Shalini Saksena catches up with some of the contestants of Stage 3, an English singing reality show that aired on Colors Infinity, who talk about how it is not just Hindi songs but English as well that the audience love to hear
An English singing reality show, that too in its third seasonIJ For most people, the question would be do viewers actually watch such showsIJ The answer is yes. Given the success of the previous seasons, it was but natural for Season 3. The series is produced by Kamani Nirula Menezes of Sol Productions and is India’s first even home-grown English reality talent hunt show.
Zoe Siddhartha, a 19-year-old contestant tells you that for people like her who is solely a western singer before a platform like The Stage came, she didn’t know how to find a break into the industry. “For the western singers out there, this platform is a huge step in the right direction. It is a step forward for western singers to finally find an outlet to showcase their talent in India for western music. When I look at myself, I was stuck, didn’t know what to do, where to go since Hindi is where all the action happens. When Stage was announced for the first time it was huge since it is a show only for English singing. Now, after being a part of Stage 3, it has given me a direction and exposure into a field in which you want to make a career of,” Zoe says. She has been singing since she was five and pursuing a degree in music in Singapore and trying to make a career in music now.
Siddhant Sharma, winner of Season 3, says that given that Indians are listening to everything, one just has to be open to any kind of music. “For example, Rihanna has written a song about extorting money and another on physical abuse because she has different listeners to cater to. Someone may not be interested in listening to a song on physical abuse but may find a connect with the other song. There is need to cater to different people. Sometimes it is not about choice but because one has to do it,” he says.
For 20-year-old Arish Bhiwandiwala, who grew up watching Hindi song talent hunt shows always wanted to sing English songs but felt there was little scope in India. “First came SaReGaMaPa then came other singing reality show but all in Hindi. So even if one wants to be an English singer, there is no way one can know how to go about pursuing a career and be successful. But platforms like The Stage, it gave an opportunity to singers like us and several others who got an opportunity to show their talent. Season 1 showed the way for the others what to do. Even though it is a competition, it gives one the motivation to go out there and try out since it gives the confidence that I am not alone who wants to make a career in western music in India. From this perspective, the platform is brilliant and gives an outlet for artists like myself,” Arish says.
Interestingly, Zoe, Siddhant, Shaurya Singh (20), Urgen Yolmo (25) and Arish believe that music helps people get over a bad patch in their lives. “I believe that music is nothing but expressions. When we talk, we are talking in tunes which is nothing but notes. Take Siddhant for example, he sings a lot of rock with extremes of emotions. This is music too but for a different set of audience who love it. But if I were to sing I would sing something that is extremely slow with just one instrument in the background — this would cater to a different audience altogether. Also, no two singers are alike; we are sometimes sad, angry or even happy. With each emotion, we listen to a different song. So it is not one set of music that people listen to,” Arish opines, who is pursuing his studies in mass media and has been singing since he was three.
For Siddhant, it was not so much whether he would win but to send rock and roll out to listeners since it is not something that happens in the mainstream. “The minute you start thinking about a goal one will only work towards that and nothing else.
“One is not going to do things to go beyond. My focus for the show was how to move forward. Stage 3 was more than a competition for me,” Siddhant says that tells you that what is important for him and his co-contestants is to just go out there and give as many performances as possible.
Money doesn’t come into the pictures for these artists, they leave it to their managers to look how they can make money.
“If it was just about making money, why would we choose a form of music which has such a small reachIJ Our aim is to spread western music and how well we can contribute towards it,” Urgen says who doesn’t remember a time when he was not doing music.
“The biggest gift that people can to an artist is to enjoy his music,” Siddhant says.