Super Singer - Singers of the future

Yes, I too thought why is he singing a malayalam song when there are tons of thamizh devotional based songs in films. Anyway the program almost seems like a mallu show and looked like Dr. Sivachidambaram was a poor fellow among them. In that way, TL Maharajan is a better judge compared to all others, but they cleverly swapped him as a guest for PJ.

This week was quite good with a moving moment when Rizwan left the party. Even Srini mentioned Raja's name when Deepthi sang unna vida. Thank you. Only surprise was again the performer of the week. The song chosen by Diwakar does not hold anything close to other songs sung this week. Still I feel Diwakar cannot sing a good melody or classical songs with lot nuances in the form of sangathis. He mostly sings a straight tune (mostly fast paced) with not much difficulties and escapes cleverly, while the ones who chose difficult song get the beating, even if they were great attempts. I believe this show is not just about singing the chosen song well (if the song does not carry any weight), it also about taking a difficult song and delivering which only few do.

I must say that I don't really see the problem involved in singers from AP or Kerala getting ahead in a Tamil music show.  I mean, P Susheela, PBS, SPB, S Janaki, KJY, Chithra, so many of TFM's best singers are from AP or Kerala.   There were people who alleged that Chithra was playing favourites to push Alka Ajith and that imo was pretty ridiculous because Alka is a once in a lifetime singer and was clearly head and shoulders above the other contestants.   With that said, I do think there is a pro-ARR-fan-singer and pro-Malayalam bias in the judging of Super Singer right now.  But as long as it doesn't consume a really good singer, it is ok.   I cannot say that any of the eliminations so far was an utter travesty, more a question of whether they should have been in top 20 or top 15 but no top 5 material singer has been eliminated yet imo.  This time, there is no singer to match the ability of Satya Prakash, period.  And that kind of metamorphosis is unlikely to happen in a matter of a few weeks/months.  Among the guys, only Ramesh has that kind of voice and flair but he is not nearly as trained as SP who was a complete package.  Unfortunately, even SP was only first runner up.  

I agree with you. Definitely if there is a talent, they should be encouraged and recognized irrespective of where they belong. That's why I had even put Krishan, Sarath Santhosh in the best performance in last week's devotional round. For me the song choice is also important, not just how the singers perform. If the song is really very simple to sing which does not expose their limitations or bring out their maximum capabilities, even if they sing damn good, I cannot appreciate. On the other hand, if a singer chooses a complex/difficult song (not just in terms of notes, in terms of emotions too) and even if they miss at one or two places that's fine with me. That's where I differ with the judges, as in the last round even when the competition was not over, Jayachandran judged Parvathi's as best performance (he didn't even say best performance so far) without hearing others completely. Also you can see how Sujatha, Unni, Srinivas were all overwhelmed by some ordinary songs just because... I felt that was so prejudiced.

Also, regarding eliminations even though I agree with you partially that we should not bother much as long as good singers don't away. For me the order of elimination is also very important. There are many singers who left out of competition way before they really deserved to go while other stayed long back than they deserved.

On a side note, Sathya Prakash was second runner up in last session's super singer. First runner up was Santhosh.

Some food for thought:

The purported mission of the show is to unearth and groom the next generation of singers, right? For what?  So that they can sing for GVP and Anirudh in the future? Looking at the direction that IFM is heading, do you think these singers (and instrumentalists) will ever realize their true potential as musicians or composers by becoming playback singers and studio musicians? Will these promising youngsters  like the boy who sang ‘Ullathil nalla ullam’ with so much passion or the incredibly gifted girl who performed ‘Chinna chinna vaNNa kuyil’ ever get the opportunity to sing such compositions and have their voices immortalized like TMS or SJ?

As long as Raja is around, some new singers like Ramya and Haricharan will continue to get challenged and get the chance to sing a Satru munbu and a Kalvane every now and then, but other than that and after his time? I am not optimistic at all.


All that these shows do is to make it glaringly and painfully obvious that the model of music distribution and consumption in TN (perhaps all of India) needs some serious rethinking. Independent artists and bands is the way to go, like in the west, but good music and artists are not exactly  flourishing in the west either, so … I don’t know…just thinking aloud.

^^^  Indeed...to paraphrase IR, "Without composer, what will the singer do?"   Who exactly other than IR is going to fully exploit the potential of singers like Alka or Priyanka or Satya Prakash.  He has got a new dimension out of even established singers like Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan or, now, Haricharan.   

The whole American Idol format (which is what Indian Idol and Super Singer are loosely based on) has distorted the distribution of music.  The evening slot used to be the time that people, especially youngsters, could tune into music channels like MTV and discover new artists.  It was this way that Rabbi Shergill made a big splash with Bhulla Ki Jaana.  It was also how Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy gradually emerged and took over as music directors - by popularising remixes of classics under the label "Instant Karma".   Colonial Cousins, Lucky Ali, Biddu also enjoyed success as independent artists.   But if everybody is busy watching reality shows, where is the room for an independent artist to succeed.   Industry loves to blame downloading for their plight but as much as I agree that rampant internet piracy (as opposed to the pirated tapes of old) hurts, these music reality shows are an even bigger distraction.  Nobody is interested in pop music per se anymore; they just want to know who's done well in the ongoing reality show.   Winners or finalists of these shows can record a few songs (albums in the West) and spend the rest of the time touring on the strength of their popularity as one time winner/finalist.   

In short, identity (again) is out of the picture.  There are going to be no songs written FOR these singers (like say "One Moment In Time" for Whitney Houston); they are all just going to recite popular hits.   Reality shows have provided the final piece of the puzzle and completed the commoditization of music in a way that the music industry could never really achieve.   Consider that this year's no.1 album in the West, Unorthodox Jukebox (which itself is just Bruno Mars trying to imitate Police, MJ, Jamiroquai among others) has sold what 4 million copies.   Steely Dan's Aja sold as many in the 70s and they were supposed to be a bit too complex for pop tastes.

crimson king wrote:^^^  Indeed...to paraphrase IR, "Without composer, what will the singer do?" 

Hahahaha... I can totally imagine Raja saying that to a moronic interviewer who asks him "Saar, isai amaippAlarku mukhyathvamA illa pAdagarku mukhyathvamA".

I think that Airtel super singer-like shows are fine. But once you have identified a Priyanka or a Satya Prakash, what next for them? If creative composers or musicians are allowed to exist and flourish outside film music, these singers will always have the opportunity to record for them and have a much better chance of doing justice to their talent and promise. What we need then is for Vijaytv or their sponsors to get record labels to sign these singers, get a composer to write music that suits their range and voice etc etc....all too wishful in the age of commoditized music, I concede.

I don't have anything against the concept of a TV music show per se.   I loved watching Sa Re Ga Ma in the 90s and its current avatar Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is still the best Indian TV music show I have watched by a wide margin.  Last season was simply sensational with a pure Hindustani singer, a ghazal singer and one versatile all rounder who even did his own arrangements vying for the prize.   I have two specific objections to the American Idol format which is copied by Indian Idol and lately Super Singer also seems to be following the lead:

a)  They try to prioritize image over singing ability.   If you have seen Simon Cowell commenting on the contestants, he airily dismisses some of them as "this is out of date, won't work" blah blah.   So these shows try to fit contestants into a certain image of desirability, right down to how they dress, how they present themselves and the music they perform. There is very little room for establishing their identity in the way the show is organised.   Super Singer has been a little more benevolent and old fashioned in its approach but you can see that already in this season they have started talking about 'performance'.  I understand one and only thing by the word 'performance' in the context of singing, that is the vocal performance.   If a contestant is good at dancing and singing simultaneously, great.  But it cannot be a criterion to judge them.  

b) The sheer hype.  This is the main problem with these shows, shouting out things like "Tamilagathin brahmanda kural thedal" with that football announcer voice.  Again, SS is pretty soft in these aspects, the hype is much more in Indian Idol or the West.   The hype and marketing blitz gets people to watch these shows rather than say music videos of an upcoming artist on MTV.  American Idol is no longer just some music contest, it is a reality TV show and SS is gradually falling into that pattern as well.   What's so great about Susan Boyle.  As much as I empathised with her having to fight past appearance-based stereotypes, what's she got that any number of great UK artists haven't.  And yet, hers was the most successful debut album by a UK artist, beating out...er, Leona Lewis's own debut, another reality TV find.  Let's put things in perspective; Boyle may have a great voice, but she can't write music and even her repertoire is very limited.  It was earlier possible for artists to use media like TV to spread the word about their work and get more opportunities, a bigger audience.  Reality TV music shows have crowded them out of mainstream television, instead presenting a very stereotyped, packaged form of music that suits the TV format but has little lasting value.  I put the onus on people to not get swept away by these trends and find out about interesting artists by themselves.  But it's hard; most people are used to consuming whatever's on the mass media and won't make the effort to read online or other sources of info to learn about musicians.  So the system as it is now is loaded against artists and fully in favour of TV/entertainment giants like Sony.

fring151 wrote:Hahahaha... I can totally imagine Raja saying that to a moronic interviewer who asks him "Saar, isai amaippAlarku mukhyathvamA illa pAdagarku mukhyathvamA".

Actually, he said, "Without composer, what will award do?" in the ARR Oscar virundhu.    I just changed one word in that sentence for my context.

Clarification - I'm not against other state singers taking part in ANY music activity in TN (let alone some competitions on TV channels).

For that matter, MOST of my all-time-fav TFM singers are not maRaththamizharkaL
(SPB-SJ-KJY-KSC-TMS-PS-SG all in my personal hall of fame)

Also, from a narrow TFM-view point, I'm NOT a big fan of most maRaththamizh singers
(eeswariyammA, teacharammA, seerkAzhi ayyA...Of course, there're exceptions - I simply love MKT & IR)

The specific post was a critical reference to just two matters :
1. The stupid repeated announcements by the DJ as "தமிழகத்தின் பிரமாண்டக்குரல் தேடல்" while all the bramANdams are from other states
2. PJ choosing to blatantly promote Malalayam / Mallu singer on a Thamizh channel.

That's all your honor 

Please don't miss Sarath Santhosh singing enakkoru kaadhali irukkindraaL by one and only MSV sir. What a gem of a composition. Oh that magical sangathis by SPB and MSV. Sarath brought those memorable moments in front of us. Deserving winner this week. Still the appreciation from judges (except Unni) were not whole-hearted. There is no need to bring in Sathya Prakash when Sarath Santhosh is singing the same song. Very childish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-idjgY8aA4&list=PLsSTkBgqx7ovRwlVocNa6SFEDaKsUow4H

The judges were biased especially Sujatha and Srini in recent episodes. Unni is keeping and staying away from such controversies which is good and he is giving his honest opinions and corrections, very welcoming. I was on an impression that I am the only thinking this way about judges, but I see lot of YT comments reflecting the same thoughts. Please read the comments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgEP0k8hwz0&list=PLsSTkBgqx7ovRwlVocNa6SFEDaKsUow4H

May be Sujatha is reading these YT comments and today coming up with a blunt comment saying, 'I don't care' about favoring her favorite singer Parvathi. Good that she accepted her bias, but very bad example of a judge. Parvathi is excellent no doubt, but the comments from judges seems like they are pushing her to the finals today itself. The balance is not there, especially in front of other contestants. Even her throat problems comes to her rescue (in favor of her) while I doubt other contestants will have the same luxury. In that case, they would blame them saying they should not bring such issues to the table as this is a competition. But for Parvathi, they themselves answer that she is having a throat problem before she is even coming to express her which tells stories about their biasing behaviors.

First, one disclaimer - I have nothing against T L Maharajan. The songs he sang for IR are all my favourites ('andhi mazhai mEgam' from nAyakan is one very big fav - not just the song, the on-screen stuff too is among the best of TF/TFM IMHO).

Now, his repeating of something on this SS4 was somewhat disturbing to me

During the "ammA" round last week, he repeated what he said a few weeks earlier too - that of his having to work hard -to earn money to help the family- when his father's income flow "stopped". (I don't know whatever he meant - whether Tiruchi Loganathan became sick or lacked chances or could not sing or something else).

That is not bad, 11 year old son doing hard work when dad is not able to earn, taking care of mother / siblings - thus setting a great example for a boy! WOW!

I guess that is the message he wants to convey and also get some glory to himself.

Unfortunately, on each occasion, he also mentioned that his mother had 5 more prasavams after his dad stopped earning

While he claims it his "bAgyam" to help his mother deliver 5 babies, to a typical poRuppuLLa appan listening (i.e. me), it sounded as an insult to his appA

At the minimum, it didn't put Mr Tiruchy Loganathan (supposedly the FIRST playback singer of TF) in good light. I don't know if TLM did that deliberately or simply being overambitious to get some self-glory at the cost of his appan.

And it was the second time he narrated the same thing within a matter of weeks in the same program...soththakkadalai feeling.
(Interestingly, my wife scolded me "உங்களுக்கு மட்டும் தான் இப்படியெல்லாம் நெகடிவ்-ஆ தோணுது", that's why I made it an "appan feeling" )

Loving this week's super singer (despite any hidden agendas that might surface later, for now Raja songs, athu podhum). TL Mahalingam and SP Shailaja are "padhivu" senjufying their love for Raja:

http://www.tamiltwist.com/2013/10/super-singer-4-21-10-2013-vijay-tv-show.html

loved the portion where TL Mahalingam interuppted the hosts to talk about how Raja never makes 'corrections' after the notes are written down, and also Ae Zindagi recording, where the musicians apparently clapped non-stop for 5 mins after playing the first notes

vicks wrote:loved the portion where TL Mahalingam interuppted the hosts to talk about how Raja never makes 'corrections' after the notes are written down, and also Ae Zindagi recording, where the musicians apparently clapped non-stop for 5 mins after playing the first notes

When TLM was explaining this so sincerely, Bhavana cut him bluntly by saying a courtesy thanks and moved on.  She did not even understand the value of it. What a pity, we have to live among these kind of people.

Thanks for the share Vicks!  

Great song selection so far   and pleasantly surprised to see Srinivas and Sujatha gushing about IR songs. Wasn't too impressed by the singing though. Parvathi is my pick so far with Paruvame. The live orchestra is a bonus, though the string section has a less fuller sound in the absence of cellos/double bass. The guitarist was decent but the wah-wah effect lacked the growl it had in the original (Senorita). Flautists always do a commendable job in these stage orchestras...

Hope they cover at least some of the mid-late 90s and 2000s songs also in the next few days.

Very nice legato there on Paruvame and she tried to get the inflections instead of uppyfying the song. Yeah, hope they will not make it 80s raja only.

They said it will be songs from "mid-70 to mid-80" period. Loved the moment when Anitha and SPS sang Oru Kili Urugudhu together. Also, SPS mentioning about the harmony portion in Germaniyin and her desire to sing it as well, they truly love the songs they had sung for IR. 

Of the performances, Sai Vignesh didn't do much justice to Ilamaiyenum (had high expectations based on his rendering Vizhigal Meeno when SPB was there). The hosts are fit only for mokkai comments and don't have any sense to even comprehend IR's genius. Heard from Facebook that Prabhakar and Viji Manuel will come in this week, really looking forward to that.

Today's episode will probably remain my favourite, Mysskin's sheer presence has elevated it notches above the rest:

http://www.tamiltwist.com/2013/10/super-singer-4-22-10-2013-vijay-tv-show.html#more

the portion where he talks about how he convinced Raja to sign up for OAK moved me to tears  - such a sincere filmmaker and Raja fan.

Also loved how he interpreted KSY's singing in Poongatru to be like an angry bull ready to strike, and how the song has a tone of impending danger - this man gets Raja is all I can say.

Now listening to Nandala non-stop:
http://www.starmusiq.com/tamil_movie_songs_listen_download.asp?MovieId=58

rajkumarc wrote: Heard from Facebook that Prabhakar and Viji Manuel will come in this week, really looking forward to that.

Wow, that would be awesome.

I found Myskin a bit hilarious...his style of speaking was somewhat like an over excited child. I wonder if that is how he communicates with IR and how much patience IR must have, if that is so.

Yesterday, Diwakar nailed it and Sharad Santosh also did very well in spite of the hesitation in the pallavi.  I was not so enthused about Niranjana's performance...imo her voice is too kattai to sing such a dynamic song.  Nevertheless, she was energetic so to that extent it was much better than some very limp attempts of this song I have heard.

Well said V_S . Thalaattu ketka naanum - the way it was conceived is unbelievable. This sort of song creation is only IR possible. If you had watched Nandalala, the moment this song unfolds on screen, it would be impossible to hold yourself together and not cry, such an outstanding creation.

Just watched today's episode it was definitely an unforgettable one thanks to Myshkin. It's really gratifying to see him express his love, respect, admiration for Maestro in such an open way without any sort of inhibitions. I don't think it would have been possible for anyone to have reined him in, he was just pouring out and wholesome in his praise of the songs performed and also the singers. Loved SPS's gesture to ask comments about Poongatru song from Myshkin itself.

Loved Diwakar, Sonia and Sarath Santhosh's performances. Niranjana was OK, with her classical music upbringing, I thought she would render the carnatic aalap solo but wondered why the chorus joined in.

Not a big fan of drama generally and would cringe or laugh if someone were to gush about an actor like this. But I make an exception in IR's case for obvious reasons  . Melodramatic and funny though Myskin is at times, a lot of what he says makes sense. 

The orchestra was markedly better than yesterday, though they need to increase the volume of the bass guitar so that kids can see that the instrument had prominence even pre-1992.  . It was particularly inaudible in the opening of idhu oru niilA kAlam. Singers were all okish. Didn't really find anyone to be outstanding. Parvathi (paruvame) is still my pick so far.

And what is this mid 70s to mid 80s naansense . So not even late 80s songs allowed? Enna madathanam idhu 

V_S wrote:

When Mysskin expressed how thaalaattu kEtka naanum was born, I could not hold back my tears. How in the world one can start composing with lyrics, not just the opening lines, it was almost the entire pallavi/anupallavi.

He has spoken on this abroad once:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgOmyg2Ngms