer 2008
The journey begins yet again! A new edition of the Super Singer has started in Star VijayTV in July 2008.
Right now the prelims rounds are being aired on VijayTV. As the competitors list narrows down in the future rounds I will start writing in more detail. For now I will try to collect some of the video links to the program as and when I find them. If you have spotted or even uploaded some of the clips from this program please let me know so that I can provide an update here.
Right now the prelims rounds are being aired on VijayTV. As the competitors list narrows down in the future rounds I will start writing in more detail. For now I will try to collect some of the video links to the program as and when I find them. If you have spotted or even uploaded some of the clips from this program please let me know so that I can provide an update here.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
How were winners selected?
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?
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 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.
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