Exclusive! After winning Indian Idol 13, I hope to come back on this show as a judge someday, says Rishi Singh

UP boy, Rishi Singh, who hails from Ayodhya, has finally become the winner of Indian Idol Season 13. Ask him how it feels to win the show, and the 21-year-old excitedly shares, "Actually I couldn't control my tears when my name was announced as the winner as the aura of a reality show like Indian Idol is unmatchable. Plus I had really worked very hard."
He adds, "When I participated in the show, it was with a mindset to stay till the end. Even though I became popular on social media from early on, the competition was really tough, especially with my co-contestant Deboshmita Roy, who is also the first runner-up. So, I always thought that anybody could be the winner."
Now, this young lad has a lot of dreams for the prize money of 25 lakhs that he has won on the show. "I want to travel internationally to learn and develop my music further with this money. Ek artiste toh seekhta hi rehta hai hamesha. I want international exposure now. I want to grow to an extent that I come back as a judge on the show someday. Meanwhile, I have got many playback offers during the show, which I will be pursuing along with my music video," he says.
There is one more dream that he wants to fulfill. "I now want to meet my idol Arijit Singh. I am crazy about him," says Rishi who will return to his hometown Ayodhya on Tuesday.
Talking about his journey so far, he shared, "I am born and brought up in Ayodhya and I have just completed my class XII from the Humanities stream. It was my decision to take Humanities as I don't like Science or Commerce. Also, since music was my priority from day one, I deliberately chose that stream. Since I had the full support of my family, I was able to pursue my passion for singing very seriously along with my studies, to an extent that I could give priority to singing over studies."
Ask him how his family has reacted to his decision of becoming a singer, and Rishi says, "My whole family is still shocked to see how where in a house all members have zero knowledge and understanding of music, I can sing so well. In short, I am the only one with sur in a family where everyone is a besura. Everyone went back in time and searched ki koi grandfather or great-grandfather honge who had some connection with music but all efforts were in vain. My father has been my biggest pillar of strength in my journey and has always motivated me to pursue my passion for singing."
Telling us how his family reacted after knowing about his decision to participate in a singing reality show like Indian Idol, "When my family came to know that I am going to participate in a reality show like Indian Idol, they just told me one thing, the show comes almost every year but if I am going to participate in such a show, I should give my 100 percent and should reach till the end. They told me that I should be noticed by viewers in one go and that they should remember me always. That is what I strived for in this season. Also, I never had any emotional or sob story for the show but yes, whatever stories I have seen on the show were actually quite real. I have become a slight extrovert from a complete introvert after participating in Indian Idol."
At a time, when autotune is a must, Rishi's voice became a rage from day one. Ask him to comment on singers using autotune to fine-tune their sur and he says, "Autotune is not bad but for only those who are not singers but want to sing. I haven't experienced a studio so far so I don't know if I will ever have to use it in my life."
On the personal front, this young lad, who is still single, says, "I have had a lot of crushes from my school days which helps me put those emotions in my singing but otherwise I haven't had any relationship as such till now."