ADITI SARAWAGI
Reality TV Singers
Who Made it Big
S
inging reality shows have been a huge craze from time
immemorial, be it Antakshari hosted by Anu Kapoor
or the evergreen Sa Re Ga Ma. These shows became a
stepping stone for many artists who are successful today. Mohan from Aasma has sung for the biggies including
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and A.R.Rahman. She was
honoured with the RD Burman Award for her exceptional
performances.
Not many people will remember that one of the successful
singers today is a former reality television show contestant.
None other than Arijit Singh had taken part in Fame
Gurukul and believe it or not lost the show but we all know
that the rest is history. Sunidhi Chauhan is another
brilliant singer who was first discovered by music
director Aadesh Shrivastava on the DD National show
Meri Aawaz Suno. When it comes to reality shows, it seems like Indian Idol
is on top with so many singers accomplishing so much in
their field of choice. Swaroop Khan from Rajasthan found
his dream on the stage of Indian Idol and has sing for the
likes of Aamir Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Sreerama
Chandra won Indian Idol 5 and has been a regular on the
music circuit ever since.
One of the first reality shows on television was on Channel
V whose ‘Popstars’ became a cult show giving us two hugely
popular bands Viva and Aasma. The first name which
comes to mind has to be Anushka Manchanda from Viva.
She sings for Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and even Kannada films!
Her multilingual talent has helped her carve her own niche
in this industry. Another Viva member, Neha Bhasin has
a successful career with multiple songs in the Hindi as well
as Telegu cinema. She has won several awards and also
creates her own music apart from singing in movies. Neeti
Indian Idol 2 especially has given many gems to the music
industry. Monali Thakur, daughter of singer Shakti
Thakur, got her first break with Anu Malik who was one
of the judges of the reality show. She has even won the
National Award and has many songs to her credit. Nakash
Aziz, also from the second season has assisted A.R.Rahman
in many films like Highway, Rockstar and even Delhi
6. He is also an accomplished singer and his live shows
are phenomenal. Indian Idol 2 has also given the music
industry Neha Kakkar, who is very well known as a
playback as well as an independent singer. She is also much
loved as a reality show judge herself these days. One cannot
forget to mention Antara Mitra who has also made a name
for herself as a successful playback singer.
Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa has also given the Indian
music industry many singers. First and foremost
has to be Shreya Ghoshal who was given her first
playback offer by none other than Sanjay Leela
Bhansali for Devdas and she has not looked back
since then having even received a National award
along with several other accolades. She has become
one of tinsels towns most loved singers and has
several awards to her credit. Bela Shende is
another Sa Re Ga Ma Pa winner who has been
singing for Hindi as well as South films for
esteemed music directors like A.R. Rahman and
Ilayaraja. Her films include Paheli, Jodha Akbar
and even the recent Mohenjodaro. Altamash
Faridi, also one of the contestants on the show
has been a regular playback singer with songs in
No Problem, Gunday, Bajirao Mastani, and
Begum Jaan.
Singers form a huge part of the music as well as
the film industry and reality shows have made a
huge difference in bridging the gap between the
artists and the audience.
26
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