Two singers get wild card entry to L’iL Champs finals

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is constantly innovating with new methods for judging the talent hunt contest. With an aim to keep out any hint of bias which comes naturally with public voting, director Gajendrra Siingh has devised the Gradeometer for the current new series L’iL Champs.. Two contestants – Abhrakanti and Divakar - get a wild card entry in to the finals with the introduction of the Gradeometer. From among 22 kids selected, the three judges -Alka Yagnik, Abhijeet and Bappi Lahiri- zeroed down to 11 singers as finalists. And, any contestant who receives three A+ from the three judges for their performance gets the opportunity to go straight to the finals. This week, the 11 singers go all out to impress the judges keeping sur, feelings, expression and confidence in mind with every performance. At the start of the Thursday episode, the judges are equally apprehensive about making the right choice. Bappi Lahiri says, “All kids sing well and I am hoping this series will unravel a talent for the industry.” And, Abhijeet was more firm with the contestants saying, “Leave your childhood behind and realize the fact that you’ll are on a platform that has had singers like us on it.” Abhrakanti from Kolkatta sings a composition by Ravindra Jain., ‘Barkha ka mausam jee ko jalake chala jaaye…’ and has everyone stumped. For one, it is a very rarely heard song with beautiful lyrics. That Abhrakanti managed to convey the depth and expression of the lyrics had all on the sets give him a big round of applause. Without a hesitation, all three judges give Abhrakanti an A+ getting a ‘double promotion’ in to the finals. He was almost eliminated in the first round and has worked hard to get back in the competition. Bappi Lahiri asks him to sing the antara again so that all could hear why they were so impressed with his rendition of the classical song. Diwakar is the other child whose singing had the audience spellbound. Again acontestant who was almost eliminated, Diwakar sang ‘Choti si kahani se…’ in perfect sur and expression, getting three A+ . Seeing Diwakar is heartening because despite his disability, he manages to captivate the audience with his voice and cheerful disposition. His father breaks down on hearing the words of appreciation from the judges. Gurpreet, the ever smiling L’il gal from Delhi scores high on confidence. Selecting a song that suits her is her first winning strategy. The judges notice that she has that certain ‘X’ factor that they have been looking for. Singing ‘Baras jae badal’, Gurpreet brings her own variation to the song and does not imitate any singer. Pranav from Lucknow halts for a few moments as he forgets a few words in the song ‘Barsaat mein humse mile tum sajan’ but, goes on to finish the song well. Alka warns him about selecting the right song and Abhijeet offers to train him for 10 days to fine tune his singing abilities. All three judges ask him to work on his confidence and do not make an issue of forgetting lines saying it ‘happens to the best of us’. Armaan disappoints with an average performance singing ‘Lagi aaj sawan ki…’, Sanchita missed out getting all A+ singing ‘Aankhon se tune kya keh diya…’ as her scale did not match, though she sang with maturity and confidence, Sameer sang ‘On the roof in the rain’ with the same attitude that was present in the actor who sang it in the film. Abhijeet said of Sameer’s performance: “He sings without fear.” Pawani sings ‘Bheegi bheegi raaton mein…’ and gets thumbs down from the judges as it sounded like a remix version. Neha sings ‘Ab ke sawan mein…’, only to get a rap from Abhijeet who says, “Don’t just perform, sing as if you are competing”. She gets a B+ from all three judges. Shraddha who is very talented also failed to get three A+ on singing ‘Rimjhim ke geet sawan gaaye…’ as she failed to modulate her voice as was needed in the song. Alka Yagnik sings few notes of the song to show Shraddha which areas she should work on to give a better performance. And, Protik gets three A’s singing ‘Zindagi Bhar nahin bhoolegi…’. The judges Abhijeet and Alka Yagnik have their usual banter of fun and humour as the show goes along and Bappi Lahiri stays away from making any controversial statements. Being kids, the judges give the contestants a fair response on their performances. And, one can expect improvement and surprises as the series progresses. Gajendrra Siingh’s says, "To judge a good singer on the quality of voice, knowledge of music, ability to carry a presentation and confidence is a very tough job and all three judges are warming up to recognizing each kids potential to encourage them accordingly. The kids have begun to rely on Shaan and the judges to groom them to be better singers.” Also, Shaan announces that principals of all schools in India can send in their entries of names of exceptionally gifted students in singing in the same age group as L’iL Champs. The best from these singers will get an opportunity to sing a duet with the finalists.