DOTW-What is being familiar with a song

We saw a controversy on the voting pattern this week and one reason that is making the rounds is that if public is not familiar with a song, they dont vote for it and this instance we saw very recently where a versatile singer-perhaps one of the most versatile ones of this contest get to bottom 3 despite a great performance.

Now we have about 70 years of music of films songs in our musical database.It may not be possible for one to even have heard one tenth of those songs.The popular songs have changed with every decade and era.

Now this brings the following questions to one's mind -

1. What is "being familiar with a song"?

2. Which exactly are the songs today's public identifies with and would love to hear?

3.What happens to those songs of yesteryears which the current generation may not be familiar with, should they be left out of the competitions and should participants only concentrate on todays chart toppers?

Can you give your views on this?😳

Cheers !

Great thread Adi, making it Discussion of the Day.. Lets discuss this topic now.. 😊

I think it is very important to be familiar with a song in order to appropriately judge a singer. When I watch American Idol and I hear a song which I don't know and the judges give it a good score, I go back and listen to it as well as the original so I could get a good sense of the song.

Yes, when a singer is awful Like Mauli was the other day, it doesn't matter if you know the song. When someone is screeching and completely off sur it's pretty obvious.

But when the singer is good and there are those small intricacies then it is harder to judge if you are not familiar with the song.

1. What is "being familiar with a song"?

Being familiar with a song literally means just that- A recognizable song. It has its advantages and disadvantages. There are some songs which get played often and are fresh in minds because of the singer's wonderful rendition that when a new contestant attempts in a talent show we compare it to the original and always find it not up to the mark. That case is dangerous for the contestant.

On the other hand when such songs are rendered exceptionally well by a reality show contestant we appreciate their guts and vote for them more. For eg: Poonam who attempted Vande Mataram. I was spellbound by her rendition and this is a song I can only associate with Lata Mangeshkar.

2. Which exactly are the songs today's public identifies with and would love to hear?

Today's public is not just the youngsters. The voters of srgmp come from all strata of society, young and old. HR songs are more appealing to auto wallahs and young kids and there are other songs which others find appealing. When it comes to patriotic songs most of the people are aware of the famous ones. So it is a combination. Most people love to hear good songs.

3.What happens to those songs of yesteryears which the current generation may not be familiar with, should they be left out of the competitions and should participants only concentrate on todays chart toppers?

As I already wrote above our voters are not just from young generation. We know how much the disco theme and 70s theme was appreciated. In such cases contestant's rendition and song appeals to public. Patriotic theme is touchy. People associate with certain songs and expect contestants to sing that like Sandese aate hain which according to a friend of mine is an overrated song but personally I expect every patriotic gala to have this song and if it is rendered well would get highest votes from me and that is if I vote😃.

Well..nice questions raised up..!! As these days ..it's a trend now..holding Musical reality shows and giving a platform to aspiring singers...but the sad part of this being that after A Winner is announced...okfine..he got this ,he got that...he'll be seen doing local concerts or geust appearences in various shows n all that--but after that..WHAT??...i mean thet just get disappeared...really!! thats what i observed..! That's why i m kinda against this voting system by public that though they do send thousands of votes etc ...but this way they are not doing justice to that singer's future..!! i guess public go for looks,the X-factor...n whoever looks good...,cute etc...he gets the highest votes.....>>this m talkin in general..so...No Offense meant to Dear Indian Junta aur anyone..anywhere..!!😊

Ohkay..i guess i kind of deviated from the topic..here my answers..!

1. What is "being familiar with a song"?

In my opinion 'being familiar with a song' means..the mosttt famous n 'IN' songs these days...!!i guess these days...only this definition can be given to this term..!! Being familiar....>>it may also mean that u are familiar with its tone,u may humm it often...or maybe its about the Singer whu sung it...!! If u like her/his voice..then u r likely to remember that song..!! the song that tops the chart...,is mostly sung etc.....u r likely to identify that song whenever n wherever it gets played..!!

2. Which exactly are the songs today's public identifies with and would love to hear?

Well....these days...i guess...people have lose the real sense of music...both in its making...and 'listening' to it.!! really! the music trend is completely changed now!! you compare 70's 60's songs...with today's....<< O! large ...with big "L"...amount of difference..!! !! Okay if not all then atleast we'd have retained atleast some of those song's qualities....that *taste*...that 'sense* ..evrything is missing..!! ---------So...today's GEN. want some hip hop kinda songs..as in Rock songs...as remixes trend is 'IN' these days so...i thikn thats what the public demands..!! Gone are the days ..when people loved to play old song's records....and all...! those Kishore Da's soulful songs while at tea time..,in rains...----The whole scenario is completely changed..!!

3.What happens to those songs of yesteryears which the current generation may not be familiar with, should they be left out of the competitions and should participants only concentrate on todays chart toppers?

No!! They must not be left out of the comptetitions..!! Why?? i mean if our new generation aur upcoming singers would not get to know what our Golden era of music was...n what really it meant to be 'A good Song'.....then How they gonna compete???? On what basis??? No i mean...they must be familiar with all kind of songs...yesterday's Gems...n today's ..........those songs which may prove to be gems tommorrow!!

Zamaney k saath chalna zruri hai....but agey chalne k liye ..apko ye bhi andaza hona chaiye ke aap peechey kya chod kr aye hain..!!

Familiarity of song for me means a song which made a lasting impression on the mind with its tunes, lyrics and the voice rendering the song . A song which i long to hear again and again and not getting bored even the millionth time that i listen to it. A song which is an enigma, which intrigues, inspires you to action makes you relax a bit, soothes your mind, relieves stress
Even a song which you hate to listen but can't avoid(passive listening as in smoking) which makes you go crazy and break your tv or music system.

In today's remix age only about 20% of the songs made may last generations to come, but the public prefer the other 80% forgettable ones just like the increasing acceptance of an one night stand or a short marriage (atleast in urban society) as opposed to an everlasting marriage.

The songs of yesteryears have set a benchmark of standards and are looked upon as treasure trove of musical excellence, usage of pioneering techniques in musical arrangements and creativity of the highest order. That is why we have a thriving remix market which disgustingly murders and modifies a classic song like "Leke pehla pehla pyaar" into a semi-po*n video album. The younger generation of film musicians seem to have lost their originality with each new song sounding exactly like the previous one.

The old classics are immortal,eternal and as precious as diamond and gold and the one who fails to recognise their value is at a huge loss. These songs are a real test for any singer in a competition and if you have not mastered the golden oldie you have not arrived yet.

Let us take an example here is a song
hoke majboor mujhe usne bhulaayaa hogaa
hoke majboor mujhe usne bhulaayaa hogaa
zahar chupke se davaa jaanke khaayaa hogaa
hoke majboor mujhe usne bhulaayaa hogaa
hoke majboor mujhe

dil ne aise bhi kuchh afsaane sunaaye honge
ashq aaNkhoN ne piye aur na bahaaye honge
band kamre mein jo khat mere jalaaye honge
ek ek harf jabin par ubhar aayaa hogaa
hoke majboor mujhe usne bhulaayaa hogaa
hoke majboor mujhe

suppose a contest singer were to sing this song
looking at the lyrics, looks like semi sad song like

now add to that, it has multiple singers to it and there is chorus to it

gives you a feel like the antra's in

Huzoor is kadar bhi na itra ke chaliye

suppose a contest singer sings with an extra oomph knowing what "huzoor is kadar bhi na itra ke chaliye" brings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R66L1hR7boQ

And the contest singer sings with the correct sur and taal😉

Would someone who has seen the movie vote for that singer?

here is the video --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4uicQbYvgU

does that explain 😉

Some times we like a song first time.There are some songs which we start liking after hearing them several times(as they become familiar).

Will like to focus on patriotic songs as that is the category we dealt with in the last episode.In patriotic category there are not too many Indian songs which are being made.So Janta can identify with all the golden patriotic songs from the past(as they are played in schools even today during 26 the Jan and 15 th august etc) and few which are being made at present.

But if your start singing a patriotic song from china which was never heard before, it would be considered unfamiliar, so would be patriotic song from Pakistan as far as Indian Janta( which comprises the majority of the people voting)is concerned.

If you understand the demographics of the janta who is listening and voting, you can make a guess what song to sing.I am pretty sure Zee may be doing a survey about the age groups of the voters but I doubt they have ever released such a survey. So you can only hazard a guess.

The old and new song bias can be taken care of by making the the themes like songs from 60's, or songs from 70's and so on.So that every body is singing a song from a certain era.

on familiarity i agree completely with Maya_M
when u like a song too much, sometimes a not so good attempt will totally put u off and sometimes decent attempts at tough songs will have us saying 'wow'... this really differs from ppl to ppl ... i dont think two ppl can have the same opinion on this ... this is when u have the same person sometimes saying 'original ko copy kiya' or 'original se bhi achcha gaya' 😕
a music person should be able to and ready to judge even a non-familiar song IMHO 😳

but at the same time like ranig says if u have really good singers singing songs that are 'technically' perfect what criteria do u judge them on? unfortunately familiarity does comes into the picture here ...

and yes finally all this goes for a toss when u come to patriotic songs 😛 ... agree with Sur_Sangam on this ...
there is no doubt that india is a country of passionate people, patriotism is something that excites us easily and when someone sings an unfamiliar song even if technically correct, the impact is not going to be as great as a well known patriotic number