Andy is dandy

You know that irritating thing about television that makes us think our lives are not good enough? Perfect moments, perfect timing, perfect teeth, perfect brea…kfasts. You get the drift. But when that sort of thing happens before your very eyes, and you haven’t even had a delusion-friendly amount to drink, you realize that art indeed imitates life.

My little red writing book is chock-a-block with underlines and circles and flowers and- for the first time, like some smitten teenager- hearts. We’ll come to that later.

First off, our old friend Verghese came back after ages, and reminded us of that James Dio-esque persona he pulls off so well. He was quickly followed by Kevin with a stunning performance of Megalomaniac. It is important to note that under Kevin’s name I have written the word ‘uzhoo’. Judy, breaking a jinx that took place week after shocking week, finally got her due. With a characteristically coy rendition of I Never Really Loved You Anyway, Judy broke into that now-complete list of finalists. Abhijit Sudhakar, another ghost from KroaKing past, came back with more tweezers and oranges, and successfully yowled his way through Living On A Prayer. Nitin- one of my hot favourites from Week 3- returned, and made the cut with panache, with Born To Be Wild.

And then came one of my unabashed beaming moments. It’s positively hideous to watch me when I get like this; I look like Little Lotta would if she swallowed a lightbulb. When Vijay sang My Way, I watched proudly as all the women turn to each other and said, “Why don’t they make them like this anymore?” It was a warm fuzzy safety-in-numbers moment, albeit without an answer. We didn’t have much time to care; Dino Morea was on stage shortly after, and aforementioned complaining women would’ve eaten some words except for the minor fact that they weren’t breathing.

What happened next goes directly into my special section.

Chickie in my pen

Megha Girish
A little bit of history first. Megha was with me at KroaKing 1. You know, back when karaoke was only about fun? There were enough lethal voices in Season 1 to make one feel like they didn’t stand a chance in hell. But when Megha performed Lady Marmalade, the rest of us may as well have just packed up and left. It is important to point out that we didn’t. We couldn’t; she glued us to our spots with her voice. Megha won that season hands down.

And now, she’s back in town, taking part again. The competition is insane, and it’s impossible to pick any favourites. But watch out for Megha.

Mamma’s most beloved boy wonder!

Andy
You know that thing about drawing hearts that I mentioned earlier? Andy was responsible. Eight hearts and one big flower, Andy. What have you done to me? After last week’s nonsensical repeat trick with the cell phone, Andy came back. This time, there was a sheet of paper pinned to a tree. Andy looked at me mockingly and began to sing. The rest, as they don’t say, is in the present continuous. Andy sang Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow and everyone just shut up and listened. I was telling someone the other day, that there are very few voices that astound me, every single time they begin to sing. Andy is the only voice on that list who is not an international star. Yet.

Andy, I’ll call you when you’re on stage at the finals, okay?! Wink.

That brings us to the end of the qualifying rounds. Five people made it last Wednesday, since a couple of people from previous weeks have had to drop out. Judy, Andy, Megha, Nitin and Kevin.

That also brings me to the end of a fairly long relationship that I’ve shared with this blog. I first wrote here right at the end of Season 1, and haven’t stopped since. It’s going to be strange not to be here for the rest of this season. But I will try and survive on news I’m sure I’ll get from friends. It’s been an honour and a pleasure to spend week after week getting badgered by Carlton to write now, write now!

Have a great season, all the best and may the crown belong to the most passionate.