Amrita TV Superstar Junior 2, Music Reality Show Audition rounds!
Me and Alex Paul
Recently, I had the opportunity to be the main judge for the audition rounds of the musical reality show "Superstar Junior-2 on Amrita TV" for children aged between 10-15. My journey ended abruptly with the audition rounds for reasons beyond my control though and I would have loved to be there for the whole show as I really do miss the kids whom I selected. I think the audition rounds where we had to select 15 out of almost 1000 odd children was the most toughest part as it always needs you have to give every bit of your energy, concentration and attention to the aspirants and see that the final 15 are really fit to be in the show. Now when I see my kids performing, I am proud to say that I really have been able to do full justice to the job that was entrusted upon me.
The audition rounds started from Calicut where I was teamed up with "Alex Paul", the biggest hit maker in recent times with the fim "Classmates". This time we did not want any child to leave the selection round in tears. We took all care to give every "singing" child enough opportunity to convince their talent. I would like to point out that you can clearly tell if one is a real singer or a bathroom singer just by hearing a line or two. This time we did not make the kids to sing alone. We made groups and then there were ice breaking methods like group singing, clapping, meditation, breathing techniques etc. to make them comfortable before they sang. Confidence is the most important aspect for any singer and if it is low then eventually singing suffers. We selected around 20 from Calicut. It was from here that we had the cream of the 15 those who are in the show now. Some of the amazing singers we discovered from Calicut were Parvathy, Manu, Varsha, Shafaz Ibi, Sangeeth and Rafna.
Next we were in Cochin and noted singer "Biju Narayanan" gave me company. We selected around 20 from there too and here, where we discovered Anjali who has one of the sweetest voices and cutest smiles among the participants. We also had the versatile Priya Jerson and Anjana with a lovely voice.
Thiruvananthapuram was next and noted playback singer "Arundhati" was with me as the judge. We also found some awesome talents like Nandana, Anakha, Vaisakhy, Sidharth, Anvar and Sreekanth.
Finally we had shortlisted our 60 aspirants from the 1000 we heard all over Kerala and it was left to me and "Mejo Joseph" noted Music Director (Notebook, Cycle fame) to prune them to 15. We started by hearing all the 60 aspirants again and then reduced them to 30. After that our job was almost impossible. Here we had 30 singers who were equally talented and the differences between them were minimal. But then years of experience gives you the extra sensory perception to sniff out the best with some divine interception. From here on I think it was the greatest Guru of all who sits there and sees all our tamasha who took over and made us take all the right steps. Even then I am terribly sad at leaving out some amazing singers from the 30 as we had our job cut out; select 15 who were extremely good singers, and would be potentially good performers.
All of us were amazed by the talent, skill and maturity of these kids who are our future. Many of them, we felt were beyond their tender age in terms of skill and maturity.
The audition rounds started from Calicut where I was teamed up with "Alex Paul", the biggest hit maker in recent times with the fim "Classmates". This time we did not want any child to leave the selection round in tears. We took all care to give every "singing" child enough opportunity to convince their talent. I would like to point out that you can clearly tell if one is a real singer or a bathroom singer just by hearing a line or two. This time we did not make the kids to sing alone. We made groups and then there were ice breaking methods like group singing, clapping, meditation, breathing techniques etc. to make them comfortable before they sang. Confidence is the most important aspect for any singer and if it is low then eventually singing suffers. We selected around 20 from Calicut. It was from here that we had the cream of the 15 those who are in the show now. Some of the amazing singers we discovered from Calicut were Parvathy, Manu, Varsha, Shafaz Ibi, Sangeeth and Rafna.
Next we were in Cochin and noted singer "Biju Narayanan" gave me company. We selected around 20 from there too and here, where we discovered Anjali who has one of the sweetest voices and cutest smiles among the participants. We also had the versatile Priya Jerson and Anjana with a lovely voice.
Thiruvananthapuram was next and noted playback singer "Arundhati" was with me as the judge. We also found some awesome talents like Nandana, Anakha, Vaisakhy, Sidharth, Anvar and Sreekanth.
Finally we had shortlisted our 60 aspirants from the 1000 we heard all over Kerala and it was left to me and "Mejo Joseph" noted Music Director (Notebook, Cycle fame) to prune them to 15. We started by hearing all the 60 aspirants again and then reduced them to 30. After that our job was almost impossible. Here we had 30 singers who were equally talented and the differences between them were minimal. But then years of experience gives you the extra sensory perception to sniff out the best with some divine interception. From here on I think it was the greatest Guru of all who sits there and sees all our tamasha who took over and made us take all the right steps. Even then I am terribly sad at leaving out some amazing singers from the 30 as we had our job cut out; select 15 who were extremely good singers, and would be potentially good performers.
All of us were amazed by the talent, skill and maturity of these kids who are our future. Many of them, we felt were beyond their tender age in terms of skill and maturity.
I should also wish to add that the whole crew led by Producerr/Director "Madanan" and the young Assistant Director "Nidheesh" (Nidheesh was one of the finalists of the first Musical reality show of Kerala Amrita T.V Super Star) were very enthusiastic and co-operative throughout. It was really a joy to work with such a young vibrant team!
I feel that this is the best reality show after Amrita TV Superstar I and ASIANET ISS 2007. Everything is good about it. Simplicity, Presentation, Elegance of the sets, Camera work, Excellent Orchestra Support, Sound quality, Editing.... everything is top class. I am sure that these kids would give the judges a run for their money as they would have to be vigilant always and would have a very tough time trying to find out who sang better than whom :)
I request all music lovers to watch the program which is being telecast on all days except Saturday's and Sunday's at 8.00 P.M. I assure you that you would understand why I am being so passionate about it.
All the major performances are being uploaded regularly by Amrita TV JSS2 team on YouTube and can be found here.
You Tube Videos: http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=8BUsRrX5kSA
The video that I have embedded below shows one of the best performances so far. She is going to be the one to watch out for. I need not say more. The gestures by the judges say it all! And mind you....she is only 13 years of age!!
I feel that this is the best reality show after Amrita TV Superstar I and ASIANET ISS 2007. Everything is good about it. Simplicity, Presentation, Elegance of the sets, Camera work, Excellent Orchestra Support, Sound quality, Editing.... everything is top class. I am sure that these kids would give the judges a run for their money as they would have to be vigilant always and would have a very tough time trying to find out who sang better than whom :)
I request all music lovers to watch the program which is being telecast on all days except Saturday's and Sunday's at 8.00 P.M. I assure you that you would understand why I am being so passionate about it.
All the major performances are being uploaded regularly by Amrita TV JSS2 team on YouTube and can be found here.
You Tube Videos: http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=8BUsRrX5kSA
The video that I have embedded below shows one of the best performances so far. She is going to be the one to watch out for. I need not say more. The gestures by the judges say it all! And mind you....she is only 13 years of age!!
Parvathy Singing "Oru Sanam" in the Second Round
Photo & Video: Credits-Amrita T.V
Labels: Amrita TV, Junior Superstar, Parvathy
posted by Pradip Somasundaran at 3:10 PM
6 comments
