IDOL MASALA MIX

“What did you say!” exclaimed my friend when I called her the other day. “Two lakhs for the winner of Naga Idol” and “Another lakh for the runners up!” “You guys in Mokokchung are crazy,” “How can you blow up such big money on amateur singers.” I was pleasantly amused. I told her, Yes, what she had heard or read was very much true. Only thing is that she should not regard these singers as amateurs. Yes, when they auditioned last year, most of them were amateurs. But they had the zeal, the enthusiasm and the fire within them to become Stars. And they did become Stars, and today I don’t think anyone regards them as any less professional than any of the so called professional singers. And then I told her that many professional singers are contemplating joining the contest this year as the exposure that they are likely to get is unprecedented.

In MDACC, we firmly believe that the objective of the show is to identify talented young singers and nurture them and give them a stage and a platform from where there is no looking back. A professional singer should not only be a good singer but he should also be able to pursue singing as a profession. In Nagaland, we have thousands of talented singers. Unfortunately they are unable to really make a living out of music and this cripples their abilities to experiment and innovate. Once, a singer is financially sound, and makes enough money from his shows and albums, he will be in a position to create music. And that will be the beginning of our very own Grammy winners and the Rock Stars!!!

If one goes back to last years contest, some of the things that we went through at MDACC were crazy. The real thing was that we had started with a concept, that we didn’t know will succeed or not. There was a lot of experimentation. It was a novel show and we were doing it without any regular TV channel or production house behind us. MDACC itself was content with organizing the beauty pageants for the last few years. Suddenly, we were thrust upon ourselves a big project and a big challenge. Without any clear source of funding. But we went on and on. We faced lots of dilemmas at almost all stages. Like in the initial format, from the 16 finalists we were to go down to 10. However, after tallying the votes, we found that contestant Nos 10, 11 and 12 were too close for us to call. After a lot of debate, we decided to have 12 in the next round rather than 10. It was done to ensure all fairness to the intending contestants.

As the contest progressed, everyone was on edge. Literally. Nobody knew who was going to win. Even the top 6 was hard to predict. I remember when the top 6 were announced in front of a jam packed police point audience in Mokokchung, there were shrieks of disappointment when the girls of Mokokchung found that Leochum has been eliminated. Girls of Mokokchung loved him. He was the home grown Bon Jovi. Of course the other contestants also had huge fan followings. There were young school guys who were crazy about Sentimenla and Emilo and Ilitoli. Similarly there was a craze for the brand ambassador – Supermodel – Esther Jamir. When the posters with her pictures had become old, still the shop owners ensured that her picture was safe and adored their shops. Similarly, people drooled over her life size pictures on the hoardings of M fest and Naga Idol. Even our anchors – Theja & Arenla were immensely popular. And so were the judges – Tolto, Gugs and Sentila. All this and specially our contestants made the show. They mesmerized people of Nagaland. It was people gone crazy. It was fun, There was enjoyment and there was laughter.

Yes, and there gonna be more. BIGGER, BOLDER & BETTER is the motto this year. It is going to be so. With AIRCEL chipping in as a sponsor and the possibility of many others joining the bandwagon, there is going to be a great time for the contestants this year. There will be more prizes, more exposure and more fun. We can imagine from the fact that just within 15 days of the launch of the website www.nagaidol.com there has been more than 1100 hits on the website. Sponsors need to close the deals as the slots available on the backdrop for the video recordings of the auditions and voting rounds are being sold out soon and prime space will not be available, if they delay.

So BIG money is up for grabs. And Stardom. Popularity. Fun. Even getting to see all places in Nagaland and to perform in all districts and have fans across tribes and across districts. People’s love and adulation knows no bonds. It is a unique opportunity. Grab it now. Or else, you will rue later. It is fairly simple. Just SMS IDOL to 9436006134 or 9862052685 or 9856510700 or just call 0369 2229696 to REGISTER and take the journey from amateur to professional!! Join Now!!!

More Masala on Idol next week.

By

MDACC ROVING EYE