Road to euphoria

(L-R) Nolok, Beauty and Razib -- the three finalists

Closeup 1 created a sensation when about 40,000 young hopeful singers nationwide applied to take part in the competition. Dreams of making it big for many were cut short in the audition and selection rounds; 108 took part in the second round of the show.

The third round saw 40 emerging artistes divided in five groups fight it out; best two from each group and six participants who despite demonstrating their singing talent did not get enough votes in the previous rounds, moved to round four. Five were weeded out in the next round, where the participants performed original songs by leading composers and lyricists. The remaining 11 rendered classics from old Bangla movies in the next round and seven contestants made it to the 'Folk Music' round. Five were chosen from that round to participate in the 'Band Songs' round (semi-final), where two were voted out and thus the three finalists emerged before us.

The course of the most talked about talent hunt in Bangladesh has not been without hiccups. An issue regarding deserving contestants being voted out due to favouritism has surfaced. In the semi-final, one cannot disregard the look of disbelief on the judges' faces when a talented Sonya had to say farewell to her shot at the title.

However, the calibre of the last three contenders of Closeup 1 are by no means less than superior. Nolok has proven again and again that versatility is his strength. Predominantly a folk singer, he can render anything dished out to him and that too with precision. According to Kumar Bishwajit, one of the judges, Razib's melodic vocals can be an asset to the music industry and Beauty is apparently the next best thing to emerge in the genre of Lalon songs after Farida Parveen, according to ace music director Alam Khan.

The final performance round of the show began with our National Anthem. The special guest in the programme was Alam Khan. Aired on December 16, our Victory Day, the fitting theme was patriotic songs. Nolok kicked off with a rendition of Mago bhabna kano, composed by Hemanta Mukhopadhyay. The performance was soulful, and had the zest the songs calls for. Samina Chowdhury thought Nolok could do better but other judges felt the performance was enjoyable.

Next on stage was Beauty who performed Hairey amar monmatano desh, a beautiful song penned and composed by the multitalented Khan Atatur Rahman. Beauty's rendition was easy to the ear but voice seemed to lack proper control in places. The flaw, however, was excusable due to Beauty's original singing style heavily infused with the genre of Lalon Sangeet.

Razib's performance of a popular song, Shurjodoye tumi shurjasteo tumi seemed to make quite an impression on the judges. Samina Chowdhury raved about Razib's vocals and Bishwajit again emphasised that artistes like him are much needed in our music arena.

Who is "the voice Bangladesh is looking for"? Tonight's Closeup 1 aired live on ntv, starting at 8:25pm, will reveal the winner.