‘I follow instructions when singing for someone else’

‘I follow instructions when singing for someone else’

Akshay Kumar’s Shaitan Ka Saala (Bala song) has become a huge rage. The Bala Challenge not only has fans but Bollywood celebrities dancing to the song’s hook step. Vishal Dadlani, who has sung the song, couldn’t be happier. In fact, the well-known singer, composer and lyricist also took up the challenge with the Mohan sisters — Neeti and Shakti. 

Congratulate him on the success of the song and Vishal says, “Thank you so much. Working with Akshay is always super fun and I love singing for him.” 

DIFFERENT FACTORS COME INTO PLAY
The celebrated composer,  along with Shekhar Ravjiani, has created several musical hits like Tiger Zinda Hai, Happy New Year, Hasee Toh Phasee, Balak Palak, The Dirty Picture, Bachna Ae Haseeno, War and so on.  

Vishal has also been doing playback singing since 1999. He has lent his voice to multiple hit tracks including Boombai Nagariya, Golmaal, Dhoom Again, Kiss of Love, Tashan Mein, Shut Up & Bounce, Ik Junoon, and others. He gives his signature style to his songs, which are high on energy. 

Ask him about his success formula and Vishal says that it is a combination of different factors. “The actor and the situation are important factors for a song, but it also depends on the singer’s mood — how it is at that moment. Composers, lyricists and the director also play an important part. All these factors create the atmosphere for me while recording a song. It’s important to have a positive atmosphere around you when recording a song,” says he, adding, “I mostly see how much I can connect to the song and then of course, the lyrics and the tune also matter. But my whole concentration is how much justice I can do to the song.” 

DRAWING THE LINE
Though, Vishal has mostly sung for albums or songs that he and Shekhar have composed and for Pentagram albums, he has sung for other composers too. He has sung for Shankar-Eshaan-Loy, Pritam and, most recently, Sohail Sen (Bala). While singing for other music directors, does he make use of his composing skills and experiment with the song? “No, not at all. I know this song is someone else’s baby. I just follow instructions when singing for someone else. All the composers that I have worked with have been very nice. Most of them have allowed me to tweak the song a little bit,” says the award-winning singer. 

JUDGING REALITY SHOWS
Vishal has been a reality show judge for many years. Currently, he, along with Neha Kakkar and Anu Mallk, is judging Sony TV’s music reality show — Indian Idol season 11. Vishal says that with every passing year, the talent on Indian Idol is getting better, because of the benchmark created by singers in the previous seasons. “Indian Idol has always been a show which has given our industry some of the most superlative singers, so this time also we are expecting to hear some amazing singers who will not only create history for themselves but the show too. There are singers from various genres such as classical, semi-classical, jazz and so on. Listening to them will be a great joy,” says Vishal who has judged Indian Idol’s previous seasons too. 

LOOKING FOR HONEST SINGERS
Vishal says that this season he has decided to give less attention to technicality as his co-judges — Anu ji and Neha who would be concentrating on that more. “I would like to judge the contestants on how honest they are with their singing. While singing, are they able to connect to the song? Are they understating the tune of the song? When you understand the tune and feel of the song, the song automatically becomes more melodious,” he explains.  

But are there any qualities that make a great reality show contestant? “Talent,” he says, adding, “Anyone who wants to make their name in the music industry should have a voice that touches everyone’s heart. If anyone out there believes that their voice can give goosebumps to others will be welcomed with open arms for any singing reality show. There are two more factors that can help them sustain — confidence and stage presence. These two factors help in creating a proper reality show package,” says Vishal who has also judged The Stage. 

SING ORIGINAL TO GET HEARD
A common sight one gets to see while watching reality shows, is the lack of original tracks being sung by contestants. Most reality shows have contestants singing popular tracks of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. As a reality show judge, does he feel that there is a need for contestants to sing original tracks along with popular ones?  “As a judge I would love to hear the contestants sing their original tracks. The stage should not only help them grow as a singer but also as a lyricist. Sometimes their voice might come across better in their original track rather than singing some other popular track. You never know when their original track will click and become an instant hit among the audience,” he says. 

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