Shaan, who is coaching contestants of The Voice India, says it is important to remain a student to be able to mentor young voices
How does it feel to be the coach of a reality music show?
As a coach there is certainly a lot of responsibility involved, but at the same time, it’s easier when you know your job. However, being the coach, I will be involved in things such as selecting songs, figuring scales, thinking how we can add a twist to it, how we can enhance the performance and decide on a few variations that the contestants can attempt to do. I do have a little experience of being a coach and I’m going to put that into practice to make this role better. A lot of time and energy needs to be put into this, and I want to be there for the contestants.
Why did you choose to be a part of The Voice India?
The Voice is an extremely popular format, globally. It’s the most sought after show for any singer and musician. If you want to be on television and on a music show it has to be this.
The format of the show is different from other music competitions.
Every round is exciting — very different and innovative. The blind auditions itself is an amazing concept because it’s just the ears and instinct that a coach relies on. Even when we make the teams, we need to make sure that what we have heard is not repetitive, adding versatility within the talent. It will get more interesting as it proceeds. But, of course, one needs to use a lot of their singing experience as well as logic to make it happen.
What kind of talent are you looking for in your team?
I am looking for talent who are all-rounders. It means that I will prefer someone who is not a specialist or one dimensional. Someone who is comfortable across genres and can add to versatility to it, is the kind of contestant I will be looking out for.
Have you followed the international editions?
I have never followed an entire season. But whenever I sit to watch an episode of The Voice, I get immersed. I have watched a lot of episodes with Shakira and I think she was brilliant because there was no wall between her and the contestants. Though they were all enamoured by her, she quickly made friends and created bonds. It was fantastic watching her train them. She is so amazingly talented.
Why are contestants judged on the basis of their performance of popular tracks and not on their expertise in classical or folk music?
Within popular songs you will find folk, classical and various genres which have been very smartly used by composers over the years. Being an general entertainment channel, you can’t do something that is absolutely unheard of or very vague. You can bring in freshness to the same song by giving it a twist, by making it sound new and different, and that’s what we’re trying to do. You don’t feel that it’s the same song again, sung the same way and you don’t choose the songs that have been done to death. At the same time, I wouldn’t sing a song that would completely switch my audience off. Neither will it work for the show nor for the talent. It’s all a matter of audience preference. So it’s very dynamic. Things change — you never know. Tomorrow, maybe a classical show might just become popular.
As a coach, what kind of challenges will you give the contestants to enhance their talent?
I will definitely not want to stress them out and I wouldn’t want them to tire their voices either. So it’s not going to be very rigorous. At the same time, I want to keep them engaged so that they do not lose focus. I would certainly want a lot of cohesive learning to happen from within the team.
What kind of mentor are you going to be?
I want to be approachable and be very connected so that they feel free to contact me. Very honestly, I feel that one needs to have that student alive within, only then will you be able to mentor and guide the other person because you yourself are learning so much in the process.
Judging an aspiring talent purely based on the voice — is it restrictive or is that how it should be?
I have been judging talent for a while now and I don’t use contact lenses or wear my glasses, so most often I judge blind (laughs). I have always judged on the basis of the voice. I think it makes a lot more sense as you can be influenced by the body language and by the confidence that the person is showing physically, which may not reflect in the voice. At the same time you can also be influenced by knowing the fact that the person may not be comfortable with the genre and has still made the effort and done it. It’s much more objective when you only hear the voice.
You have been part of many music reality shows, both as an anchor and a judge.
It’s just that I enjoy it, because I enjoy interacting with people. Being part of television is a lot of fun. Earlier, when I was a host, I got to meet a lot of great maestros and legends of this industry. You get to learn a lot and you have to have some discipline of being there through long rigorous hours and ultimately, getting visibility on television is also something that helps an artiste. But at the end of the day, I think for me to be who I am, whether it is on television or a live show or even in person, it is very important because there is not pressure of pretending. I like being myself and luckily being myself has worked for me. So I will stick to it.
