I wasn't a fan of Sirasa's Super Star program (SSS), which was made quite obvious by a previous post, until two weeks ago. I watched the program on a whim and found the Top Ten were pretty good singers - I must confess sometimes I don't really understand what they are singing about - but a couple of them were very, very good. So far I like Amila, Shihan, Malith and the sixteen year old kid.
The producers have changed the format of the show - each round has a different panel of judges, most of whom are relevant to the kind of music used for each program (drama, pop, specific singer etc). The advice offered (mostly positive for all contestants) is quite constructive and unbiased in comparison to what Nirosha and Rukantha doled out before.
My one and only gripe - and it's a biggie - is about the host of the show - Kamal Addaraarachchi (sp??). Try as he might, the man is no Ryan Seacrest and is at least fifteen years too old to be a bubbly, talkative host of a reality tv show. SSS even as a red room (what a coincidence!) in which Kamal chats to the contestants before each steps onto the stage. Most of his dialogue is a direct Engish-to-Sinhala translation of what Seacrest says on American Idol (Season 4). The single most annoying factor about Kamal is his lethargic delivery of the voter's results. In between five second pauses, he manages to squeeze out a single word in order to keep the contestants "in suspense". It's actually very boring because once the results are in, the only proper way to delay the announcement is to thrown in a series of advertisements in between saying "You're safe" or "You're in the bottom three". Kamal, who lacks the charisma of Seacrest, itakes all the time in the world and manages to come up with really corny lines - "You......are......not......going..........home......today..........." - and believe it or not, he says this to each and every contestant save the one who gets voted off. I have never wanted to see advertisements interrupt a program more than when I have to listen to Kamal announce the name of the unlucky chap who is headed home.
Kudos to the producers for choosing twelve excellent contestants for the final - and it is a wonderful opportunity for young singers to be discovered and I hope it will continue next year as well. Just one condition - find a new host!!
