'Crazy' kiya re...

Its been a long time since I saw him on screen and I was 'super' excited to watch him judge and sing in between in this week's Airtel Super Singer Junior. Do you know who am I talking about? It's Harish Raghavendra. It's for his voice I got a cassette full of his songs as a gift, it's for his voice I ran from behind the stadium which holds 1000s of people to the front to watch his 'live' performance. Although his voice is not heard in the charts frequently, his voice is still afresh and has the same specialty of diction in it. I had the privilege of making my friends become fans of his voice :) One of his latest and one of my favorites of his' is here:

'08-09...10...11...????

I have heard and believed that only soap operas can last for 5-6 years but I think there's going to be a record break by a TV reality show called 'Airtel Super Singer' which started in 2008 and may go for another 2-3 years. A TV show's TSP soars based on the interest shown by people/its marketing strategy and this show is going to lose all its lustre for dragging the show with unwanted episodes like the one today. As everyone who watches may be waiting to hear who's the 4th contestant going to join the final show, they are dragging this with the judges wildcard round. People have already voted and why there is another wildcard round? Sigh....$%^&*. I could hear people murmuring (like me) 'Dei...Enda ipdi mega serial maadhiri javvvvaa iluthittu poreenga?'....

And now for today's show and my comments on it:
Vijay Narayan - There are so many great classic hits of Ilayaraja and this guy chose one mokkai song. I just forwarded his performance :)
Ranjani - If she's not selected for the finals, as everyone, I would think there's some politics that might have happened not to choose her. Hope that does not happen because she has a great voice when compared to other four contestants on the wild card round
Prasanna - I usually like his on stage perfomance and today it was OK but not great
Santhosh - Although there were few flaws and especially sodhappals in pitching, I liked his rendition
RaginiShree - It looked like someone asked her to read 'Swasame Swasame' lyrics and try few sangadhis in between to show that she knows music. The breaths in between each line - Only Ragini can do it. The beauty of the song was entirely lost. If judges dont give positive comments, Ragini might end up crying and hence all the judges said 'You are an excellent and promising singer'

If this show does not end in another 2 months (which is highly unlikely to happen but I saw some youtube comments saying this is going to end in June;)), I have made a resolution not to watch this show in future :) How many of you are with me? :)

- From a die hard music fanatic

Gone are the days...

Some of the recent tag posts are making me nostalgic and here's one small version unplugging those moments:

Gone are those days...
When I used to play for hours without any break in the nearby sand block
When I used to have a pack of 'then mittai' and 'Kaara Kadalai' as everyday snack combo
When I used to take hours for make-up
When I used to take out the tooth braces during lunch and everyone around looks like 'yuck!'

When I dropped off my first ever watch into the flush and asked Aayama to get that for me from it ;)
When I was fond of collecting pens of different kinds
When I yearned for a pen friend and ended up without having one
When I was left as a loner in the 'cheppu jaaman' games between sisters and cousins :(

When I used to be thin like Omakuchi Narasimhan
When I used to put those 'jolna' type school bags on the head and run to catch the bus
When I sang 'Vandhenda paalkaran' on my first appearance of a music competition and bagged the third prize :)
When I used to have punctured bicycle tyres every week

When I used to say that my aim in life is to become an actress :) [Did not know what the word 'aim' means]
When I used to go to some relatives house for vacation and the next moment I reach there, used to tell them that I wanted to go back home
When I used to take the 'small aluminum petti' and say that I am leaving home, whenever my dad scolds me and come back after reaching the street end :)
When I used to eat 'slate' kuchis :)

There are more like these moments but only few of the 'significant' things just flashed my mind. I feel like all these happened sometime in last jenma...I mean, it's been a very long time since I thought about these...

Here's P.O.

Paadum Office - After a break, it's back! It brought me those pleasant memories that I had 3 years back. It was not called Paadum Office earlier. It was called as a corporate music show and I dont think it was shown on TV.

It was the first time I saw it in the newspaper and heard it from the HR folks at my office inviting people to join. Being a music lover and having a close friend who is good at singing, I insisted him to try although he was reluctant. There was no doubt about his great singing capability but he was hesitating because he had stage fear. But I dont want to see someone's potential being wasted and hence somehow forced him to take part.

From the day he enrolled in the competition, we used to discuss about the songs to choose and what would be the advantages/disadvantages of rendering such songs. Finally, he chose 'Unakena Mela Nindral' from Simla Special. I was there with him on the preliminary round encouraging him. Fortunately or Unfortunately, that song was sung by someone who went before him and he was tensed. He gave me this magical wand and said 'Whatever comes, it's your choice now; Tell me one song that I should sing'. I was happy that he trusted my choices and at the same time, did not want to choose a song that may throw him out of the competition.

I gave reasons for choosing this song - 'Nenjankootil' from Dishyum. 1. I was damn sure that noone there will attempt that song 2. It did not have lot of aalaps or hard sangadhis or the fast breathtaking notes 3. I have heard him singing that before and I liked it. He agreed and sang that on stage when his turn came. He was nervous at the first few lines of Pallavi but rendered it very beautifully till the end.

When he came back from the stage, he asked me if he did it well and if he will get selected for which I said 'I dont know, but I liked it except the first few lines'. He was confident that he will get into the top 10 out of 93 contestants. And before they announce the results, I had to leave to meet another set of friends. After an hour, he called me and said he got into the top 10 to face the finals. Got this details from him that the judges said 'Choosing an easy song and rendering it great is much better than choosing a difficult song and trying to prove yourself but failing badly'. His first try was worth it and happy, we were!!!

And here is one of the rendition from this friend of mine (Sriram). I am dedicating this post to him and his wife Sowmya...Un song Unakke Sriram :))



Kanava... | Music Codes

Saami kitta...

Wat a song, Wat a feel, Wat a rendition? One of the songs in my favorite sohamana songs list.

The Original:
http://www.imeem.com/sujakshan/music/jX4I0cJt/saami_kitta_solli/

My version of cracked track here :)
Saami Kitta | Record Online

My Vote...

For the first time in this Super Singer show, I felt Ravi deserves to be in the winner spot. He was awesome when he rendered all the medley songs especially on the Udhaya Udhaya song, he was so emotive that anyone can feel the song from a true heart :) The song itself is a great one rendered by Hariharan. When Ravi was singing, it did not sound like he tried to imitate what Hariharan did but it was great to listen Ravi singing it and esp on the notes of 'Unnale..Thannale....'..WWWoowwwww...As always, I have a second spot to be taken by Renu in my voting system..Man, I love her voice. I have never found flaws in her singing so far. And for the third spot, I have Prasanna and Rohit in tie :) Have to see their performances in the upcoming episodes. Let's see whether my voting system clicks the right way (Enakku Sangeetha gnanam irukkanu therinju poidum?:)) Since this round induced me to listen to the song Udhaya repeatedly, I am providing the link here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyklQRnTFo0

Deadly Critic...

If I remember correctly, the number of times that I have criticized on anyone or anyone's work is very less. Even though I feel like criticising sometimes, I just let it go and leave it as it is. But for the past few days, I am so into this mood after watching few shows.

1. I watched the prize ceremony of the show Maanada Mayilada. When great dancers like Suchi Bala and Lokesh had to bag the third prize and innovative athma like Gokul and Kavi had to get out without anything, I was so shocked to see the comedians Aarthi and Ganesh bagging the second prize. I admit that they are good at comedy but this was a dance show. They hardly danced in most of the episodes and all they did was a funny performance to enlighten audience. IMHO, this in turn will degrade the other dancers morale. I am totally against this judgement.
2. The famous on-going criticisms againt Raginishree, the popular singer of Super singer. When it comes to performance, people should accept critisicms as how they do for favoritisms. There were few singers who were really good but had to be out of the show when they did not perform well in a particular episode. But this lady has been given chances repeatedly irrespective of her poor performances.
3. The most recent one is on the Jodi# 1 semifinals where Tinku and Santhoshi did exceedingly bad :) but judges admitted them to the next round after some kasa musa talk among this TS jodi and the judges. Similar kind of great showmanship was shown between Simbu and Prithivi last time and this time it's TS jodi's turn.

I wish the performers in #2 and #3 get out of the show soon since they do not deserve it. But if they go beyond the next rounds, it's either luck or their hardwork to come out well. Lets wait n see...

HR - Part II

I have been writing about him since I am a huge fan of him. I did not have any intentions to write about this part II until there came a situation. I had my dance sessions y'day and was very tired after coming back. Had my dinner and was about to sleep. Since I had to give sometime after dinner for digestion, opened my laptop to watch Jodi #1. After watching that, I hit on the KWA link to see who's the guest this week. To my surprise, when Anu said that she's going to invite the singer of 'Melliname Melliname', all my drowsiness went off and I was back with all my energy and excitement to watch HR. HR came with his all time smile and I thoroughly enjoyed all his singing esp. Nirpadhuve Nadapadhuve to the core. Perfect diction, sruthi and when he sings, I feel a sense of music within itself without any BGM. And he sang my recent favourite of his 'Anbae en Anbae' from Dhaam Dhoom. With only kelvi gnanam, he has come till this - Tat sounds great to me :))) And now, I am more pepped up to listen to his songs in my ipod.

Super Singer

I have been watching this since it started. I did not even miss the training sessions by Sriram Parthasarathy, Deepan Chakraborthi and 'Malgudi' Shuba. Passion for music keeps me watching this show :) On the first 3 days of a week, when I come from work and after doing all my casual to-do things, with a sip of tea, I would sit and watch this and talk about the intricacies to myself. After watching it for so many days, I have got my own favourites list from the participants category -
1. Ravi - whom people talk about a lot and think that he would be the STAR of this show - I totally agree that he has a great voice but he's a pro and hence I don't see anything notable in him doing it with ease. He comes last in my list although I have quoted him first
2. Ajeesh - A flawless singer when it comes to melodies but he cannot take the western type things with great comfort. He's second in my list
3. Rohit - He's my top favorite who is in the PSG band but not a pro. But he has got his own style which I like the most
4. Bavadharini Ram - She's the only one in the gals category whom I like the most. The way she sung Thoodhu Varuma shows her caliber and the way she can adapt to any style

Almost all others are good at melodies but they are not versatile, according to me. I wish atleast one from my list emerge as a winner. But we will watch out for who comes with flying colors. Looking forward for the upcoming sessions.

Out of all these, I started liking Chinmayi's (anchor of the show and the playback singer) voice more than before, after I heard 'I miss you da' from Sakkarakatti. You rock Chinmayee....:) Another good thing is my all time favorite MKB has quit the show since he got a chance to sing in a movie. I guess I am good to be in a judge's seat...Wat say? ;)

Performances...

I don't know what should I call this as! Last week, I wrote a post about Maanada Mayilada dance show where I mentioned about Lokesh - my favourite contestant to emerge as the best performer. And he has got the best performer award this week :) That was an unanimous decision. And he deserves it.

Watched Super Singer show and was dumbstuck to see so many good singers in Chennai zone alone. My judging capabilities has grown so intense that I can say whether the person would be selected by just listening to the beginning lines and the shruthi that matches it. I was almost right in every contestant's try. And my favourite performer cum singer MKB is a contestant again in SS this year. I am hoping that he will atleast come till the final level this year. His forte is his performing attitude...

Keeping fingers crossed XXX...

Uyire En uyire...

One of my most favourite songs...I like the visual, lyrics, music and the way it was sung. Watch it here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLsZ3RPCYV8

Bathroom Singer Contest

Ha..ha...Don't get dissuaded by the title here. There is no such contest happening anywhere. I was talking to my roomie yesterday about an idea that I have for having such a contest and how it will raise TRPs amidst the soap operas played in satellite TVs. Being a bathroom and in-house singer(?), no wonder that I came up with this idea. The core idea of the contest would be this:

1. Contestants fill an application and send it to the respective personnel [No details about how do you sing and all that...Restricted to demographic data]
2. Contestants are those who have an iota of knowledge about carnatic, hindustani, western or any form of music but all they have is 'Kelvi Gnanam' of filmy music/songs
3. No contestant should have participated in any such contest before
4. Contestants are shortlisted based on their age-group
5. Contestants who participate in the show are given a covered set [like a bathroom or in-house...hmmm...not exactly :)] where-in they can sing and the judges are not allowed to see them but only can hear them sing
6. Jury panel is not given the details of the contestants except contestant A, B etc., and they enter their marks for A, B according to what they heard them singing inside the covered zone [To avoid the judges' 'favoritism']
7. After this prolongs for so many episodes, three winners from each category (age group) are chosen
8. The winners are not given a cash prize or any luxurious items as the prize/award
9. The winning prize is that the jury panel will train these winners and give/get them a chance in a movie to sing songs

How does this sound? There may be more logical things to look upon to make it work but this is my core idea. Ideas can be shaped..Isn't it? :) Who knows? There may be some Harish Raghavendras, Shreya Ghosals, Krishss, Haricharans, Sadhana Sargams, Madhusris emerge from this...

Anyone to take this up to next level? Lemme talk to Subashree Thanickachalam...hee...hee...Jus kiddin'!

H.R.

India trip, no laptop - These two things made me to stay away from the blogging area. After a hiatus, am back to blogging now...

Few years ago, one of my friends gifted me a cassette full of songs that was sung by Harish Raghavendra. I was a great fan of HR and still is...It's been long time since I saw him on the media or any TV shows but happened to watch Star Singer in RAJ TV last week. It just reminded me of the corporate cultural show where I saw him performing live. I was known as a calm girl in my corporate training batch but things went ulta when I heard the anchor of the show uttering HR's name as the singer for the day. I was screaming when I saw him on stage and ran from the mid rows to the first row where I can hear his voice closely...;) And now, when I saw him singing few notes in Star Singer TV show, I was listening it with utmost interest. If someone asks me why I like his voice and feel very great about it, my answer would be 'It's because of the proper pronunciation, uniqueness, the feel and clarity in his voice'. I bet that noone can capture his spot in my favourite singers list...And here is my most favourite song of his:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eTWFM6x0vQ

Super Singer 2008

Got to know this from Chinmayi's blog.

Airtel Super Singer 2008 is coming soon and here is the entry form.
http://vijay.indya.com/specials/supersinger08/entry.asp