Super "Stinker" is indeed "Junior"!!!

And the tagline goes…”Search for the Dear sweet voice of tamil nadu!! (thamizhagatthin Chella kuralukkaana thaedal!!) “ Long lines of little children yet to even shed their mischievous mask get ready to face their first ever competition in life. What is it that makes this sort of “reality” show a craze amongst children and their parents alike? The craving for media recognition; the desire to showcase your talents to the whole world and many similar reasons.

Many people are simply awed by this “novel” attempt bringing the talents hidden in every nook and corner of Tamil Nadu to the limelight. There are a few clarifications I would like to make to these fans. Firstly, Airtel Super Singer is not a novel attempt. The concept is simply lifted from Asianet’s “Idea Star Singer”, the leader of the present bandwagon of reality singing shows. It is about a decade old now and still going strong. Another misconception among the innocent viewers is the fact that the tension, the adrenaline and the seeming realness of the show are all transparent to the naked eye. Though there might be some amount of truth in this, there can be no doubt about the number of cuts, edits, pastes, shoots, takes and retakes involved in making this stunt.

Coming to the show itself, I have been watching the current season of super singer junior in a somewhat routine manner. The most annoying aspect of the show till date has been the comments passed by the judges, to be more specific, a particular ravishing female judge (of course, you are right!!!). One of the most atrocious ones go like this: “ oooh!! What a cute dress you are wearing!!” (this, after the candidate just finished singing… not after giving a fancy dress performance!!!). Then the more common quip: “waah!! The little sangadhis are perfectly falling in your voice.” First of all, will a 6 year old tot who might still be wetting his pants know the finer nuances of carnatic music such as “sangadhis”? Wont it be appropriate to give simple advice which enables the singer to improve his singing? Most of the viewers of the show will be laymen in the field of carnatic music or even music in general, so there is no point in giving these appraisals in front of the camera (unless of course, personal flaunt is the real reason behind it). Of course she is also the first person to stop a candidate in the middle of the song and correct it…whats more is that she sings the incorrect part herself so that the candidate might get the drift. Things will be easier and more relaxed for a participant if he is allowed to sing his portion completely and then getting his mistakes pointed out. But of course, being such a talented singer that she is, she simply can’t stand mistakes being committed on stage. She makes the legend of a singer like unni menon a completely silent lamb rather than handing over the reins to him. There is no way that she will discontinue judging or made to discontinue because she has that rare blend that very few singers possess…a good voice and stunning looks. Well what can you say other than… “oooh you look so beautiful!!! (of course comments on your singing are reserved….)