Airtel Super Singer 2008 - Western Round!!!

Rarely do I want to be specific or point out the exact details, this is one such occasion! This show that I've mentioned is a popular show in the Tamil Media Industry, and has been running for quite long now. But there have been such incidents that have degraded its value, I only wish to bring those to light, so people know, get aware and accept the reality.

Some episodes ago, ex-judge Anuradha Sriram was invited as a Special Judge to the show. Given all the differences in opinion, the judges need to be sophisticated enough to know what to speak & what not to. You find Srinivas and Anuradha Sriram in a fierce battle towards the end of the episode, when there was a clash to decide on elimination between two candidates! Such outwardly tiffs/clashes, only speak ill of the maturity and understanding of the judges. Beyond all favoritism, I think they should also be careful to avoid such clashes in future, and for that matter, any show should be aware of such possible situations, and try to make the better of those situations.

That being just an incident, there was something that was troubling me even more. The last 2 rounds that have been relayed, "The Classical Round" & "The Western Round". First, it is a big mistake to have such rounds as these, when the judges themselves lack expertise in these fields. It is more insensible when you get to know that the participants are equally incompetent.

In the classical round, those of them who have had training in Classical Music would definitely have an edge over the others. Criticism would only humiliate and demean those without the training. If they could come up with the conclusion that they ought to retain everyone (don't know what got the better of them, but they thought & decided this round cannot decide on elimination) , they should have been wiser to not include this round in the first place! What is more embarrassing, is when you find that the judges themselves are not competent enough to review and comment in this round.

As for the western round, all is fine as long as people sing Tamil songs. The problem arises when they try out the English ones. To be more precise, Ravi's song "In the End" was such a pathetic performance, that I was fuming when I saw everyone applauding that performance. If only someone has heard that song at least once, they'd know at once. Even Ranjini's song from Abba was bad. Why do these people have to prove themselves at everything? More critical is the lack of proper criticism from the Judges. There was one performance previously by, I forgot his name, on "Summer Of 69", and I can't believe the acclaim he got, despite it being only an average performance, to the extent that they now call him "Something Adams"!
Agreed, these people are "greats" at classical and filmi music of the Indian Industry, but to blindly extend their scope to all genres of music and still get appreciation instead of proper criticism looks lame.

My point is, this show must be looking to showcase the abilities of each individual whilst also developing them into good professionals. More importantly, the review panel needs to be well acquainted with all genres of Music, but what is more critical is the unbiased and true comments and reviews!

P.S. That "Adams guy" is gonna sing the Hotel California next episode, and I can hardly imagine what it's gonna sound like!