Maestro ilaiyaraaja news & titbits

[rajsekar]

I am sure that all of you were following Airtel Super Singer Season 4. What a terrific show and amazing set of finalists!!! Three singers were exceptionally great, but of course only one of them took the trophy. Their tonal depth, voice modulation and range of genres were so good. My three favorites are Parvathi, Santosh and Diwakar. Diwakar won the final prize with an incredible performance of "Bale Paandiya" song which was rendered flawlessly and the audience got bowled over. All three of them have sung some of the best songs of Maestro right from the beginning of the competition. If I am correct, Diwakar has rendered the maximum number of Maestro's songs. I somehow started rooting for Diwakar since September and predicted that he would easily win the Season 4 title. Of course his entire native town and folks prayed for him and ensured that he got the maximum number of votes. Santosh narrowly lost the top prize because of his final song selection. "Naan Kadavul" masterpiece was rendered flawlessly by Santosh but the chorus singers took 50% of the credit. Santosh should have selected another song.

Diwakar sounds like Shankar Mahadevan and SPB depending on the song he renders. Listen to his rendition of Rhythm and Nizhalgal songs. Rahman requested Diwakar to sing a second song which was very rare. Diwakar's rendition of Kaathala Kaathala and Aanpaavam songs was terrific. It's all the more surprising that Diwakar has no formal music knowledge and training. I am confident that Diwakar would come up as the next SPB or Hariharan. It's always awesome to listen to Maestro's haunting melodies when these budding singers render the songs. Srinivas's comment for Nizhalgal song was the best so far - the best opening BGM in Indian film music combining Carnatic based song and strings. Mysskin's 120 repeats of the same song is what we all used to do in college days. I am eager to hear Diwakar singing for Maestro.