Sunday, July 01, 2007

And what a concert!!!

Once in a lifetime thing. I sang about 4 songs in a 24 song SPB KJY show. Chitra amma herself sang only about 5 songs and only one solo in that.
I sang KMI, Sahana, Thesalvudhe thenmalaraale and Ennaatha solvenungo. Was supposed to sing Mayya Mayya, but the audio people did not have an out chord for the laptop, and neither did they have a CD player. The musicians had told me that it was impossible to play that song.
It was probably the first time in 5 years that KMI was properly played by the musicians. This song is always botched up. "Shyaam group" is what they call themselves, but most of the musicians are highly established in the professional music maker's circuit.
I was supposed to sing Thenral Vandhu with KJY sir but since it was pushed to the end of the show he was not keen on singing it after the tempo had picked up to very fast numbers.
The response that we get especially from the Tamils here is out of the world. The monitors for the female voices was pretty bad, but after a point the engineer got a hang of it. Both Chitra amma and I had a tough time hearing ourselves sing before he could.
The Air Canada centre was totally packed - read 10,000+ people. And in an auditorium like that, getting the sound right is a herculean task. But then, most of the times, I have not really had a good monitor.
I gotta learn to get the in-ear monitor, but I tried it once while singing at Mumbai for the Filmfare awards, I wasnt quite comfortable with it.
Yesudas sir and Chitra amma said that my Thesulavudhe was very nice. Chitra amma always goes OTT praising me. She had takena soft corner for me right from the beginning and now, the bond we share is a special one.
I was looking forward to singing with KJY sir, but then I hope there will be another oppurtunity.The run order did not have a song that I could sing with SPB sir, and that was disappointing as well
Sahana - the applause I got was out of the world. Some of the times that I thank God and send him a silent prayer, and a silent thank you to Rahman sir. When I performed KMI first at Nehru Indoor Stadium for the then Chief Minister J Jayalalitha, Rahman Sir's act had Hari ji, a huge battalion of small children singing Vande Mataram and I. And we started with KMI. Rahman sir told me to give a short alaap before beginning with KMI and also told me how to finish, in an unpredictable way. The video is there in this blog and in YouTube to see. As soon as I had finished with the Alaap and started with the song, everyone applauded and did so again at the end. That was goose-bumps-happening time. And I had the same exp last night as soon as I had finished Sahana. I will not say that my rendition was perfect, it was tough to figure out what I was singing becos of the monitors. But in spite of that people went berserk. These are times when a singer gets the reaffirmation as to where the credit really belongs. With the music maker. And the movie.
Kangalal Kaidhu Sei is an excellent album. But except for abroad, people in Tamilnadu don't know of these songs because the movie did not do well. Once we cross the shores, only the music matters to the people here, the success of the film does nothing to the way they relish the music.
Everytime, Rahman sir makes sure that I dont disappear from the scene. He has kept me alive in this industry. Its common knowledge that I have not sung a million songs otherwise. Which is why now, none of the similies for "gratitude" to Rahman sir would quite suffice. Honestly, I have no idea why.
I do not think there will be time to look around this city this time. I have another concert this evening. And we fly back right after.
God willing, there will be another oppurtunity to look around this city.
P.S.: KMI = Kannathil Muthamittaal

25 comments:

Narayanan Venkitu said...

We'll miss you....I am sure I will!
You are a wonderful singer! and a great person !

Yeah, Sahana is a wonder no doubt.

Thenral Vandhu with you and KJY - Must have been superb...! Toronto fans were unlucky.

Well..I am getting ready for the 4.00 PM concert today. I am sure it will be a blast as well !

Anonymous said...

Hi chinmayi,
I had been to your show in Air Canada centre. I am a great fan of Yesudas sir,Chitra ji and SPB sir. This is the first time I am attending such a great show. U sang really well. Initially, the sound system wasn`t ok. We couldn`t hear you that clearly. But later it was ok.

Actually, I wanted to become a play back singer when I was in India and I had sung a title song in a tamil serial too, but I couldn`t persuade my career further because I got married and came here. My husband encourages me a lot.

U r a lucky girl. In such a young age you are getting opportunities to sing with the legends. All the best. I thouroughly enjoyed the show.

Sunitha

SHEETAL AMBAR said...

Chinmayi looks like Ull never forget this concert ! So sweet ! And Kangalal Kaithu Sai was an excellent album loved all the songs esp ah ah tamizhamma , yen uyir thozhi and thikkuruvi ! Solid Numbers ! And Its really nice to hear that Chitra adores u so much ! Im sure ur mum would be proud to see how much you've grown as a singer and the amount of praises u get from legends like Chitra !

And Im sure with all this Talent u have , Respect and praises you recieve Im sure we'll be hearing more from you for a very long time !

Anonymous said...

whats kmi

Unknown said...

having life most other would dream.. make most of and live it. have a blast in whatever your doing..

Tisai said...

Sahana -- Wow cool!
pEra kEtta udanE chummA athiRuthulla
All the best

Anonymous said...

very gud..nice

Karthik Sriram said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Did u enjoy canada..did u enjoy our fireworks...nice country eh? we are proud to be canadian tamils, we welcome u for another show in Canada..beware the next time u wud have too many ppl cheering for u that even the speakers wouldnt be able to cover our cheers :) nice performance there!!! Chinmayeeku oru OOOOOO!!!!

Jolikum Salangai said...

omg wow...sounds truly wonderful.... somehow all of those songs are my absolute favourites... where is the link or what can i search to get a glimpse of what it was like? someday i wish to catch u in concert... hats off to your truly remarkable voice and talent...

Anonymous said...

...................???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? appada....KMI = Kannathil Muthamittaal....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Nice post....

My days(Gops) said...

Aha is gonna miss u :P

Anonymous said...

Thank you for singing at the Nainativu Temple with Mugesh! It was great, had no clue who it was at first.

Anonymous said...

Chinmayi,
Have you come to Chennai or still singing on charity shows overseas and claiming it to be wonderful

Rahmanic said...

Nice post... I will also thank BOSS (ARR) for giving us singers like u.. sahana .. so sweet..
KKS .. is gem of an album..didnt get its due recognition here in TN.. so sad, but all music lovers will adore that album..
prasanna

Vilves said...

Hi Chinnie,
I listened to the ORU Deivam Thanthe in Youtube, great yeah, it was so sweet and wonderful songs !! Your voice for Simran suited very well

Chinmayi Sripada /Chinmayee said...

hey anonymous who doesn't like me.. great to have you back.... you add the spice here!
anonymous: I did see the fireworks and went driving downtown.. had a good time.
anonymous: thanks!
gops! : yeah looked like they missed me
jolikkum: nah.. no links yet
siva: thanks !
Mr Narayan: hope it went well!
ruud: thanks!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on that wonderful concert. On a quite unrelated note, found you on TV quipping "aru lakchathi ambadu airam makkal in chala kurral aga "magudu" sutta padum antha navar yaar"

rolling on the floor laughing my ass out!

Anuradha said...

These days 'Sahana' would be a popular hum for most of us....Unless i visited your blog i never knew u sang it....

The song is absolutely fantastic.Another crown on Udit Narayan's cap!!!

My mom always feels you keep the show(Airtel Super Singer Junior) lively, especially the way you announce....Taking Chitra, S Janaki, P Suseela for example their voice (when they speak) is very very cuckoo kind,but your voice while you speak is totally different when compared to singing. Meaning your voice is pleasant to hear when u r singing. But as a general notion the pleasant tone wont suit an anchor as one has to yell...u maintain both well!

Chinmayi Sripada /Chinmayee said...

magudam you mean sagaro??

Anonymous said...

Hi Chinmayi, Nice to know about your successful trip to Canada with three great legends of Indian Film Music.By the way, can you share more info. on the songs sung by Shri.SPB in this programme? I am one of HIS ardent devotees!!!

Regards,
Ashok.R

Anonymous said...

@Chinmayi:
For a mumbaikar, I did very well to reciprocate that huge sentence with just one error... give credit where it is due :P

Chinmayi Sripada /Chinmayee said...

sagaro: ahhh wont give that to you.. i went to the channel and saw the rushes.. :)I have not said magudu :)

Anonymous said...

You meanie...

Anonymous said...

HI Chinmayi, I love your voice and your singing- I was looking for your you tube video you mentioned in the blog from your Canada concert- could you point me to it?
Thanks!