Sona Mahapatra calls out Jasleen Royal for out of tune Coldplay opening act: ‘There are much worthier performers’

During an interview with Indie’N Folk Project, Sona Mohapatra refused to call Jasleen Royal an artiste or even a performer.

and Singer Jasleen Royal faced intense criticism for her opening act at Coldplay's recent concert in Mumbai, with numerous fans expressing disappointment over her "out of tune" performance. Now, singer Sona Mahapatra has spoken out against Jasleen, suggesting that she seemed woefully unprepared for the performance.

Jasleen Royal, known for her hit tracks like Ranjha and Din Shagna Da, was the opening act for the three shows by Coldplay in Mumbai.

Sona slams Jasleen

During an interview with Indie’N Folk Project, Sona refused to call her an artiste or even a performer.

Sona said, “When the entire Jasleen controversy happened, and people said ‘she can’t sing’, it was all over the place. It was heartbreaking. It sounded terrible. It was such a huge stage and opportunity. It seemed like someone informed her last minute and there was no band or so, while in reality there were backing singers and a full-fledged band in place.”

She said it was the lack of foresight by corporates and labels who decide an artiste’s worth by the number of views and followers. She said, “It is a lack of foresight and backing merit when it comes to corporates and labels. Maybe you are a good song writer, but it doesn’t mean that you are a good performer as well. Just because you have made a video with Dulquer (Salman), have received views… Corporates just see number of views. Does it mean you are a good performer? No. There are much worthier performers. If there was an actual system of merit, that artiste…”

At this point, Sona took a pause and took the word artiste back. When the interviewer referred to Jasleen as a "performer", Sona promptly disagreed, dismissing the term as well. She said that “individual would never be on stage. The heartbreaking part is that the world caught it”.”

Calling it a heartbreaking moment, Sona asserted that she was not celebrating anyone’s failure. She wonders “what was the gauge by which she was chosen for it”.

About Jasleen’s performance

Recently, Chris Martin’s Coldplay performed concerts in Mumbai and Ahmedabad as part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour. Jasleen Royal, known for her hit tracks like Ranjha and Din Shagna Da, was the opening act for the three nights. Her performance, however, received mixed reactions on social media.

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri also slammed her for the performance, writing on social media, “The audience is more sureela than these auto-tuned, Instagram-generated singers. Imagine if she didn’t have followers on Instagram, would anyone have even allowed her to audition for a mohalla singing contest? Follower count over talent is the new norm.”