Competition is fierce in music industry: Meiyang Chang
By IANSThursday, August 19, 2010
NEW DELHI - He has hosted reality shows, acted in the movies, but “Indian Idol” season 3 contestant Meiyang Chang never got a chance to work as a playback singer in the films. He says competition is so fierce in the music industry that even established singers are struggling to find work.
“While new singers are still looking forward to getting a break, the established singers are struggling to find work… most of the female singers are hardly getting any solo song to sing. The competition is fierce,” said Chang, who will be seen as the host of UTV Bindaas’ new horror reality show “Chair”, told IANS.
“The Chair”, starting Sep 12, will see 13 daring individuals tread unchartered territory in haunted locations across India and connect with the dead.
A dentist by profession, Chang rose to fame as a contestant of “Indian Idol” season 3. He later went on to host the fourth season of the reality show and second season of Indian Premier League.
He entered films with Parmeet Sethi’s “Badmaash Company” that had Shahid Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in the leads, but so far no singing assignments.
Chang, who also formed a band with his “Indian Idol 3” co-contestants Suhit Gosain, Parleen Singh Gill and Abhishek Kumar that didn’t last long, rues pop music has lost its fervor and a lot of focus is being put on Bollywood singing.
“There are no takers for pop music in India today. Even the album of singers like Kailash Kher had no takers because today there’s more focus on Bollywood music. I remember there was a time when both pop and film music was doing very well. I hope that that time comes back,” he said.
“And if that time comes back, it will make life much more easier for singers like us, who want to experiment beyond Bollywood,” he added.
Chang says his work on small screen has given him creative satisfaction.
“The kind of creative satisfaction I have received here, I wouldn’t have received anywhere else regardless the fact whether it is good experience or bad experience.
“You are working with the best and the worst, you are working with both higher strata of society and others and this sort of exposure helps in learning a lot. It gives you a better perspective,” he added.
But the 27-year-old is now itching to get back to music.
“After ‘Indian Idol’ ended, the kind of success that other things gave me like IPL (Indian Premier League) hosting, ‘Indian Idol 4′ hosting took away my focus from singing because I felt that if I am doing good in this field, I should concentrate on this only. Now I really want to go back to singing again,” he said.
Chang says he is in talks to take out a private album. He is also in talks to star in a film on China-Tibet conflict.
Talking about “The Chair”, his new show as a host, Chang said, “The existence of ghosts still remains a mystery. While some believe they exist, others believe they don’t. I am a non-believer myself. It is a show that will help answer the questions surrounding the mystery.”
