It’s safe to say that 2017’s Senior BD Idol was a huge hit. It was “the best talent we have to offer,” as Yahan correctly said. Right from the video montage to the very last performance, the contestants’ (and the audience’s) nervousness never seemed to settle. Being one of the most awaited events of the year, everyone was excited to see what the contestants had to offer.
The event began with the Junior BD Idol champion – Rayan Shikari – singing a Spanish song, clearly reflecting our school’s enthusiasm when it comes to international languages and culture. It was surprising to see such a big voice emerge from such a little body. It was a wonderful performance and ‘set the stage’ (pun intended) for the other contestants.
The very first contestant, Tanya Sharda, had a lot of support from her friends as they held up posters in the audience. Singing ‘Sorry’ (no, not by Justin Bieber), Tanya set the bar high for all the other performers. She had nothing to be ‘sorry; for after that performance, so to speak.
Samir Khatri’s performance of ‘She Will Be Loved’ had the audience swaying and mouthing the words along. It being a personal favourite of mine, I couldn’t help but have a small fangirl moment. He was very into the performance and his soulful expressions only made that clearer. Samir, evidently sticking to ‘no-shave-November’, gave a whole new meaning to the term ‘dramatic fall’ as he practically jumped off the [not-so-high-up] stage.
Our third contestant, Tamanna Sheth, was only discovered a few months ago at our school’s annual talent show at Della Resorts, surprising the whole school with her amazing voice. She met her high expectations with an amazing performance of ‘Jar of Hearts’.
Then came Armaan Kantawala (or ‘King Kanta’ as he prefers to be called), starting out by humbly wishing all of the contestants good luck. He nailed his performance of ‘Put Your Head On My Shoulders’ from the very first note, even going to serenade Mr Gardner for the second time around (come on Armaan…show us something new). Once again Armaan made clear how he won the competition on his first try.
Here’s a voice that we don’t hear very often: Riya Chandan. Up until this point, nobody even knew that she could sing! Bravely having chosen a song by the ‘King of Pop’ – Michael Jackson, she performed very confidently. It’s safe to say…this girl blew the roof.
Then came one of our infamous stars – Akhilesh Choudhary. Right from the minute his name was announced to the end of his performance, there was constant cheering and applause for him. His “I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” woke up the few audience members who had somehow managed to catch forty winks.
Can I just say, Kimaya Mehra is probably one of the most talented performers I have ever met. She took the stage with confidence, and a certain fire in her voice and demeanor, hitting every note of ‘Titanium’ perfectly. Not only that, but she also earned some ‘aw’s from the audience when she dedicated this song to a very dear friend of hers. Kimaya raised the bar to an unattainable level with not only her voice, but her outfit and stage presence too.
Arianna Patel’s performance of ‘Runnin’ should be giving Beyonce a run for her money. She was absolutely amazing as she set the stage on fire with her soulful voice and strong stage presence.
Another voice that is new to our school is that of Vipasha Shah. After the talent show at Della Resorts, everyone has been wanting to hear more of her. She performed ‘Simply the Best’, grabbing everyone’s attention from the beginning. She seemed like a natural on stage and sang with excellent confidence.
Adelle Vaz performed ‘One Moment in Time’ brilliantly, seeming very comfortable on stage. Everyone liked her performance very much, and it was clear that Adelle is a BD Idol Veteran.
Yahan announced the next contestant, Rayan Badheka, with a fumbling and shaky voice (big fan, eh?). He performed ‘Annie’s Song’, dedicating it to a “special someone” (amazing song choice, by the way). His voice was so calming and melodious that I believe I saw Aarushi’s eyes starting to close!
Our next act was well known for performing in multiple school events and seemed to belong on stage. Zahir Tapia’s performance of ‘All of Me’ had the audience swaying and swooning, loving his voice and stage presence. This was probably his best performance yet and everyone loved it.
Another newbie to the stage was Saniyya Aggarwal, and she took the stage with a stellar performance of ‘My Heart Will Go On’. As challenging as the song is, Saniyya seemed to perform it with ease and confidence, and the crowd couldn’t help but sing along either.
The judges left the auditorium, worrying about the difficult task that was ahead of them. When they returned, the first word that came out was “wow” – accurate, Ms. Parsheen, very very accurate. As Mr. Paul took to moisturizing his lips with some chapstick, ‘a little’ feedback was given to the contestants. I don’t think anyone will disagree with me when I say that there is no one better to present the awards than our very own Mr. Paul: “we have a third…place – not the other thing” – why, what else could it have been?
The results were as follows: in third place we had a tie between Tanya Sharda and Rayan Badheka, in second place we had Zahir Tapia, and in first place was Kimaya Mehra. Congratulations to them and all the other performers. As Mr.Gardner correctly said, this was “by far the best BD Idol we’ve had.”
This post has been co-authored by Avanti Sheth, Grade 11
