DEBUT

This year, five new playback singers sang their way to the top of the charts. You hummed their songs in the middle of traffic muddles and turned up the volume when their fresh voices filled the airwaves. We bring you the crooners who were music to your ears

HAMSIKA IYER, 35
Hit: Chanda re8230; Eklavya 8211; The Royal Guard
We first heard her years ago as a chirpy child in the jingle for Complan Yeh hai badhta baccha. By 2006, Iyer had sung for 2,000 ads and more. That was when music director Shantanu Moitra took her aside and gave her a piece of advice. For her voice to be more than a musical footnote, he suggested, she needed to cut down on ads8212;any struggling singer8217;s source of living. Iyer bit the bullet, cutting down on her assignments by 80 per cent when she did not have a single offer for a playback song in hand. The vivacious singer, who was trained in Carnatic music by her father and guru, Balachandran, a reputed Carnatic musician, knew she had to get back her focus. Impressed, Moitra called her for a scratch recording for Chanda re. Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra liked the haunting, dulcet tone and only after he had okayed the voice did Moitra reveal that the woman singing the only song in the star-studded film was a newcomer. She has already broken the mould in Khoya Khoya Chand music also by Moitra with Khusboo saa, a song in the jazz mode with a signature Geeta Dutt-isque effect.
First break: The jingle for Complan, which I sang as a child artist when I was in Class V.
All-time favourite song: Lataji8217;s Kuch dil ne kaha8230;
Idols: Though I admire all female singers, especially Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt and Lata Mangeshkar, my favourite is Kishore Kumar.
Current singers I admire: Shreya Ghosal for her clarity, Sunidhi Chauhan for her versatility and Richa Sharma for the power in her vocals
Life after Eklavya: I have sung in Its Breaking News, Loins of Punjab Presents, Khoya Khoya Chand and the next film projects of music directors Moitra and Shankar Mahadevan.
Mentorspeak: 8220;She8217;s an outstanding singer, a lovely mimic a talent essential for a playback singer and is dexterous with most languages thanks to her experience with jingles. In Hamsika, the industry has got a very blues, very sawdusty kind of voice where you can hear a lot of grains8212; a voice that8217;s not exactly high-pitched or shrill, that is almost like Geeta Dutt in its range. But she needs to be very good with her Hindi pronunciation,8221; says Moitra.

SOHAM, 28
Hit: In dino, dil mera Life in a8230; Metro
A phone call at 3 in the morning and he scrambled from his home in Mumbai8217;s northern suburb Kandivali to music director Pritam8217;s studio in Andheri to belt out a ballad about reawakening amid the ruins of urban angst. The song turned out to be one of the year8217;s best written and rendered songs. 8220;I8217;d gone there sure that it was going to be another scratch recording and my voice would be replaced by a popular singer, but Pritam okayed it in one take,8221; says the singer from Kolkata. Till then, Soham, who won the Saregama 2000 finals, had been struggling in the music industry for seven years. The 15-minute-long track a challenge for a solo debut was pruned in its final form but it showcased his potential. For Pritam, who had auditioned 40-50 singers before he called Soham, his 8220;is a complete hero8217;s voice8221;.
First break: A playback song in a Bengali film
All-time favourite song: Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya
Idols: Mohd Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mehdi Hassan and Ghulam Ali
Current singers I admire: Sonu Nigam, KK, Kunal Ganjawala and Shaan
Life after Metro: I8217;ve sung the title track of Dhol, songs in Hattrick and have songs in the next films of White Feather and Tips.
Mentorspeak: Says Pritam, 8220;He has a voice that can carry off classical long notes and Sufi songs with equal flair. The good thing is that he has got over imitating Sonu Nigam and is finally creating an identity of his own.8221;

SHAIL HADA, 32
Hit: Doli mein bithake8230; Saawariya
Sanjay Leela Bhansali might have meandered into darkness with his telling of Fyodor Dostoevsky8217;s White Nights but Saawariya is a sparkler of a music album and easily ranks among the best this year. It has also given the music industry a versatile new voice8212;Shail Hada. In the operatic title track, Hada has done it all8212;from hitting the high notes to yodeling. Listen carefully and you will also hear bits of him in most songs of the album8211;be it the azaan in Mashallah, the chorus in Jab se tere naina or the background score. It took Hada, who has been working with Monty Sharma for four years now and had sung for Black8217;s background score, 12 years of struggle to get his break. The singer from Kota, 8220;also Shreya Ghosal8217;s hometown,8221; and a part-time music teacher in Mumbai now not only has got his due as a playback singer but also sports a new look, complete with hip bandana. Quiz him on what kept him going all these years and he says, 8220;I live my life as a traveller and I operate from my heart, not mind.8221;
First break: As a back-up vocalist in Black.
All-time favourite song: Bade Ghulam Ali Khan8217;s Prem jogan banke Mughal-e-Azam
Idols: Mohd Rafi, Lataji, Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey and Mukesh.
Current singers I admire: Everyone. Be it Sonu, Shaan, KK or Kunal, each has a unique attribute.
Life after Saawariya: I am singing for Sunny Deol8217;s and Subhash Ghai8217;s next films and doing three-four films with Monty Sharma.
Mentorspeak: 8220;He is very versatile and can sing songs of all genres equally well, 8221; says Sharma.

PARTHIV GOHIL, 31
Hit: Yun shabnami Saawariya
In 1998, when celeb histrionics and SMS marathons hadn8217;t overshadowed talent in Saregama, Parthiv Gohil had stunned judges and viewers alike with his performances. Nearly a decade later, he is back to claim his spot in the limelight with a song in Saawariya. Parthiv, who is from a middle class family in Bhavnagar, has the high spirits and ready wit of a natural performer but is a serious singer with a firm grounding in Indian classical music. A hit performer at various star shows in India and abroad, he has the talent to belt out more chartbusters.
First break: The background bandish in the opening credits track of Devdas.
Idols: Yanni, Beethoven, Pandit Jasraj, Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Michael Jackson
All-time favourite song: Heal the world8230;
Singers I admire: KK and Kailash Kher apart, Sonu Nigam is my hero.
Life after Saawariya: Apart from being a mentor to actress Apara Mehta in Jhoom India, I am working with Monty Sharma in three of his next films.
Mentorspeak: 8220;He is excellent in his presentation. Though he is a versatile singer, he best modulates soft numbers. But he should avoid doing too many shows and concentrate on his playback career,8221; says Sharma.

SUHAIL, 26
Hit: Baatein kuch ankahee si Life in a8230; Metro
He started with a song in the forgettable 2006 release Family. But only this year did this singer with boyish looks make a splash in Life in a Metro, with an unplugged version supported only by a guitar and an appearance in the band with the rather silly look that kept popping up in the movie at frequent intervals. The smart Mumbai cad has been getting as many serial and modeling as singing offers, though he has decided to stick to music. 8220;It8217;s important in life to focus on something. I would like to concentrate on singing as that8217;s my forte,8221; says Suhail, who is also one of the lead singers in Pritam8217;s band Metro.
First break: The song Jeene do8230; in Family, under music director Ram Sampat
Idols: Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Amir Khan, Mohd Rafi, Manna Dey and Talat Mehmood
All-time favourite song: Roop Kumar Rathod8217;s Maula mere maula
Current singers I admire: Sonu Nigam
Life after Metro: Dhol, Pritam8217;s next and lot of live shows with band Metro
Mentorspeak: 8220;He has a young loverboy kind of voice and sings very passionately. His voice is best suited for pop and soft rock numbers. But he should be more versatile,8221; says Pritam. copy;