Sonu shines in St. Louis
Monday, 08.27.2007, 01:20am (GMT-7)
India Post News Service
ST. LOUIS: Rated among the top few male playback singers, Sonu Nigam rocked more than 700 music lovers for three and a half hours at Touhill Performing Arts Center in St. Louis last week. This concert was sponsored by Seema Enterprises and Seema World Travel.
This group had earlier successfully hosted concerts of Asha Bhonsle, Kunal Ganjawala, Amit Kumar, Nitin Mukesh this year in St. Louis. Nigam had performed here three years ago and he was more appealing this time.
With a career spanning over 15 years and album sales that rival the biggest recording artists in India, Nigam is among the highest-paid singers in India and almost 90 percent of Bollywood films have at least one song sung by him. From the moment he bounded on stage, he captivated the audience and took them on a thrilling ride of musical adventure.
He sang a wide range of songs including multiple hits from Karan Johar's several films: "Maahi Vey", "Kal Ho Naa Ho", "Bole Chudiyan", and the title song from "Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna". He also performed many of his other hits, the melodic "Sandeshein Ate Hain (Ke Ghar Kab Aaoge)", "Sun Zara", "Just Chill", "Suraj Huwa Matham" and the rockin' "Aaja Soniya".
Whether it was a lilting ballad or an upbeat dance number, Nigam showed remarkable finesse with a voice that is pure and uplifting. He was accompanied by a group of dancers who, many thought, did not really contribute much to the show other than a visual distraction. Nigam's dynamism and high-energy dancing didn't require any embellishment.
Along with him, he brought a fantastic band and some strong supporting singers: Gunjan Singh gave good performance with such songs of her own like "Yeh mera dil pyar ka diwana" "Bidi Jalaile" and other hits.
Sonu Nigam is one of the few Bollywood playback singers to cultivate his own media persona. Nigam has moved beyond the playback realm to establish his name and persona in such diverse fields as radio and television.
Along with immense talent, he has a great stage presence and an approachable personality that makes his fans feel right at home.
