You have been judging reality shows off and on. How does it feel to be the coach of a reality music show?
As a coach there is certainly a lot of responsibility involved, but at the same time it’s easier when you know your job. However, being the coach, I am involved in things such as selecting songs, figuring scales, thinking how we can add a twist to it, how we can enhance the performance and decide on a few variations that the contestants can do. I do have a little experience of being a coach and I’m going to put that in to practice to make the role even bigger and better. A lot of time and energy needs to be put into this, and I want to be able to be there for the contestants.
Why did you choose to be a part of the reality show The Voice India?
The Voice is an extremely popular format globally. It’s the most sought after show for any singer musician. If you want to be on television and on a music show it has to be The Voice India!
What is so different about The Voice India from other reality music shows?
Every round is exciting – very different and innovative. The blind auditions itself is an amazing concept because it’s just your ears and your instinct that you rely on. Even when we make the teams, one needs to make sure that what you have heard is not repetitive adding versatility within the talent. Going forward it will always get more interesting as it proceeds. But, of course, one needs to use a lot of their singing experience as well as logic to make it happen.
What kind of talent do you always look for in your team?
I look for talent who are all-rounders.Which means that I will prefer someone who is not a specialist or one dimensional. Someone who is comfortable across genres and can add to versatility is who I will be looking out for.
Have you followed all the international editions? Who has been your favourite coach?
I have never followed an entire season. But whenever I sit to watch an episode of The Voice, I get immersed into it and it is a lot of fun. I have watched a lot of episodes with Shakira and I thought she was brilliant because there was no wall between her and the contestant. Though they were all so enamored by her, she quickly made friends and created a kind of bonding, it’s fantastic watching her train them and she is so amazingly talented, it’s fantastic.
Why do we not see the contestants being judged on their expertise in classical but on the basis of performance on popular numbers?
Within popular songs you will find folk, you will find classical, you will find these genres that have been very smartly infused by composers over the years. Being an entertainment GEC channel, you can’t do something that is absolutely unheard of or very vague. You can bring in freshness to the same song by giving it a twist, by making it sound new, sound different and that’s what we’re trying to do. You don’t feel that it’s the same song again, sung the same way and you don’t choose the songs that have been done to death. At the same time, I wouldn’t sing a song that would completely switch my audience off. It won’t work for the show neither for the talent. In all these years you realize that there are certain things that you need to adhere to, you need to stick to and within that how much freshness you can bring in, how much you can play around with it. It’s all a matter of audience preference. So it’s very dynamic, things change, you never know tomorrow maybe a classical show might just become popular.
What challenges do you give to enhance the singer’s talent?
I will definitely not want to stress them out and I don’t want them to tire their voices, so it’s not going to be very rigorous.At the same time, I want to keep them engaged and not lose focus. I would certainly want a lot of cohesive learning to happen from within the team.
I think for me to be who I am, whether it‘s on TV or a live show or in person, its very important because there is no pressure of pretending.
What kind of mentor do you think you are?
I want to be approachable and be very connected so that they don’t feel that they can’t contact me. Very honestly, I feel that one needs to have that student alive within, only then will you be able to mentor and guide the other person because you yourself are learning so much in the process.
Is judging an aspiring talent based on his/her voice restrictive?
I have been judging talent for a while now and I don’t use contact lenses or wear my glasses, so most often I judge blind (laughs). I have been judging on the basis of the voice. I think it makes a lot more sense as you can be influenced by the body language, by the confidence that the person is showing physically, which may not be shown in the voice. You can also be influenced by knowing the fact that the person may not be comfortable with the genre and has still made the effort and done it. It’s much more objective when you only hear the voice.
Is there any particular reason for you being a part of reality shows?
It’s just that I enjoy it, because I enjoy interacting with people. Being a part of television is a lot of fun. Earlier, when I was a host, I got to meet a lot of great maestros and legends of this industry. You get to learn a lot and you have to have some discipline of being there through long rigorous hours and at the end of the day, getting visibility on television is also something that helps an artist. But at the end of the day, I think for me to be who I am, whether it is on television or a live show or even in person, it is very important because there is no pressure of pretending. I like being myself and luckily being myself has worked for me. So I will stick to it.
