Song of success - Abhijeet Sawant

They are from small towns and modest families, but their singing talent makes them dream big. Instead of visiting music directors with dummy tapes, these young singers now prefer to queue up for music-based reality show auditions. A few performances on television, and their dream would be realised and their careers would be ready to take off.

Instead of relying on someone for a break, today's youngsters prefer to woo the television audience to make them famous. They feel music-based reality shows are their godfathers. Many believe that music is the mantra for fame. Says singer Abhijeet Sawant, Indian Idol 1 winner. "Without music, I couldn't have become as famous as I am today. I've become a celebrity and people all over the country know me. I owe a lot to music," he says.

Abhijeet belongs to a simple family where fame was a far-fetched dream. "I couldn't have thought that a biography would be written on me. All this happened because of Indian Idol and the confidence I had in my talent," he says.

Debojit Saha, winner of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2005, agrees. He says that with so many music reality shows on air, marketing one's talent has become easy. "But besides a good knowledge of music, one should also have the ability to stand confidently in front of a crowd," he says.

The success of some has boosted the dreams of many. "A bunch of youngsters made a name through music and now there are a lot of them in the queue who dream of making it big and will certainly do," says Abhijeet.