MAESTRO ILAIYARAAJA NEWS & TITBITS VER.2010-2011

[raj_musing]

Never knew that kalpana was a playback singer. No wonder she has sung that song with so much ease..

[app_engine]

Thank you raj_musing for the excellent links, I've posted my observations on "last song heard" thread

If Kalpana is a PB singer, should she be taking part in such competitions? Confusing...IMO, she should be screened off in competitions for amateurs as techincally she has already turned into a professional.

In any case, "kavidhai kELungaL" is a fantastic performance!

[V_S]

Yes a_e, that was my doubt too, why she is participating in that event, as she is already a PB singer. May be she wants to showcase her talent in kerala, so that she gets recognition/chances there as well, just my thought. Kavithai Kelungal is a fantastic performance indeed.

[Sureshs65]

Not only Kalpana but I also remember seeing another playback singer, Sangeetha, participating in the selections round and getting selected. She is the one who has sung 'odathandil' from 'Pazhassi Raja'. Don't know what AsiaNet's policy is in these matters.

[Plum]

Is she actually competing? This programme has a history of getting past participants and othwrs to provide support in a particu

[V_S]

Yes, she was even given marks by the three judges and the guest judge (which happen to be another Kalpana, actress ). Sarath and Chitra even mentioned few points about her singing. May be you are referring to the fourth guest judge being a past participant? Ore confusing pa

[raj_musing]

The program had a couple of other play back singers...Though I don't watch this regularly,I remember the initial episodes where a few of them were introduced on stage as playback singers...Not sure if they are eliminated now
Anyway ISS season 5 will be the last of its kind as IDEA wants to withraw now ; as the popularity of this program has come down due to its monotonous format and presentation...So we may not see this program next year or perhaps we can expect a show in a completely different format...

However not to miss the "Ilayaraja hits" round, in the coming days as the judges definitely will have more tidbits to share...

[SVN]

While one may argue that Kalpana has sung for films and hence should not be considered for this singing contest, we have to also consider her relative 'position'. She is not an established singer by any means, has only sung a couple of (insignificant) numbers. This is probably her attempt at breaking into the mainstream and gaining acceptance in the Malayalam film industry. For a change, let's have a Tamil singer cross over to Kerala! Her rendition of Kavithai KeLungaL in this episode was nothing but spectacular. The judges I thought were much too conservative in their ratings! I thought it was a near perfect, live rendition of a very difficult song. Looking forward to her other numbers.

PS: Last year's Indian Idol winner Sreeramachandra Mynampati from Hyderabad had already sung for a couple of (insignificant) Telugu numbers before he entered the contest.

[raj_musing]

Interesting info on polyrythmic arrangements and the songs using it:-Ravi is providing a lot of insights into the technical aspects of the composition!

http://geniusraja.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html

[raj_musing]

Also I was carried away by this post in that forum:-

I do not do any fusion work. Fusion implies that you are mixing two things. I see my music (Indian) in your music (Western)
-Ilayaraja to Paul Lyman

Wonderful and only a true genius can talk in this way!