Sumit Saini was the first contestant to receive the “Jai Ho Performance” compliment from AR Rahman.Sumit Saini, on Saturday, emerged as the winner of The Voice Season 3. While AR Rahman was the super judge of the singing reality show, Adnan Sami, Armaan Malik, Harshdeep Kaur and Kanika Kapoor were the coaches. Sumit beat Simran Choudhary, Hargun Kaur and Adnan Ahmad to take home the winning trophy and prize money of Rs 25 lakh.
In an exclusive chat with indianexpress.com, Sumit shared that he wasn’t sure he would take home the trophy. “All four of us deserved to be up on the stage as finalists. We had worked hard, and at the end, we all knew it will boil down to luck. I had confidence in my talent and the blessings of my loved ones but not for a moment was I overconfident. Interestingly, all four of us are quite different and have specific strengths. Till the last moment, we had no clue who would win,” he said.
Sharing more about his musical journey, Sumit Saini said, “I started singing as a kid and then decided to train myself with various gharanas. I didn’t know how will I make use of all the training. And then a friend told me that The Voice India was conducting auditions. And when I got to know that AR Rahman will also be a part of the show, I knew I couldn’t miss it for anything. I wanted to be on the show only because of him so that I could get him to hear me sing.”
The young champ was the first contestant to receive the “Jai Ho Performance” compliment from AR Rahman. When asked if it was a special moment for him, Sumit said, “It was, of course, an out of the world experience for me. Like any young musician, I too worship him. I think he was my lucky charm on the show. He is so loving and supportive and pushed us to do better.”
For Sumit Saini, coach Harshdeep Kaur also played an important role in him winning the show. He shared, “I wanted to be in her team from the day I auditioned for the show. She has had an amazing journey. Having started at such a young age, she has made a name for herself. As a coach, Harshdeep ma’am gave us the most challenging songs to test our versatility. She also offered me to accompany her on her world tour. I think it’s the first time a contestant has been offered a tour on a reality show.”
He further shared that his family and friends are over the moon with his achievement. As for his future plans, the young man is sure he wants to try his luck in Bollywood. “Puri tayari ke sath ab wahi lag jana hai,” Sumit concluded.
Hosted by Divyanka Tripathi, The Voice 3 aired on Star Plus. With super judge AR Rahman unwell, Asha Bhosle graced the grand finale. Along with the finalists, the episode also saw some mesmerising performances by the judges.
