Showing posts with label Chris Brown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Brown. Show all posts
In a way, it did all happen overnight-Siddhant Chaturvedi
9:57 AM
Siddhant Chaturvedi, soaking in the love for playing MC Sher in Gully Boy, talks struggle, auditions and the road ahead
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; February 24, 2019)
"Bachpan se bechaini thi ki jeetu har baazi main, Bhaaga dauda toda foda dooba man marzi mein, Jaane kitne saal se main, Bina kaam ke main, Karta raha khud pe mehnat, Jee jaan se main," rapped Siddhant Chaturvedi, during his Gully Boy audition. He had written the words the night earlier, and they got him the part of MC Sher in the movie, a character that is getting him accolades, interviews, and heart emojis by the thousands on social media right now.
"Yes, my followers have increased exponentially, and the calls I have got from family, friends, and even people I admire in the industry, have been overwhelming," he laughs, as we chat over the phone.
But even though he would like you to believe it happened overnight, Chaturvedi says he has been going for auditions for six years now, ever since he was a 19-year-old student. "I must have given almost 300 auditions. I got some roles but was replaced. There were also roles I could have done, but I knew they weren't right for me. I was studying CA on the side, but I knew that was not my passion. My dad, who is also a CA, understood my dilemma and supported me. So I just kept working on myself. The poem that I rapped, which says, 'Karta raha khud pe mehnat,' was inspired by my struggle. I may not be like the rappers in the movie, but I had my own challenges," says the 25-year-old, who had never even heard rap before the chance to audition came to him at a party. "I had just done Inside Edge, produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, also the team behind Gully Boy. I went for a success party, and Zoya [Akhtar] saw me dancing. She came up to me and asked if I was from Mumbai, and I said in the Bambaiyya way, 'Haan bachhi, apun idhar se hi hai,'" says the boy from Goregaon. "I wondered if I had crossed the line. But then, there was nothing to lose. She said I had swag, and I should audition. And then I did. In a way, it did all happen overnight. I always wanted it to happen like that."
Once he got the role, the real prep started. He had to gain weight, and appear buff, so he could appear older to Ranveer Singh's Murad, and play the part of a veteran rapper convincingly. He went from a 70kg lanky youngster to a 90kg hottie. He also had to get the body language right.
"I would watch videos all day long - sometimes in slow motion. I watched every gesture, even how they moved their lips. I learnt everything. My brother - who is 14 years old - then introduced me to rappers like Chris Brown so I watched those videos, too."
Right now, as he gets accustomed to the love he is getting (especially from the ladies), he is already looking for his next challenge. "I start meeting people and reading scripts next week. I want to keep pushing the bar. I can't be cashing in on the success of the movie, as the real challenge begins now. I have always had a vision, and that is not to do many movies, but do movies that are grand and solid."
Justin Bieber, lips don't lie
8:07 AM
Shreyanka Mazumdar (BOMBAY TIMES; May 15, 2017)
Justin Bieber's performance
at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai marked the India leg of his
Purpose World Tour and fetched the state government a cool, though not
unexpected, Rs 3 crore approximately. Around 45,000 Beliebers thronged the
stadium to see the Canadian pop star sing live. But turns out, a huge
section of his fans were disappointed because the show didn't turn out
the way they
expected it to. While concert-goers were looking forward to hearing him
improvise his songs on stage, little did they know Bieber would lip-sync
12 tracks out of his set. The funniest part? The singer didn't even try
to make the put-on act believable. From digs at an unusually long list
of demands (including a chopper and fancy upholstery) to clothes that
looked straight out of a basketball match, fans vented it all on social
media...
MUSICIANS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE CONTROVERSY
BABUL SUPRIYO, Singer
Performing artistes are expected to dance even as they sing. Michael Jackson, Madonna, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake and Usher
are known to do that. But when you go for a concert of Eric Clapton,
Elton John, Adele or Taylor Swift, you know they will only sing as you
watch them perform live. What is important is to know if the performer
is also a good singer. Justin Bieber is a talented singer whose voice is
not computer generated. When it comes to him, one has to first decide
if they want him to sing or perform. Because if you wish to put up a
rocking dance performance, it's not possible to sing all through.
SHANTANU MOITRA, Composer
People were waiting to catch a glimpse of Justin Bieber. Some may vouch never to see him again even though he has promised to be back and for others, it's good enough to have seen him just once. When it comes to ethics, it's just like watching a mimed philharmonic. I fail to understand why an artiste should travel all the way from another country to meet his fans and then sing perhaps just two songs. Having said that, Bieber is a great singer and I couldn't figure out if he was under any compulsion to put up a show like that.
JEET GANNGULI, singer-composer
Artistes lip-sync during televised shows. They do the same for music videos as technically, it's not possible to do both at the same time. But in places where they are connecting with the audience directly, it's not ethical to lip-sync, all the more, when people are paying a hefty amount for the tickets to hear you sing.
ANUPAM ROY, singer-composer
There is no rule in India that defines how a stage act should be conducted. So, anyone wanting to lip-sync can go ahead with it. I don't think even Shakira was singing live on the World Cup stage. The stakes are so high and the investment is so much that no artiste can take the risk to go wrong on a platform like that. Lip-sync, as a trend, has been going on for ages. An artiste can also develop a sore throat and might be unable to sing. It's not possible for him to then cancel the day's show as it involves a lot of artistes and money, too, is a factor.
KAILASH KHER, singer
Mohabbat mein nahin hai fark jeene aur
marne ka ussi ko dekh kar jeete hai jis zalim par dum nikle. Since our
culture is rapidly changing, most continue to look up to the West. When
an artiste is visiting India, he or she already has a perception and
knows they can get away with anything. The audience is to be blamed
equally for this. For an artiste, the stage is the temple and singing,
his religion. So, a basic amount of honesty is needed when one is
performing. Since art is not a medium to con people, it's important to
know if the audience really loves the artiste or his art. India is a
country of Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Bhimsen Joshi, Pt Kumar Gandharva,
Pt Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and other
greats. What are we adding to our culture by bringing Justin Bieber, who
is all but singing? I have travelled the world with Kailasa and our
demands have been bare minimum. All we want to do is to propagate our
music and we do that with great honesty. Ultimately, this is what
matters.
EIGHT INTERNATIONAL LIP-SYNCING SCANDALS IN RECENT PAST
Who: Mariah Carey
When: 2017 New Year's Eve
Who can forget Grammy-winning singer Mariah Carey's major lip-sync fail during the New Year's Eve performance at Times Square in New York? Performing live at the venue, the singer struggled hard to salvage the situation after the wrong song played. She stopped singing abruptly and encouraged the audience to finish off the lyrics to Emotions for her. Carey later described she was 'mortified' and blamed it on an in-ear monitor malfunction.
Who: Beyoncé
When: 2013
Queen Bey lip-synced the national anthem at the inaugural ceremonies for former US president Barack Obama! The live performance of The Star-Spangled Banner at the event was merely a lip-synced run-through of a track she had recorded earlier. However, Carey shut trolls up when she said, “It was about the president and the inauguration, and I wanted to make him and my country proud, so I decided to sing along with my pre-recorded track, which is very common in the music industry.“
Who: Katy Perry
When: 2013
While performing her hit number Roar at the NRJ Music Awards in Cannes, Katy Perry suffered a major lip-sync fail. Her lips couldn't match the track playing in the backdrop, creating a rather long delay.
Who: Chris Brown
When: 2012
R&B star Chris Brown was caught in the middle of a controversy during his dance-heavy performance at the Billboard Music Awards in 2012. While many were of the opinion that with all the dancing Chris does, it isn't really a big deal if he lip-syncs, some were mighty upset. His mime during his Turn Up The Music at the show drew flak from the music industry. Singer Pink tweeted about the incident, saying, “One day if I lip-sync, I hope I do it as well as him.“ Joe Jonas too took to social media to voice his displeasure over the incident. “What happened to people singing live?“ he wrote.
Who: Shakira
When: 2010
The Waka Waka singer was caught lip-syncing during the FIFA World Cup inauguration concert held in South Africa. The pre-recorded track kept playing even before she stepped on to the stage, thus leaving her completely mortified. That the singer was miming to glory was painfully evident. But then again, when Shakira is on stage, you want her to stun and boy, did she stun with her body swaying to music!
Who: Lindsay Lohan
When: 2004
The Mean Girls actress started her career with a lip-syncing scandal. The pop star turned up on the sets of Good Morning America, supposedly and expectedly, to sing live. But Lohan's mouth was not moving because she had forgotten the lyrics to her first single, Rumors. The song was heard in the background. And this was the day her debut album Speak hit the stores!
Who: Britney Spears
When: 2007
At the 2007 VMA, Britney Spears was heavily crticised for lip-syncing. The performance, which was poised as her comeback, was not just evidently lip-synced, but fans were disappointed that she didn't even care to do anything about it. A sparkly black bikini and her blonde locks didn't help her poor performance.
Who: Milli Vanilli
When: 1989
In July 1989, German R&B duo Milli Vanilli lost their Grammy because there was pressure from the American media after a lip-sync scandal involving them. During a live performance in Connecticut, the recording of the song Girl You Know It's True began to fall off-key, repeating the line Girl, you know it's...over and over on the speakers. They put up the pretense for a few more minutes before doing the obvious -running off the stage. With that, the Grammy, too ran away.
WHY DO SINGERS LIP-SYNC AT LIVE CONCERTS?
- Singers often lip-sync because they are not able to reproduce the vocals that were originally on record. Temporary hitches include sore throat, performance pressure and logistics.
- Time constraints is a hindrance as well. A live performance typically takes some time to set up, which includes a thorough soundcheck for all the musical instruments involved. In case the musicians don't have time for this, they take the lip-sync way.
- Sound engineers often add the Midas touch, or as they say in musical terms, autotune, to make a singer's voice flawless. This isn't possible during a live performance.
- Besides, if singers are dancing on stage while singing, they don't get enough time to breathe in between.
- Many singers are really not very good at singing and mostly depend on artificial enhancements that make them sound good in the studio. But performing in front of a live audience? That's a different ball game altogether.
- It gives singers peace of mind knowing that their song will be perfect so they can focus on their performance (audience interaction, dancing and the build-up).
MUSICIANS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE CONTROVERSY
BABUL SUPRIYO, Singer
Performing artistes are expected to dance even as they sing. Michael Jackson, Madonna, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake and Usher
are known to do that. But when you go for a concert of Eric Clapton,
Elton John, Adele or Taylor Swift, you know they will only sing as you
watch them perform live. What is important is to know if the performer
is also a good singer. Justin Bieber is a talented singer whose voice is
not computer generated. When it comes to him, one has to first decide
if they want him to sing or perform. Because if you wish to put up a
rocking dance performance, it's not possible to sing all through. SHANTANU MOITRA, ComposerPeople were waiting to catch a glimpse of Justin Bieber. Some may vouch never to see him again even though he has promised to be back and for others, it's good enough to have seen him just once. When it comes to ethics, it's just like watching a mimed philharmonic. I fail to understand why an artiste should travel all the way from another country to meet his fans and then sing perhaps just two songs. Having said that, Bieber is a great singer and I couldn't figure out if he was under any compulsion to put up a show like that.
JEET GANNGULI, singer-composerArtistes lip-sync during televised shows. They do the same for music videos as technically, it's not possible to do both at the same time. But in places where they are connecting with the audience directly, it's not ethical to lip-sync, all the more, when people are paying a hefty amount for the tickets to hear you sing.
ANUPAM ROY, singer-composerThere is no rule in India that defines how a stage act should be conducted. So, anyone wanting to lip-sync can go ahead with it. I don't think even Shakira was singing live on the World Cup stage. The stakes are so high and the investment is so much that no artiste can take the risk to go wrong on a platform like that. Lip-sync, as a trend, has been going on for ages. An artiste can also develop a sore throat and might be unable to sing. It's not possible for him to then cancel the day's show as it involves a lot of artistes and money, too, is a factor.
KAILASH KHER, singer
Mohabbat mein nahin hai fark jeene aur
marne ka ussi ko dekh kar jeete hai jis zalim par dum nikle. Since our
culture is rapidly changing, most continue to look up to the West. When
an artiste is visiting India, he or she already has a perception and
knows they can get away with anything. The audience is to be blamed
equally for this. For an artiste, the stage is the temple and singing,
his religion. So, a basic amount of honesty is needed when one is
performing. Since art is not a medium to con people, it's important to
know if the audience really loves the artiste or his art. India is a
country of Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Bhimsen Joshi, Pt Kumar Gandharva,
Pt Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and other
greats. What are we adding to our culture by bringing Justin Bieber, who
is all but singing? I have travelled the world with Kailasa and our
demands have been bare minimum. All we want to do is to propagate our
music and we do that with great honesty. Ultimately, this is what
matters.EIGHT INTERNATIONAL LIP-SYNCING SCANDALS IN RECENT PAST
Who: Mariah Carey
When: 2017 New Year's Eve
Who can forget Grammy-winning singer Mariah Carey's major lip-sync fail during the New Year's Eve performance at Times Square in New York? Performing live at the venue, the singer struggled hard to salvage the situation after the wrong song played. She stopped singing abruptly and encouraged the audience to finish off the lyrics to Emotions for her. Carey later described she was 'mortified' and blamed it on an in-ear monitor malfunction.
Who: Beyoncé
When: 2013
Queen Bey lip-synced the national anthem at the inaugural ceremonies for former US president Barack Obama! The live performance of The Star-Spangled Banner at the event was merely a lip-synced run-through of a track she had recorded earlier. However, Carey shut trolls up when she said, “It was about the president and the inauguration, and I wanted to make him and my country proud, so I decided to sing along with my pre-recorded track, which is very common in the music industry.“
Who: Katy Perry
When: 2013
While performing her hit number Roar at the NRJ Music Awards in Cannes, Katy Perry suffered a major lip-sync fail. Her lips couldn't match the track playing in the backdrop, creating a rather long delay.
Who: Chris Brown
When: 2012R&B star Chris Brown was caught in the middle of a controversy during his dance-heavy performance at the Billboard Music Awards in 2012. While many were of the opinion that with all the dancing Chris does, it isn't really a big deal if he lip-syncs, some were mighty upset. His mime during his Turn Up The Music at the show drew flak from the music industry. Singer Pink tweeted about the incident, saying, “One day if I lip-sync, I hope I do it as well as him.“ Joe Jonas too took to social media to voice his displeasure over the incident. “What happened to people singing live?“ he wrote.
Who: Shakira
When: 2010
The Waka Waka singer was caught lip-syncing during the FIFA World Cup inauguration concert held in South Africa. The pre-recorded track kept playing even before she stepped on to the stage, thus leaving her completely mortified. That the singer was miming to glory was painfully evident. But then again, when Shakira is on stage, you want her to stun and boy, did she stun with her body swaying to music!
Who: Lindsay Lohan
When: 2004
The Mean Girls actress started her career with a lip-syncing scandal. The pop star turned up on the sets of Good Morning America, supposedly and expectedly, to sing live. But Lohan's mouth was not moving because she had forgotten the lyrics to her first single, Rumors. The song was heard in the background. And this was the day her debut album Speak hit the stores!
Who: Britney Spears
When: 2007
At the 2007 VMA, Britney Spears was heavily crticised for lip-syncing. The performance, which was poised as her comeback, was not just evidently lip-synced, but fans were disappointed that she didn't even care to do anything about it. A sparkly black bikini and her blonde locks didn't help her poor performance.
Who: Milli Vanilli
When: 1989
In July 1989, German R&B duo Milli Vanilli lost their Grammy because there was pressure from the American media after a lip-sync scandal involving them. During a live performance in Connecticut, the recording of the song Girl You Know It's True began to fall off-key, repeating the line Girl, you know it's...over and over on the speakers. They put up the pretense for a few more minutes before doing the obvious -running off the stage. With that, the Grammy, too ran away.
WHY DO SINGERS LIP-SYNC AT LIVE CONCERTS?
- Singers often lip-sync because they are not able to reproduce the vocals that were originally on record. Temporary hitches include sore throat, performance pressure and logistics.
- Time constraints is a hindrance as well. A live performance typically takes some time to set up, which includes a thorough soundcheck for all the musical instruments involved. In case the musicians don't have time for this, they take the lip-sync way.
- Sound engineers often add the Midas touch, or as they say in musical terms, autotune, to make a singer's voice flawless. This isn't possible during a live performance.
- Besides, if singers are dancing on stage while singing, they don't get enough time to breathe in between.
- Many singers are really not very good at singing and mostly depend on artificial enhancements that make them sound good in the studio. But performing in front of a live audience? That's a different ball game altogether.
- It gives singers peace of mind knowing that their song will be perfect so they can focus on their performance (audience interaction, dancing and the build-up).
Varun Dhawan wants Hrithik, Jacqueline, Katrina, Salman in his dance film
7:55 AM
Sneha Mahadevan (DNA; June 13, 2015)
Varun Dhawan is currently doing the promotional rounds
for his dance-based film ABCD 2 with co-star Shraddha Kapoor. Though he
is considered to be one of the best dancers in the industry today,
given a choice, he would have a multitude of celebrities in his own
dance-based film. He says, “I would take Hrithik Roshan. It will
definitely be a multi-starrer so there would also be Prabhu Dheva, Usher,
Chris Brown and Jacqueline Fernandez — she dances very well. I would
also take Katrina Kaif in the film — after Kamli, she is brilliant. And
finally, I will get Salman bhai for like a special dance appearance.
That will be perfect.”
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