[abhie]

With the whole nation bent on finding out talent from every nook and corner of the country, talent hunt shows have become the latest platform for the young to show their expertise. Rafi Zahed takes a peek into the process of Djuice DRockstars 2 and assures us that, it's going to be a rock solid ride. Shall we buckle up?


The beginning

It seems that the trend of presenting talent hunt shows is quite popular these days. Following the norms of western television culture, Indians quickly adapted themselves to creating popular shows like Rock Campus, Fame Gurukul and Indian Idol- the Indian franchise of American Idol. They sought what they wanted and found their musical gems.

Fortunately, Bangladeshis were not all that behind the Indians, as they too, quickly adapted the Indian versions to create their own talent hunt shows. As far as the dates go back, the first ever such show was the Benson and Hedges Star Search- a show dedicated to unearthing potential rock bands in the country.

Star Search continued for some time and it stopped, bringing an end to talent shows temporarily. But, this was followed by another popular contest known as 'Close-Up One'- which in its first phase created massive audience hype and continued to do so in their latest campaign which took place last year.

Now, in the middle lies another contest titled 'Djuice DRockstars 1'. This is an event solely sponsored and organised by Djuice, a brand product of Telenor. Djuice is represented here by 'Grameen Phone'.

Here I would like to elaborate on Djuice. This is a telecom package exclusively created targeting the youth generation. Djuice came up with the concept of finding youth rock bands in the country; their first show took place last year. 100s of people registered with the intention of becoming the next rock star. In the end, 20 participants were short listed and, finally, one contestant was the star.



The first episode of the DRockstar can be termed successful as it generated good audience hype; but, unfortunately, some mishaps in the end created confusion and chaos amid the participants and other people involved which ultimately brought the event to a temporary halt. Things became better this year as the participants were able to release their albums as promised by the organisers and sponsors.

After much failure and successes, the organisers once again wanted to bring back the DRockstars show this year. And this time, as promised by them, the show will be bigger, better and rocking!


This year things are different.


The Bangladesh Musical Band's Association (BAMBA) is directly involved in the event as a strategic partner. For those who know what BAMBA is and what it stands for, they will surely agree with this writer that expectations this year from the show will be astronomical.

Like before, contestants applied from 6 divisions. All the 18 band members of BAMBA were given the gruelling task of judging the contestants in each division.




About the contest

In an interview with Hamin Ahmed, one of the pioneers in band music, a member of BAMBA and also the judge for this year's contest, we found a few aspects about the show.


According to Hamin, BAMBA was formed by key music bands in the early 1990s to create a platform for presenting the Bangladeshi audience some quality music. This being one of the top priorities of the organisation, they continued their sincere efforts to promote good music in the country.

Hamin said, 'one of the reasons why BAMBA was interested in being a strategic partner for the DRockstars 2 was simple. We wanted to find that rock band which can create music which not only appealed to us, but which will also set a standard in the musical arena here and abroad.'

The aim of the contest is to find the hidden rock gems in the country. 'I am sure there are many out there but we don't know where they are,' said Hamin.


Hamin quickly differentiates Djuice DRockstars 2 from other previous talent hunt shows. In the case of Star Search, it initially gained momentum but gradually lost its charm. He mentioned that certain stipulations in the structure of the event led to flaws. When compared to 'Close-Up One', Hamin stated that the previous event concentrated on finding one voice only. But DRockstars is about one particular band. A group, which can write lyrics, compose, play and perform.

The contest was open for all and participants applied from Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet. Initially, more than hundred bands registered. The number grew as the registration came nearer to the closing date.

Till today, auditions have taken place in Barisal, Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet. Given the responsibility of a judge, Hamin and his co-judges were completely taken aback by the performances of some bands outside Dhaka. 'It is unbelievable,' remarked Hamin.


He still remembers that one particular band in Khulna that did an original song followed by a cover. They sang Linkin Park's 'In the End' and the judges were stunned by their performance. They did not know that such a band could exist in Khulna.

'No one should underestimate our home boys,' chuckled Hamin.


So, what are the numerical figures for the contest?

Hamin said that in the initial days of registration,
200 bands from Dhaka,
120 bands from Chittagong,
24 from Barisal,
32 from Khulna,
23 from Sylhet and
17 from Rajshahi .......................applied for auditions. From the divisions, the bands will be short-listed into 20 bands. Final auditions will take place here in Dhaka. The grand finale will take place first week in September. In the mean time, the selected bands for the finals will undertake serious sessions of grooming from experts.


One question which may rise in the reader's mind is the credibility of this contest. Hamin assured me that, 'trust will never be an issue here.' Any sort of underlying contracts, clandestine dealings and lobbying will not be tolerated in this event. He also quickly pointed out that no judge from a certain locality will be allowed to take part in the decision making. And I'm sure such thoughts will be appreciated if they are duly implemented.


So what are the prizes for winning?

'Great prizes' answered Hamin. The winning band will get a significant amount of cash prize, a one year recording contract and a membership in BAMBA which will also include concert tours around Bangladesh.



So, everything sounds sweet and glorious but one wonders how successful this event will be! Because in the past we have seen there is a tendency that things do go wrong and objectives are not met. Take for example, Nolok's case- the winner of Close-Up One. It is evident that the boy had talent but how far did he go? And, what were the organisers doing during his mishaps?

Therefore, with much expectations and dreams, we all look forward to this year's contest. Till then we have to wait!


Hamin at one point mentioned that the upcoming bands in Bangladesh will be unbelievably good and standards will be improving by the day. I asked Hamin whether these new bands will be a threat to the existing bands in Bangladesh. His suave smile answered everything. According to him, when a new band arrives in the scenario, there is a certain amount of publicity that a new band enjoys. But this can be temporary unless, that band proves itself quite competent enough to stand in the long run. 'Craze is temporary but class is permanent,' Hamin remarked. It's all about 'survival of the fittest.'


So what are the criterions for success?

A band will be judged in many terms.

They will be asked to perform one original composition and also a cover song. Lyrics and composition are important. Performance, attitude (of band members) and knowledge are also on the list.


Article Published in: May 18, 2007 page of Glitz, inside the daily NewAGE.




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