Performer Vs singer: the debate goes on

Having made it to the top four of Indian Idol, Emon Chatterjee knows that he is a very good singer. He has also been praised a lot by his idol Sonu Nigam who made a guest appearance on the show. With some of the good singers like Deepali, Puja Chatterjee, Meiyang Chang and Charu Semwal having been voted out, Emon's major competitor is Amit Paul.

But Emon is a worried boy. The reason is that in the last couple of weeks, performance has prevailed over singing. "The competition is getting tougher and anybody could win the title. It could be Amit, Prashant or me," says Emon. "But I am not a good performer and that's my weak point." The case with Amit is no different.

But why should a good singer be worried about his performance or dancing skills? If talent hunt shows are all about finding good singers who could be potential playback singers in future, is it fair to expect them to perform as well? "Ideally the winner should be a good singer who can also perform and not the other way round," feels Indian Idol judge Javed Akhtar. "After all, we are looking for a good singer. Performance is an added bonus. But good singers have been voted out."

Music composer Anu Malik however, feels that a good combination of singing and dancing makes a participant's journey to the victory post less arduous. Sony's executive vice-president and business head Albert Almeida also feels that a fair combination of singing and performance makes it easy for a contestant to connect with viewers. "Good singing is necessary but it is not enough for the contestants to get viewers' votes. People don't vote only for talent but look for other qualities like dancing and looks. The criteria for voting differ from people to people because they tend to vote from heart and rationalise with the mind later," says Almeida, adding, "The star quality that appeals to people is not the same in all cases."

Almeida gives the example of cricket to illustrate his point. "Everyone knows that Rahul Dravid is a highly talented cricketer and the core strength of the Indian team. But his serious persona doesn't make him a popular cricketer. People root more for the flamboyant youngsters," he adds.

While Almeida and Malik say that they are looking for an ideal package, Star India's content and communication vice-president Prem Kamath says that Voice of India's focus is singing. "Performance is the singer's choice. He can perform or he need not. But since it is a voting-based show it is for the audience to decide who is best. Some value singing more than performance while others may look for a combination of factors," he explains.

Zee's senior VP Ashish Kaul says performance and looks don't matter much. "At least in our show it is not important at all. Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge is purely about quality singing as the bottom line is to find good playback singers. Combining singing with performance and looks is a Western concept. Good performers never become good playback singers. Indian Idol is a formatted version of American Idol where performance also plays an important part," says Kaul.

However, Almeida says Indian Idol is not about finding playback singers. "The show is about finding a top quality singing talent based on the viewer's choice," he clarifies.