Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (AM)

Mangaluru, May 31: Over the decade, television has been flooded with singing reality shows for search of talent across the country. From classical singers to folk artistes, the reality shows in Indian television promote top talents across the globe. Among many such shows, 'Daijiworld Studio Voice' contest produced by Daijiworld Audio Visual Studio and aired on Daijiworld 24x7 channel, stands out for giving a platform to talented singing sensations putting the country on the global map. The highly entertaining show is all set to host its grand finale on June 4.

'Daijiworld Studio Voice', the city's first-of-its-kind singing reality contest, is an exceptional music talent hunt where aspiring singers above the age of 15 could sing in Hindi, Kannada, Tulu, Konkani and Beary languages. Aired on Daijiworld 24x7 channel every Sunday at 9 pm, the show garnered excellent reviews.

The show has brought aspiring singers of astonishing quality, on par with any national-level contest. After gruelling rounds right from the auditions, now six finalists - Nihal Tauro, Neha Bekal, Vijeth Ullal, Pallavi from Udupi, Vidyashree Acharya from Kalladka, and Shiny Pereira from Vamanjoor - are ready to give each other some tough competition to be crowned the first ever 'Daijiworld Studio Voice - 2016'.

From top left: Neha Bekal, Nihal Tauro, Pallavi, Shiny Pereira, Vidyashree Acharya and Vijeth Ullal 

Overwhelming response

The audition round at Rohan Corporation, Balmatta last year received outstanding response with contestants thronging the venue from various parts of the state. Contestants of various age groups and backgrounds participated with much enthusiasm. Famous music director in Kannada and Tulu film industries, Rajesh M, who was the judge, selected the best who proceeded to the studio round which was a big opportunity for the aspiring singers. M Dolvin Kolalgiri, a well-known composer-music director, rendered excellent service as the musician in the audition studio.

The second round saw the top 60 particpants going through to the studio round singing at Daijiworld's Audio-Visual Studio, judged by very famous sitar player Ustad Rafique Khan, classical singer of Basthikar Bhajana Mandali Vidushi Basty Kavitha Shenoy, and versatile singer and Kannada music director Yashwanth M G Acharya. The three judges mentored the final 30 particpants in third round which saw the best twenty compete against each other in the semi-finals. The final six are now ready for the grand finale.

'Daijiworld Studio Voice - 2016' winner will even take home a cash prize of Rs 50,000 and will also get an opportunity to sing for a movie. The second and third prize winners will be get cash prizes of Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively, and all the top three contestants will get trophies.

What judges, contestants say on 'Daijiworld Studio Voice'

One of the finalists, Pallavi, pointing the fact about singing in a studio says, "While I have taken part in other singing shows where we get to sing on stage, 'Daijiworld Studio Voice' is the only show where we got to sing in a studio which itself was a great opportunity. The contestants here came to know different styles of singing. Even the smallest of mistakes in singing can be made out quickly in studio singing. So, there is more scope for correction. the thre mentors also helped us a lot. Unlike other shows, there were many rounds here which could filter the best to the finale. We all got the opportunity to sing different types of songs. In all, it was all exciting for all the contestants. Thanks to Daijiworld for giving us all this wonderful opportunity."

One of the three judges, Yashwanth Acharya feels that 'Daijiworld Studio Voice' is a unique show in the region which can produce sensational talents. "All due to the efforts of Daijworld, we have unearthed some good local talents. Some of the contestants have already sung for movies after performing in the first two rounds which is really praiseworthy. With mentors training them, the contestants have matched the standards of professional playback singing. There are so many local channels in this region, but have nothing on offer as unique as 'Daijiworld Studio Voice'. Singing in a studio needs a lot of experience. Mistakes can be made out by the listeners in a jiffy," he says.

"In Bengaluru, we need to run from pillar to post to get an opportunity to sing in a studio. But, 'Daijiworld Studio Voice' gave this great opportunity to the contestants. The important thing to notice about the show is that the contestants got a first hand experience of singing in studio and on stage as well, which never was the case with any other singing reality shows," adds Yashwanth.

L to R: Ustad Rafique Khan, Basti Kavitha Shenoy and Yashwanth Acharya

About the judges

Ustad Rafique Khan

A famous nationally and internationally acclaimed sitar player, Ustad Rafique Khan belongs to the sixth generation of musicians from the Dharwad Gharana. His father, the late Ustad Abdul Karim Khan was a distinguished sitarist at his time, and his grandfather who was awarded the 'Sitar Ratna', Rahimat Khan was accredited for adding the base octave to the sitar and for modifying the three-string sitar to the seven-string instrument that is common today.

He was also trained in Gayaki Ang by his uncle Ustad Dastagir Khan. He passed his music exams from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Mumbai and graduate with a degree in philosophy at the University of Goa. Rafique Khan won the prestigious “Sur Mani Award” from Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai, at the young age of 23 years. Rafique Khan has toured across the nation and the world, performing at various music festivals and collaborated with numerous musicians.

Rafique Khan currently works at All India Radio, Mangaluru. He is the president of the music organization Sangeet Bharati Foundation and also has an Academy of Hindustani Music at Mangalore.

Basty Kavitha Shenoy

A trained singer in classical music, Kavitha Shenoy was trained by Pandit Madhav Bhat in Udupi at a very young age. She later trained under Gurudas Shenoy and Ramrao Naik in Mangaluru. She even has completed higher level of training in music in Goa.

The very talented singer has held music classes for enthusiasts at various places all over India. She has even bagged many awards for her work in music. Kavitha has published books on bhajans in Hindi which are sold in places like Mumbai.

Yashwanth M G Acharya

A very talented singer and music director, Yashwanth known as Yashwanth Udupi, has sang numerous songs as a playback singer. He has composed for movies as well.

Trained in classical music, Yashwanth has been a part of many singing reality shows as a contestant. He was the winner of Yede Thumbi Haaduvenu season 2. He is presently serving as a Sanskrit teacher at Jain College in Moodbidri. He even teaches classical music to hundreds of students.

Daijiworld Audio-Visual Studio - A boon for musicians, film production houses

Inaugurated in September 2015 by Singer-composer Siddharth Mahadevan, son of the famous Shankar Mahadevan, Daijiworld Audio-Visual Studio is the only professional studio of its kind in the region. Equipped with high-end technology designed to produce the best sound, the studio has already recorded several music albums in local languages, commercials and recorded music and dubbing for Tulu and Konkani movies. The studio is a boon to artistes looking to produce music albums, short films, tele-films, teasers, movie dubbing/editing, advertisements, documentary, background music, sound design, and also for mixing and mastering, voice-overs, video editing and much more.

The special attraction of this studio is its console room - the backbone of the studio, which is set as per controlled image design and the speaker set up as per the ITU-R BS 775-3 Standard and designed by Genelec Engineers.

The state-of-the-art studio has successfully served many audio and film production houses. Mangaluru's only audio visual studio with 5.1 setup, works on every single detail for matching of the audio and background music to avoid imbalance and to bring clarity in the delivery of message. The studio also handles audio video mixing and does adjustment for duration of sound recording to fit frame by frame the language portion in videos.

World-class equipment with high standard of recording, well-qualified and experienced sound engineers and cozy ambiance provides a perfect setting to extract the best out of an artiste at Daijiworld Audio-Visual Studio.

With a spectacular show, 'Daijiworld Studio Voice' is creating unique opportunities for performers and upcoming talents across the region.