Airtel Super Singer
| Airtel Super Singer | |
|---|---|
| Presented by |
Chinmayi (2006-2008) Malini Yugendran (2009) Sivakarthikeyan & Divya (2010-2011) Ma ka pa Anand & Bhavana (2013-2014) Ma ka pa Anand, Priyanka Deshpande, & Bhavana (2015-2016) |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language(s) | Tamil தமிழ் |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
| Running time | 1 hour |
| Release | |
| Original network | STAR Vijay |
| Original release | 2006 – Present |
Airtel Super Singer - Thamizhagathin Brahmaanda kuralukkana Thedal ("the search for the greatest voice of Tamil Nadu") is a reality TV singing competition in the Tamil language that is sponsored by the mobile service provider Bharti Airtel. The show is televised in India on Vijay TV, and worldwide through partner broadcasting networks. The show, together with its spin-off editions such as Airtel Super Singer Junior, are part of Vijay TV's Super Singer TV series.
The program, which debuted in 2006, seeks to discover the best playback recording voice and singing talent in Tamil Nadu through a series of statewide auditions. Selected contestants are required to participate in a number of competition rounds, often based on a theme for a given week, and aim to be selected to perform in the show's grand finale each season.
Winners and finalists of the competition have been offered chances to sing a song in upcoming Tamil movies,[1][2][3] and othe prizes such as sums of money, gold, and real estate property.
Season synopsis
| Grand Finalists | |
| Season 1 (2006) | |
| Nikhil Mathew | Winner |
| Anitha V. Karthikeyan | Runner up & Viewer's Choice |
| Sowmya Mahadevan | Jury's Choice |
| Season 2 (2008) | |
| Ajeesh | Winner |
| Ravi | Runner-up |
| Renu | 3rd Place |
| Prasanna | Eliminated in Finals |
| Ranjani | Eliminated in Finals |
| Season 3 (2010-2011) | |
| Saicharan | Winner & Viewer's Choice |
| Santosh Hariharan | Runner-up |
| Sathya Prakash | 3rd place & Judge's Choice |
| Pooja Vaidyanath | Eliminated in Finals |
| Season 4 (2013-2014) | |
| Diwakar | Winner & Viewer's Choice |
| Syed Subahan | First Runner Up & Judge's Choice |
| Sarath Santosh | Second Runner Up |
| Sonia | Third Runner Up |
| Parvathy | Eliminated in Finals |
| Season 5 (2015-2016) | |
| Anand Aravindakshan | Winner |
| Fareedha | First Runner Up |
| Rajaganapathy | Second Runner Up & Judges' Choice |
| Lakshmi Pradeep | Fourth place |
| Siyad | Fifth Place |
Season 1
The first season premiered on 28 April 2006, with a series of episodes which telecast auditions for the show.[4] Auditions were held across the state of Tamil Nadu in the cities of Coimbatore, Chennai, and Madurai. Performances by auditioning contestants were judged by singers S. P. Sailaja, Jency, Malaysia Vasudevan, Sirkazhi Sivachidambaram, Mahathi, and music director D. Imman.[5]
The show was hosted by playback singer Chinmayi. Later stages of the competition were held at a specially designed studio set, and performances were judged by a panel of permanent judges consisting of playback singers Anuradha Sriram, Srinivas, and Unnikrishnan.[4] Contestants were eliminated during the competition, and finalists received special training from voice expert Ananth Vaidyanathan in the final stages of the competition.
Season 1 title winner Nikhil Mathew was formally introduced as a playback singer after he sang the song "Enadhuyire" in the Tamil film Bheema for music director, Harris Jayaraj.[6][7] Season 1 runner up and viewer's choice, Anitha V. (now known as Anitha Karthikeyan) was formally introduced as a playback singer in the Tamil film Marudhamalai by music director D. Imman.[6][8]
Season 2
The second season premiered on 7 July 2008, with a series of episodes which telecast auditions for the show. Auditions for the show, which commenced on 27 June 2008, were held across three cities in the state of Tamil Nadu. Performances by auditioning contestants were judged by playback singers S. P. Sailaja & Srilekha Parthasarathy in the city of Coimbatore, Sunitha Sarathy and Deepan Chakravarthy in the city of Chennai, as well as Mahathi & Mathangi in the city of Trichy.
Playback singer Chinmayi returned as a permanent host of the show up to and including 21 January 2009, following which she left the show much to the disappointment of many fans of the show. She was replaced by a duo, singer-actor Yugendran and his wife Malini for the remainder of the show in 2009. Playback singers Unnikrishnan and Srinivas returned as permanent judges of the show, and a new permanent judge, playback singer Sujatha replaced Anuradha Sriram (who instead appeared as a guest judge through the season). Contestants were eliminated during the competition, and finalists received special training from voice expert Ananth Vaidyanathan in the final stages of the competition.
Ajeesh won the competition and was chosen by Yuvan Shankar Raja to sing the song Idhu Varai for the soundtrack of Tamil film, Goa.[9][10]
Season 3
The auditions were held in various parts of Tamil Nadu, and were judged by singers including S. P. Sailaja, Nithyasree Mahadevan, Unni Menon, Sowmya, Harish Raghavendra, Pop Shalini, Mahathi, and Malgudi Shubha. Sujatha, Unnikrishnan and Srinivas continued to be the permanent judges for the second consecutive season.
Saicharan won the competition,[11] and was chosen by A. R. Rahman and D. Imman to sing in the films Godfather, Manam Kothi Paravai, and Saattai.
Season 4
The auditions were held in various parts of Tamil Nadu, and were judged by singers including S. P. Sailaja, Nithyasree Mahadevan, Unni Menon, Sowmya, Devan Ekambaram, Pop Shalini, Mahathi, Malgudi Shubha and Ananth Vaidyanathan. Sujatha, Unnikrishnan and Srinivas continued to be the permanent judges for the third consecutive season.
Diwakar won the competition,[12][13][14] and was chosen by music directors D. Imman, Vivek-Mervin, and Kannan to sing in the films Panjumittai, Vadacurry, and Kalkandu.
Season 5
The show is hosted by Priyanka Deshpande, Makapa Anand, and Bhavna Balakrishnan.
The auditions were held in various parts of Tamil Nadu, and were telecast until 3 July. First round audition judges included season 3 winner Saisharan, season 4 winner Diwakar, and former contestants from those seasons such as D. Sathyaprakash, Pooja Vaidyanath, Santhosh Hariharan, and Sonia. Second and third round audition judges included S. P. Charan, Pushpavanam Kuppusamy, Devan Ekambaram, James Vasanthan, Mahathi, S. Sowmya, and Pop Shalini. Zonal audition judges were permanent judges from the junior version of the show, Malgudi Shubha, Mano, and K. S. Chithra. A total of 33 contestants were selected for the finals, including local, international, and former contestants.
At the finale of the show, contestant Anand Aravindakshan was declared as the winner of the season, while contestant Fareedha was declared first runner-up. Both finalists were promised an opportunity to sing for one of the upcoming films of music director Santhosh Narayanan. Contestant Rajaganapathy was chosen as the judge's choice scoring the highest marks, and being declared the second runner-up of the season.
The season landed in controversy as social media users accused the STAR Vijay Indian TV channel of wrongdoing.[15] Social media users expressed concern that audiences whom spent time and money to support talented youngsters were the victim of unethical practices, and criticised the channel for not being upfront about the fact that the winning contestant was already a professional playback singer - which was defended by the channel.[15]
References
- ↑ "The Hindu - A musical search". The Hindu. 2008-06-30. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ↑ "Airtel supersinger is back – Economic Times". The Economic Times. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ↑ "The Hindu - SERIALS - Super Singer 2008". The Hindu. 2009-03-13. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- 1 2 "Indian Television Dot Com _ Vijay TV's 'Airtel Super Singer' announces 20 selected finalists from Coimbatore". IndianTelevision.com. 2006-05-03. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
- ↑ "Winning Voices - The Hindu". The Hindu. 2006-07-15. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- 1 2 U Tejonmayam (2009-02-10). "Getting the big break – The New Indian Express". New Indian Express. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ↑ "Thank you for the music - The Hindu". The Hindu. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ↑ "Always on song – The New Indian Express". Times of India. 2014-12-21. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ↑ IndiaGlitz - Goa Music Review
- ↑ IndiaGlitz - From the Goa front
- ↑ palPalani (2011-09-23). "Airtel Super Singer 3 finalists". Southdreamz.com. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
- ↑ Udhav Naig (3 February 2014). "The victory song - The Hindu". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
- ↑ "Dhivagar is Super Singer 4". Times of India. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ↑ "Winning notes". The Hindu. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- 1 2 Udhav Naig (2016-03-23). "Super Singer programme lands in controversy". The Hindu. India. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
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