Favorite Playback Singers

Tamil  -  Sujatha and Swarnalatha

Hindi  - Asha Bhosle

counterpoint wrote:Difficult to list. Some have just great voices while some can do a lot of things with the given voice even if the voice itself is not a highlight. Some are technically well-equipped and can be admired from a distance but cannot be embraced. Some are not that well-equipped but can be eminently listened to, at all times.Some of them were universally well-regarded and proclaimed  a legend even before you were born that you are tempted to include them in the list even if they are not your personal favourites. Some have excelled totally in one category of songs and are the undisputed kings of their territory but not so much in others. Hmm.. Where to begin? One thing though Iam sure about, none from the current crop of TFM singers would make it to my list if at all I get to make one :-) Depressing to think about that. To think about how far the standards of playback singing have fallen. How the recent years havent produced a single legend-esque talent, especially in the male singers category. I feel that playback singing itself has come a full circle and there is nothing more to be done there, unless a totally different form or genre of music/singing emerges from somewhere which places unique demands on the singers. That goes for composers as well. Rahman could be the last big trend for TFM.

I don't know that it's a problem with the singers and it might be indeed have to do with the quality of the compositions.  Satyaprakash has a great voice.  The other day I heard Kaushik singing some Ilayaraja composition on Super Singer and rushed to the TV set (was in another room), thinking SPB had come to perform, he was that good. Some of the singers who won or got to the finals of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa/Indian Idol are excellent.  But where are the compositions?  I will not sit in judgment of whether the compositions are good or bad but it is safe to say that compositions are no longer written to bring out the richness and range of a particular voice in the way the older composers used to.  And yes, there is, to use a much bandied out business term out of context, a secular stagnation in music.  It's not just in India.  Western is pretty boring too.  If there's something exciting happening underground, it has yet to make a significant impact on the mainstream.  The flipside is any great album coming along once in a while feels that much more special because it has become really rare to be treated to those.  As good as NEPV was, it wasn't necessarily far above the level of a Sathy Leelavathy or Paatu Padaavaa that listeners took for granted like millionaires at that time.

அப்பன் பேச்சை கேட்டவன் யாரு – சூரக்கோட்டை சிங்கக்குட்டி

I was listening to Prabhu acted film songs for the past one week and this one struck me hard. Co-incidentally RajaChorusQuiz hosted this song yesterday. I was so enamored by this song that we can’t stop admiring SPB’s playback singing skills. This again proves that how he has gone to every extreme when it comes to playback singing. All other singers before him look so less to me. It will be an endless journey to find a replacement to a singer of his caliber.

It may be hard to sing for MGR, Sivaji, Kamal or Rajini, but it's almost impossible to sing for and like M R Radha. M R Radha often changes his voice and modulation with those hiccups, those sarcastic laughs before starting any sentence. Listen to every note how he sings.     Too much to think for any singer. If SPB is able to get all his mannerism in a song, (not in mimicry) without slip in the sruthi and bhaavam and most of all adhering to the strict rhythm employed by Maestro, this has to be celebrated utmost.

While I am so enamored by his singing, the song melody for such a situation is not at all compromised and hear how Maestro takes us to jazzy combined with folk plane in this comical song. Truly marvelous stuff!

PS: Watch video at your discretion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvzv51m011g

crimson king wrote:


I don't know that it's a problem with the singers and it might be indeed have to do with the quality of the compositions.  Satyaprakash has a great voice.  The other day I heard Kaushik singing some Ilayaraja composition on Super Singer and rushed to the TV set (was in another room), thinking SPB had come to perform, he was that good. Some of the singers who won or got to the finals of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa/Indian Idol are excellent.  But where are the compositions?  I will not sit in judgment of whether the compositions are good or bad but it is safe to say that compositions are no longer written to bring out the richness and range of a particular voice in the way the older composers used to. 

which reminds me of another problem we have in recent times. Rahman, unwillingly or not set off a trend where a new singer would be introduced in every other soundtrack. He used it to garner attention in the 90s but atleast those songs had something unique to offer. The other lesser talented MDs borrowed that gimmick alone and ended up introducing or using hundreds of singers since hte mid-90s most of whom have been forgotten already. I have said several times to friends that these singers have been treated like use-and-throw razors.
Even a guy like Hariharan(personal preferences aside, he IS considered a heavyweight) introduced only in the 90s gets to sing in TFM only occasionally these days. what about the lesser lights? This trend of introducing singers by the dozen(thanks to star TV shows) mean you could quickly be lost in the crowd. Yes, some like Haricharan or Shreya may have made a mark and withstood the onslaught but even they might not be getting enough chances to showcase their versatility/virtuosity