Anyone would be rendered speechless in the presence of global icon singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who at 5’10” towers over many singers in the music industry.

Riding high with the launch of her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, her eleventh studio album, Taylor is at the pinnacle of stardom, raking in success once again.

Her Look

Taylor radiates large doses of charm, grace and sexiness. After all she is one of the highest-paid singers in the world today. When she smiles, her luminous blue eyes, with that tint of black, sparkle. Her figure stands out, but with neatly tucked in outfits that don’t reveal her true statistics. The same cannot be said of other female music stars who are known more for what they reveal than their singing. With Taylor, it’s the other way round. It was for this reason that I wrote about her and decided she was our cover girl and cover story in The Teenager, September 2009 issue. The Teenager Today always looks at the inner beauty of a person, rather than outside appearances. Taylor fitted the profile perfectly then and even now, 15 years later.

What really makes her the eye candy of social media, newspapers and magazines around the world that serenade her all the time?

Her Lyrics

As America’s sweetheart, Taylor could not be missed on the country circuit that she began with, moving on to a more pop-rock edge as the albums rolled out. She’s been around for some time, and has carved a niche for herself after her self-titled debut album skyrocketed her to superstardom. Since the age of fourteen she has had a full songwriter’s publishing deal, most often in collaboration with many others who helped her music grow.

Now as a 34-year-old, Taylor has been praised for her maturity, right from her second album onwards, in which she sang about boys and heartbreak, fun, sneaking out of windows at night to meet boys, while gently playing the guitar and self-penning all 16 songs on her album, giving her clear leeway to speak her heart out.

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From a small village in Tuscany to the stages of the planet, the success story of Andrea Bocelli is solely the story of courage and determination. Despite being blind, he has gone on to become one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time. This Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist has been wowing legions of fans worldwide for decades with his mesmerizing and beautiful voice.

Andrea was born to Alessandro and Edi Bocelli on 22 September 1958 in Tuscany, Italy. His family lived on a farm, selling farm machinery and making wine for a living. No one in his family had a musical or performance background. But Andrea was fascinated by music, and at the age of six, he started piano lessons, and later learned to play the flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, guitar and drums.

Andrea had poor eyesight from birth and was diagnosed with glaucoma at an early age. To make matters worse, he became completely blind after a football accident when he was just 12 years old.

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Aspiring singer, Jason Ignatius, in a free-wheeling chat with ELSA LYCIAS JOEL, talks about his working experience, his favourite day, and more.

When did you first sing on stage? Did you have butterflies in your stomach?
Yes. I was extremely nervous, so much so that I couldn’t hold the mic steady and it shook the entire time. Surprisingly, so many people came up to me afterwards and said I “shredded” the performance and that was honestly where I started my journey — a melody and some courage.

Does love for music run in your family?
Most certainly. My parents grew up not only listening to music but also played at least one instrument. I play piano and lean more to the recent pop and R ‘n’ B while my parents are all about the 70’s and 80’s. Not a day goes by where I’m not singing or playing the piano or even recording music on my phone.

Have you ever had a formal vocal training?
Before I went to college, I didn’t have any formal vocal training. Most of my knowledge about singing in terms of technique and other areas were mainly me emulating artistes that I love like Bridgit Mendler. She had such an amazing pop voice which not only showed great control over notes but also a wide vocal range. However, when I joined the college, I was so much in love with music that I pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Music. There I had all the formal training a guy could ask for which only catapulted my abilities and I am so thankful for every class.

Do you believe in “born singers”, the impact of genes?
I absolutely believe in born singers! I can speak from personal experience that all the way from my great-grandmother, music has not only been a pastime but an essential part of our family dynamic. My grandmother learnt how to sing and play the piano, but when it came to my dad, he sang, played the piano and was a choir director. As for me, I can sing, play the piano and guitar, and make records on my computer.

What were the first singles like? The writing, composing, editing and the producer-musician vibing…
Ever since the beginning of 2018 I’ve been putting out music. I love writing even though a lot of my ideas come in the middle of night, but when I take my tracks I’ve made to the studio, the brilliant minds there take my ideas and create a masterpiece is something to brag about!

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In order to become a professional singer, start with some basic music training. Also learn multiple music instruments; this will help you in identifying your style of singing. Make your demo song recordings and promote yourself online.

There are no educational requirements for singers interested in performing popular music. Formal education is more likely to be required for classical music. Still singers need extensive training and regular practice, as the qualities of a singer’s voice affect his/her ability to be successful. You must take lessons from a qualified guru. Short-term training in western music is provided by private institutes all over India.

Some good colleges are:

• Bhatkhande College of Hindustani Music, Lucknow (bhatkhandemusic.edu.in)
• Kalakshetra, Madras (www.kalakshetra.net)
• National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama (Sangeet Natak Academy), New Delhi (sangeetnatak.com)
• Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad (prayagsangeetsamiti.co.in)
• Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata (rabindrabharatiuniversity.org)
• Visva Bharati, Santiniketan (visva-bharati.com)

The music industry is always in need of innovative, creative, successful musicians to introduce different styles and various fusions in an attempt to innovate new sounds. But competition is severe and talent alone is no guarantee of success; it requires dedication and sometimes good luck. Developing contacts in the music business is as important as finding opportunities to perform. However, being able to play several types of music or sing in a variety of styles enhances the opportunity to find employment.

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Singing, dancing, acting, writing poems are all different faculties of fine arts. It is very rare to have all these qualities in one person, but Jiniya Chatterjee has all these and much more. This multifaceted young girl not only made her parents but also her college proud when in January 2019, she represented India as a delegate for the Harvard College in Asia Programme, an exchange conference that takes place between Harvard University (Boston, USA) and nine countries pan Asia. The theme of the conference was ‘Empowering Education through Global Leadership’, and this gave her a chance to understand the challenges that education faces today, and how those problems can be solved by developing oneself as a global citizen. She also showcased her talent in Indian classical dance and music and enthralled the audience.

The bespectacled soft-spoken lass also topped the TEDx Personality Contest organized by TEDx St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, in 2018. She was the youngest participant and winning the first prize helped her hone her personality skills to a great extent. She also bagged the first prize as well as the rolling trophy for her college in the inter-collegiate singing competition among 55 colleges in Mumbai. She made a hat-trick by winning a poetry writing competition organized by Tata Literature Live.

Jiniya is a trained Hindustani classical singer and has been learning music (Indian and Western) since she was 3, from her father, Dr Chandranath Chatterjee (disciple of Pt. Amarnath of the Indore Gharana), a singer and researcher. Her sense of rhyme scheme and recognizing particular sounds developed at a really young age, and was the beginning of her journey into the field of music.

“I started performing for the first time when I was just 5,” smiles the Mumbai-born girl. “My first singing performance was on Tara Music channel Kolkata TV. After that, I got good reviews and that led me to cut my first album with singer Sonu Nigam titled Om Namo Shree Siddhivinayak.”

From there it was no looking back; she bagged many awards at the interschool level and performed on All India Radio and Doordarshan (Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata). As a dancer, she won laurels at the Jaipur Durga Puja festival, and performed at the inaugural event of the Indian Music Group of St Xavier’s College — Aaroh, a classical music concert. At 12, she made her acting debut in a leading role in the bilingual film, An Unknown Island (Anjaan Dweep), and also sang in the film.

Though Jiniya showed an aptitude towards the Sciences post Std 10 and wanted to pursue medicine, her parents picked out her talents and abilities in the humanities, which proved to be fruitful. Her keen interest in art, history and culture, coupled with her ability to educate people helped her get into the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly Prince of Wales Museum) as a docent for the exhibition India and the World: A History in Nine Stories, in collaboration with the National Museum, New Delhi, and the British Museum, London. Due to this experience, she got an opportunity to visit France, Italy and Vatican City, to explore the culture and life in these countries.

Jiniya happens to be a “millennium baby”, and the year 2018 turned out to be very fruitful for her when she released her first book of poems entitled Keep It Intact, a collection of 18 poems. She recently became the all-India topper of Sangeet Visharad (Bachelor of Music). Her dream is to make it big in Bollywood someday.

Jiniya wishes to do something that helps and inspires people in society. Celebrating her 19th birthday this month, she hopes that she will be able to put her talents to good use and make the world a happy place to live in.

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Hollywood is the destination for singers who hope to achieve success in any possible genre. There’s no completely certain path to become a world-famous singer, but here are some things you can do to increase your odds.

• Determine your type of voice. Most singers in Hollywood are well schooled on their vocal abilities. You need to know your vocal abilities before gathering music that will best display your own special sound.
• Study music. Take up an instrument, such as the keyboard or guitar, to make your singing performances even more entertaining.
• Record and market your music.
• Be determined and persistent. There’s a lot of competition out there. Most successful singers spend years working on their voices and playing low-paying gigs before they make it big. Don’t lose sight of your goal, and resolve to be patient.
• Sing in public whenever possible. Even if you don’t get spotted by a musician right away, you’re practising your stage presence and getting used to being in front of a crowd.
• Network. Make connections with other musicians. You never know who might want to collaborate with you in the future.
• Learn how to handle criticism. Accept rejection and move on.

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