Hi,
Good topic.
I feel Public voting should not be allowed at any stage of the challenge.A majority are music lovers and may not have enough knowledge of music and this affects their choice.
The public involvement should be restricted to predictions and suggestions of rounds.
Playback singers should not be invited as judges because I felt some are biased and insecure.
The mentors will all be new even if we hadn't suggested it.(But frankly,HR is not such a bad judge,it's just that he got carried away with Vinit.)All the mentors were aggressive at one time or another.
My choice of mentors would be a mix of new and old.
If they could spare the time,Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy,Vishal-Shekar,Jatin or Lalit(after their professional split)
A.R Rahman and,if I'm not asking for too much,Shiv-Hari(because they know film music as well as classical.)
They shouldn't show videos that gain sympathy and have nothing to do with music.Instead show how the young artists spend so much time on"riyaaz" and the sacrifices they have to make to succeed.It can atleast be a lesson for other aspiring singers.
Inviting celebrities in the last rounds was a good idea;it added some fun and glamour to the show.
Last but not the least,the contestants must dress in outfits they are comfortable in and wear make-up that suits their age and personality.Poor things,sometimes they ended up looking so ridiculous.Atleast I feel it did affect their performance.
All in all The Challenge 2005 was a great show and lets hope in 2006,Gaj ji gives us someting even more spectacular.Congratulations,sir!
Cheers
Akshata