LG ABS EPISODE 52 - 4th QUARTER FINAL

The director enters the control room; puts on his headset and stands in front of the sound console. The audiences are packed in, waiting for the show to start. He exchanges a few words with the creative director. ‘Par Cans checked?’ He speaks to the light designer over the radio, ‘All checked sir!’ He gets a reply. ‘Cameras ready?’ He radios his production manager in the OB Van. ‘All checked!’. He then checks with the sound engineer and after getting the nod, he says ‘Bismillah’! as he presses the button to speak to the audiences. And here begins another episode of LG Awaaz Banaey Star.

From lighting to make up, from props to set designing, from sound to wardrobes, from video to still cameras, from getting the taan of the tabla right to making sure the lighting is the right temperature, from getting rid of the unwanted shadows to getting the sound gain right, from composing the right frame onto your television screens to getting that extra bit of zing and from leading people to making sure that each individual is doing their job right, there’s a lot that goes into a live audience musical show. Trust us, there’s blood & sweat in this dough!

To throw the show open it’s Wasi. The song: ‘Lagan Lagi’ from the film ‘Dil Kya Kare’, the singer: ‘Sukhwinder Singh’. Wasi starts the song off in an energetic manner and manages to lift the audience up along. What looked like a track infused with a lightening punch did the trick for Wasi early on, as one could see the judges shaking their heads along with the beat. Wasi carried the initial zing factor all throughout the song. Grabbing the track from the jugular it was as though he’s saying; is that all you got? An impressive looking Wasi almost unleashed his vocal talent to go stray on the stage. He engaged the audience right from the beginning of the song and completely immersed himself into it. The judges appreciated his effort. Salamat Ali Khan saab though had some reservations about couple of things that he thought Wasi could improve on.

Next up, it’s Jibran. Sporting butterfly dark glasses, a chain hanging onto the sides of his chequered trousers, donning a waist coat, sleeves rolled up, Jibran looked all set to take the breath away. The song ‘Banware Banware’, the film ‘Luck By Chance’, the siger ‘Shankar Mahadevan’. A fast paced song that could make or break it for Jibran. Sudden changes of tans and surrs could mean either a disaster for him or an execution well carried out. Jibran not only managed to lift the crowd up with the song and spectacle, he also showed a few dance moves custom made for the in house audience. A ‘Thumka’ here and there did the trick for him as he put a smile or too not oly onto the faces of the audience but the judges too. Jibran deals well with the task he associated himself with. He not only pleased the crowd but it seemed the judges were on his side too. Lady luck was smiling on him. The judges dubbed him a complete package yet again. The word Hadiqa came up with was; Fantastic!

Next up, it’s Ghazal! The song ‘Namak’ from the film ‘Omkara’, the singer ‘Rekha Bhardwaj’. Omkara’s music was a trendsetter in Bollywood. Vishal Bhardwaj’s compositions especially for this film took on critics head on. Vishal’s other half; Rekha’s rusty voice gave that extra flavor to this track. Ghazal really had to pull her socks up to do justice to this song as it demands a rusty execution all through. To start with, Ghazal failed to start off the song with a bang right at the beginning, as she missed on the timings. Plus it felt like she was running after the song all the time trying to catch up with it. The whole thing sounded a bit sluggish to say the least. It was missing that flare and the rustiness that was required here. Ghazal struggled to pull the crowd in despite her efforts to come up with a dance move. The judges caught on the same things that were obvious throughout her performance. The catch up and loose grip on the song took Ghazal down.

Next up, it’s Muqaddas. The song ‘Jhoom Aye Dil’, the film ‘Dil Mera Dhadkan Teri, the singer ‘Masood Rana’. Choosing a Pakistani song in a Pakistani singing competition always works in ones favour. And that did the trick for Muqaddas. He managed to lure the audience in right from the beginning. That sentimental attachment to a Pakistani melody was played upon well by Muqaddas. Psychological mind bending aside, Muqaddas coupled it up with a smooth execution of the song as well. Muqaddas already possesses a silky voice and that adds up whenever he’s performing and it always works in his favor. Keeping a strong grip on the song throughout, Muqaddas managed to break into the fold of positive notes from the judges. Hadiqa said the same that was felt strongly by the in house and that Muqaddas worked his magic with his silky smooth vocals and said choosing a Pakistani song was a good idea. Salamat Ali Khan saab and Nizar Lalani played second fiddle.

Next up, it’s Subata. The song ‘Aaj Dil Gustakh Hay’, the film ‘Blue’, the singer ‘Shreya Ghoshal’. A beautifully worded song by ‘Mayar Puri’ equally well composed with a nice contemporary beat to it, this song is a difficult choice for Subata. But she looks in a defining mood tonight, as she takes the stage, there’s a flare in her eyes. As the music starts, she throws her arm, getting along with the initial beat. Subata looks all set to take on the song head on. In her trademark smooth voice Subata did a decent job with a song that demanded a versatile vocal ability to perform it to its merits. The audience clapped all along, though Subata struggled to bring in that x factor to the song. The judges politely pointed out what areas Subata had to work more upon. Hadiqa said that Subata is full of talents provided she works harder on her weaker points.

To close the show off, it’s Sajid. The song ‘Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyaar Ke Charche’, the film ‘Brahmachari’ (1968), the singer ‘Mohamad Rafi’. To sing Rafi, like any other great vocalist, is an uphill task. Sajid has that knack required to sing Rafi but with a lot of practice and may be a decade of singing. That said, Sajid does have his moonwalk. Yes, Sajid has this signature dance move where he gets into the ‘Jackson’ mood. But the dance move is not the only thing he has in his repertoire. To go along with the other talent he put on display, he has an impressive vocal capacity. With tonight’s performance he drew the audience into the song. Getting along nicely with his impressive effort he fumbled a bit in the middle but recovered well and made it go unnoticed especially with the audience. The judges appreciated Sajid’s effort and gave him full marks for his moonwalk too!

It’s decision time!

The judges are up on the stage along with all the contestants. The first name Hadiqa announces is ‘Muqaddas’. The second one is ‘Aima’. The third to go to the semi finals is ‘Sajid’. At this point of time Hadiqa announces that there’s a twist in the story and rather than choosing three semifinalists, there’s a tie between three participants and they will all be going to the semis. So rather than having 3 participants, there will now be 6 semi finalists. The next one to go to the semi finals is ‘Jibran’. The fifth lucky participant to qualify for the semis is ‘Alycia’. And last but not the least it’s ‘Zain’.

See ya’ll at the semis!