Setting an original tune

Rapper Honey Singh, who turns mentor with India’s Raw Star, believes that life is a continuous process of learning

Yo Yo Honey Singh

The last few years have seen the rise of singing sensation and rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh, who will be seen mentoring and grooming young talent from across the country in the talent show, India’s Raw Star on Star Plus. Interestingly, he will be looking out for orginality, inthe contestants. Raw Talent, unlike other music-talent shows, will not see contestants reprising popular Bollywood songs, but will create, write and sing their own pieces.
But even before Singh became popular on the national and international front, with his quirky songs, he had provided opportunities to many young singers in Punjab. “Before becoming popular in India as a singer, I was working as a music director composing for films and independent albums in Punjab. In the six to seven years as a music director, I launched many singers and improved my presentation skills,” says Singh, who claims this experience had well-equipped to launch himself as a singer.
The breakthrough for the rapper came when his songs started becoming a rage amongst the masses and he was accepted despite the controversies surrounding him. On a lighter note, he quips, “When a new talent enters, a lot of blocks are created in the way to success, the controversies surrounding me were those blocks. But once you get over them, it becomes clear to everyone that you are here to stay.”
Singh, who has handpicked the 10 contestants through digital auditions that were conducted for the show, believes that a ‘raw’ star is someone who learns from every experience in life. However, as a mentor, he thinks the best way is to let a person be as original as he or she can be. “When I was a music director, I never tampered with a singer’s originality. I just worked on the presentation, packaging and music,” he remarks as he says that it was his original style that has clicked with people. “Though I was a Punjabi writer/singer, when I wrote Lungi Dance… which had a South-Indian flavour, it was liked because it is completely original,” he adds.
During the 14-weeks, Singh will be a friend, mentor and guide to the contestants on the show.