Sonu Nigam is unhappy with talent hunt shows

Two-time Indian Idol judge has nothing against talent hunt shows. In fact, he is happy that young budding talent which otherwise would have gone unnoticed is being discovered and given a platform through television. But what he doesn't like is the fact that in these shows marketing overshadows talent.

"Ideally there should be fair mix of singing and marketing. But it is the latter that gets more importance and the participants get such huge exposure that they become celebrities overnight. But real good singing is all about everyday riyaaz and not hype," says the well-known singer who came on Indian Idol as celebrity judge on Friday. Sonu says he could not do the third season of the popular talent hunt show because of his commitment to concert tours in America and Europe. "But I had heard a lot about the show and the contestants and also watched a few episodes in bits and pieces. That is why I decided to come as a celebrity judge and was pretty impressed with the talent," says Sonu who was highly impressed with Emon Chatterjee's singing.

In fact, after the shoot he called Emon to his vanity van and gave him the picture of his favourite deity which Sonu always prays to before recording a song. Besides Emon, Sonu also liked Amit Paul and Meiyang Chang's singing. "Sonuji is my idol and I had never imagined that I will meet him in person on the Indian Idol platform. It was a dream-come-true for me," says Emon who feels Deepali was a very good singer and didn't deserve to go. "Now the competition is getting very tough and even I might get voted out soon."