Everything you need to know about the pre-finals

And whatever we know about the finals

If you have any questions, please leave a comment or mail us or sms us or just start shouting out our names in random public.

Ladies and gentleitems, here are your pre-final dates:

Pre-final 1: 2nd may
1. Abhijit
2. Mark
3. Malliga
4. Remya
5. Shwetha
6. Tania
7. Thomas
8. Venkat

Pre-final 2: 9th may
1. Andy
2. Divya
3. Goo
4. Keerthana
5. Lindsay
6. Prateek
7. Russ
8. Sulekha

Pre-final 3: 16th may
1. Aishwarya
2. Bharath
3. Jacob
4. Jerusha
5. Jude
6. Pragnya
7. Roopika
8. Gulshan


Dos:
Category 1- any song originally recorded in or before 1975
Category 2- any song you want
Don’ts:
You can’t sing a song you’ve sung before at Opus. Pretty please. No one deserves to be disqualified.

the pre finals will be judged by the audience. entry cards for the semis will also double up as voting cards .. for you to have your say and circle your 4 favorites of the night. The voting will be done at the end of the evening. The results will be up on this blog the day after the contest. (Promise.)

Recording for the CD
Between the 3rd and 19th of May, the Kroaking CD will be recorded with sharmon ibrahim. The song that you will record will be one that best showcases your voice.
The roster for the recording sessions will be sent out to the top 12, post the semis. All communication for rules, regulations, roster etc will be communicated by email and sms. And blog.


The Finals
1. There will be 12 participants at the finals.
2. Finals will be held on 25th May 2007 (Friday) at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall. The hall is booked for the whole day. Participants are advised to come in during the day for practice.
3. Participants cannot sing songs that they have performed before at Kroaknights (both Wednesday and Sunday) or at the semis.
4. There will be 2 rounds of competition. The criteria for each round will be announced shortly after the semis
5. Only top 6 from the 12 will move to Round 2. All 12 participants are strongly advised to have two songs ready. Why underestimate yourself when… you don’t have to?
6. Judging for the finals is by a panel of judges. List of judges will be communicated shortly. The decision of the judges will be final.

That should about cover it
If you disagree, let us know.

Week 8: In which Carlton found what he was looking for

Give the dog a bone; this chap man came rolling home!

We all have our agenda with what we do. Some of us sing to be heard, some to be seen and some to help Carlton along the road to his Sanjaya. After many months of anticipation and preparation, eight weeks of qualifying rounds and innumerable trials and errors, we’ve come down to 24 people who are singing to win.

Last Wednesday brought us some more new talent- something that we’ve begun to cheerfully look forward to. Suman deserves a special mention for her rendition of Misty by Sarah Vaughn. Suman, it’s a real pity you didn’t make it. You were a little shaky on that song, and I don’t blame you- Ms. Vaughn is fairly inimitable. But I hope you’ll come back every Wednesday anyway. And ideally with more jazz for us. Some of us are turning many shades of blue, for lack of good jazz.

There were other colourful moments- Sanjay, with his lyric-less belting out of Can You Feel The Love Tonight, and Sushma who gave us her startling and mildly disturbing version of Shaggy’s Angel. And of course, Mr. Mark Lazaro, about whom I’ve written more than an advisable amount on this blog. Well, try and stop me. Mark, how about a new song for us? Before too much love kills us, you know? Fi fie fo fum!

Getting back to business, four people qualified, bringing us to our desired tally of 24:

Roopika- You sang one of my least favourite songs of all-time (Hero- Mariah Carey). Which means, I’ve heard that song two weeks in a row in Opus. Which means, I should be really really unhappy at this point. But if you’ve heard yourself sing, you’ll know that’s not true. Hats off!

Swetha- Congratulations on making it. And thank you ever so much for not attempting Alanis’s yodel on One Hand In My Pocket. Hopefully, people will now realize that it’s possible to sing Alanis without subjecting an unassuming drunk audience to a split-voiced shriek at irregular intervals.

Sulekha- Turns out Orange Coloured Sky is the unofficial heart-winner of this season. Nina put magic into that song before bursting our collective pink bubbles by opting out of the contest. And now, you. Congratulations, girl.

Thomas- Well, well, well! Who would’ve thought it possible?! To be honest, not I. But no matter; the judges voted and you made it and all the best to you. Carlton is showing all of his shiny white(ish) teeth on having found his Sanjaya. But a word of caution: if you pick Something to Talk About, I might attempt murder. Please, please don’t ever do something like that to me, bonnie lad.

I want to also quickly mention Anand who sang Love Story. On my little piece of paper, I had a big exclamation mark next to your name. That usually means, had I been a judge, you’d have been given a place. You didn’t attempt to imitate anyone or sing is someone else’s voice, and I thank you for that rare experience.

No marriage proposals this week. But I’ll carry a ring with me to Opus next Wednesday, to make up for it. And hopefully Carlton will be giving us something to talk about as well. So. Here are our final 24!

1) Jacob
2) Tania
3) Keerthana
4) Mark Lazaro
5) Jude Lazaro
6) Pratik
7) Jerusha
8) Andy
9) Venkatesh
10) Divya Joseph
11) Remya
12) Abhijit
13) Pragnya
14) Lindsay
15) Bharath
16) Russ
17) Malliga
18) Gulshan
19) Goo
20) Aishwarya
21) Roopika
22) Swetha
23) Sulekha
24) Thomas


Hang in there for my next post, which will be wearing a tie and being very business-like. It’s all about the rules, regulations, dos, don’ts and or-elses.

Week 7: Lookin’ for fun and feeling Gooey

No. I don’t know what to say. And that’s exactly what I say moments before I launch into a tirade. In this case, a happy tirade because I tell you, this contest is gamboling and frolicking about the place like Kate Moss on acid!

Last evening was another revelation to close-minded idiots like me, about the amount of talent there is in this city. There was some outstanding singing going on, and it’s refreshing to have so many new voices. (Nakul, you were really really good. Very trained, mature voice. I hope we get to see you back next week. Suman, that was a very decent rendition of Moondance. Come back, come back!)

The weather god, having absolutely no sense of timing, chucked a couple of buckets of water at us, somewhere in the middle of all this. But seeing how it didn't stop people from going right ahead with the business of having fun, he packed his pails and went home. People actually continued to sit out in the open, holding up umbrellas. Now, that’s spirit.

I have to make a couple of special mentions.
Kim- I’m always taken by women who pick male vocal pieces. You did the opposite and, for once, I was impressed. Or at least entertained. Your priceless falsetto had you squeezing many oranges, and many people screaming for you. Bravo!
Bharath- I have a soft corner for that song. And the fact that you know how to rock it, made it so worthwhile. (Bharath sang Hard To Handle.)
Goo- I must say ‘Hero’ is one of my least favourite songs of all-time. These wimpy songs that put up various objects-of-affection on a pedestal don’t impress me much. But you saved the experience for me, and listening to your voice made up for the nauseating lyrics.

So, moving along rapidly to my favourite part…

Marry Me!

Andy
I must admit I was skeptical when I first heard you sing. Sweet Child Of Mine is one of those songs that so many people have mastered, it’s stopped becoming a song by which you can judge someone’s prowess. But your version of Oh Darling (The Beatles) removed any doubt that I might have had about you. Outstanding!

Gulshan
My man, this is love that I’m feeling! You started off a little self-consciously, but somewhere in the middle of your performance, you threw caution to the winds, which is exactly where it belongs. You were my pick for the night. Gush!

Aishwarya
You have an effortless voice and style. A few seconds into your song, and I knew you’d make it. Don’t Know Why I Didn’t Come is, again, not a hot favourite. (I guess I can understand Norah Jones’s angst; a lot of us don’t know why we didn’t. But must she sing about it?) I can’t wait to hear you do another song. Something sassy and with a little more attitude, perhaps? To compliment your voice.

The evening ended with our little boy wonder, Jacob Ninan. You are a beauty, Jakes. And for the record, I’ve asked Jacob to marry me as well. But he’s loving angels instead.

So.
Three more have made it. Gulshan (gush!), Goo and Aishwarya. Here’s the list so far:
1) Jacob
2) Tania
3) Keerthana
4) Mark Lazaro
5) Jude
6) Pratik
7) Jerusha
8) Andy
9) Venkatesh
10) Divya Joseph
11) Nina Mathew
12) Remya
13) Abhijit
14) Pragnya
15) Lindsay
16) Bharath
17) Russ
18) Malliga
19) Gulshan
20) Goo
21) Aishwarya

Turns out Nina Mathew (Kroak Idol No. 11) will not be competing, since she won’t be in the country. That sure is a pity, Nina, you have the voice of an angel. This means next week, the last week for qualifying, will see not 3 but 4 people through to the finals. So if you thought you didn’t stand a chance or you didn’t have the time, think again.

Whee. Things are hotting up! See you next week?
Good!

... of creeps and men who feel like women !!

we're almost at the business end of our search ... 2 more wednesdays and we will have our final list of 24 singers .. and errr .. performers.
ok a couple of things
THE FINALS ARE AT THE CHOWDIAH AT 7PM ON THE 25TH OF MAY 2007 .. tickets go on sale shortly
unlike last year, we are gonna have 3 semi finals (cant really call it that.. it should be the one third finals, i guess) .. they are 3rd, 10th and 17th may. 8 singers will perform and we will have 2 designated rounds (which will be announced once all 24 have been decided) and it will be an audience vote to pick the 4 singers that go through. entry coupons for the semis will also double up as voting cards ... the top 4 will be announced on the site the next day and at the following sundays' KroaKnight. if any of the performers have any problems with a particular date pls let us know asap.
one more time just to reiterate here are the PRIZES
a cash prize of Rs 10,000 for kroaKING

Nokia phones for the finalists

weekly prizes from levitate and native resorts...

and free entry to wed and sun kroaknights for the year for all the top 24 (thats 104 nights in the year @ Rs 110/- a night ... u do the math)

the top 12 get into a studio to record the season 2 special CD with sharmon ibrahim

... still some prizes are coming in :) who are we to complain

and now about the 3 that made it last week.
malliga breezed through and gave herself a b'day present with man i feel like a woman, bharath nailed born to be wild and mr. peterson being true to himself and the song was the 3rd to scrape through with radioheads 'i'm a creep, i'm a weirdo' ....

1. jacob 2. tania 3. keerthana 4. Mark Lazaro 5. Jude 6. Pratik 7. Jerusha 8. andy 9. venkatesh 10) divya joseph 11) nina mathew 12) remya 13) abhijit 14) pragnya 15) lindsay 16) bharath 17) russ 18) malliga

idle worship

(click on image to enlarge)

somebodys gotta do this and since 'baby got back' problem and 'the cat' is going through menopaws its landed on my laptop.
ok i have to say this .. since i dont know if and when i'll get to say anything here ... i wanna go on record and say that apart from melinda (who needs to doolittle to prove that shes octaves above the rest) we have, in our little backyard on palace cross road, at least 6 in the KroaKING final 15 already who could demolish the other 'idols'.
really, i'm gonna compare man for man, if u dont mind ...
1. phil stacey ... jacob ninan could and would have him for breakfast
2. chris richardson ... i think mark lazaro can more than take the pants off him
3. haley scarnato ... sorry tania, but you're my pick for this one .. we both know singing is not your forte
4. lakisha jones ... jerusha, i think u have what it takes
5. blake lewis ... barry would tear him to shreds and leave his carcass to de'compose' ... (barry still doesnt know his travel plans so he hasnt yet qualified)
6. sanjaya malakar ... now thats someone i cant match .. problem is that all in our version of the competetion can sing ... which is sad cos i'd love to have a 'sanjaya' in the final 12 . last year the kroaking finals had characters ... V had vinoj and vivek (and of course barry) .. but there are still 3 weeks and im still hopeful (russ peterson or young thos is who i have my crosshairs on)

anyways im supposed to report on last wednesdays action and keeping with the theme here goes
the marry me section ... (im proposing on behalf of ms. anand, just in case theres any confusion)
1. a very very inebriated lindsay erdman, a candian jazz blues rocker proved that one whisky one scotch and one beer are her secret ingredients, and wang dang doodled her way into the semis
2. abhijit with a rather ambitious song choice (doing sting always is) ... but he handled it decently enough to make it through
3. pragnya ... finally!! phew!! hats of to this girl though for perseverance ... she braved through that busted flat in baton rouge and is now one of the 24

ok and check it out yo! (happy anoopa?)
there were 2 other girls that stood out ... shweta with a nice vocal of sheryl crows sweet child of mine ... girl, all u need to do is loosen up and enjoy yourself ... really!! i think lindsays secrets should be shared
but the one i really felt really sorry for though, was yamini, a girl from hyderabad, who did a near flawless rendition of didos white flag. pragnyas total was 61 and yamini got 60, and when asked, she said if she were in the semis, she would be here whenever she needed to come down from hyderabad ... siggghh .. come back soon girl

thats about it for this week .... i really hope i find my sanjaya!

carlton

TB or not TB

I’ve studied a bit of literature in my life, and I found it strangely romantic and picturesque that an alarmingly large number of writers and artists in the Victorian era died of consumption. But I’m weird like that. When I first fell in love with literature and thought I might want to start writing, I always imagined that after many years of being an unsuccessful impoverished writer, I would eventually contract consumption and be asked to spend a lot of time by the sea, being weak and disillusioned.

Sadly, science came in the way of my ambition. We have so many ‘cooler’ ailments now. Stress-related vertigo and posture-related backaches are my personal picks for Generation Vexed. And neither has resulted in the doctor advising me a decade’s rest by a calm grey sea.

What I am trying to say in this rambling comatose-inducing manner, is one of the two have kept me from being of any use to this blog, over the past week. And if you’ve followed this blog, you’ll know which it is. For now, I promise to try and get someone else to fill you in on last night’s happenings. And for the large large number of you who are no doubt feeling faint with worry regarding my health, here are some smelling salts. I have bought a hot water bag and some new reading material to see me through countless hours of lying around in bed.

I will be back soon.