Singer Shilpa Rao, known for her soulful voice in hits like 'Tose Naina' and 'Ishq Shaava', has built a career on spontaneity and raw connection. In a recent candid conversation, the versatile vocalist opened up about her unwavering commitment to live performances, her creative reinterpretations on stage, and the surprising reason she performs less frequently in Mumbai compared to other cities.
The Thrill of Imperfection: Why Rao Chooses Live Over Lip-Sync
As reported by Mid-Day, Shilpa Rao made her stance on authenticity clear. She firmly refuses to lip-sync at her concerts. "I would rather make an error on stage, but I would sing live as it has a thrill," she declared. For her, the adrenaline rush of performing in the moment and the deep connection with the audience are irreplaceable.
Rao believes that imperfections are what keep a performance honest and human. "It’s a beautiful moment I won’t trade it for perfection," she stated, emphasizing that such moments of vulnerability make artists feel present. This sense of 'being in the now', she feels, is the very soul of performing arts.
Reinventing Hits for the Stage: No Two Shows Are Alike
Fans attending a Shilpa Rao concert should not expect to hear carbon copies of her studio recordings. The artist revealed that she deliberately reworks her popular songs for live performances. "All my songs are completely different on stage. We change everything," she explained.
She gave examples of how her well-known tracks transform. "Tose Naina is different, Kalank is different and Ishq Shaava is something else, and we enjoy doing that." The reasoning behind this creative choice is straightforward: if audiences wanted to hear the exact studio version, they could simply stream it on music apps. A concert, for Rao, is a shared, immersive experience—a two-hour escape from the world where only the collective energy in the room matters.
Why Mumbai Audiences See Her Perform Less Often
In a revealing segment, Rao addressed why she stages fewer concerts in Mumbai, the heart of the Indian entertainment industry. "In a year or two, I do a concert in Bombay, otherwise it’s mostly outside," she shared. The root cause, according to her, is the city's unique attitude towards celebrities.
"It’s because Bombay people are not very star-struck, which is a great thing," Rao noted. In Mumbai, spotting a famous face at a restaurant or in daily life is common, which reduces the novelty factor. This familiarity, however, raises the bar for performers. "You need to try harder to impress someone, now it’s not your name, but what you are doing on stage."
She contrasted this with the experience of performing abroad or in smaller towns, where the energy is amplified by the rarity of the event and the shared, singular focus of everyone present in the room.
Shilpa Rao's philosophy underscores a return to the core of musical performance: genuine, unscripted human connection over polished, predictable perfection. Her approach challenges the norms of the industry and celebrates the unique, fleeting magic that can only happen live.
