The emergence of R&B singer Jay Sean looks set to redefine the UK's urban music rulebook. As the UK's first Asian crossover superstar, Sean has already tasted chart success with the slick anthem Dance With You (Nachna Tere Naal). But what makes Jay Sean such an exciting musical proposition is that as a UK born and bred artist his unique appeal is that he fuses 'Desi' rhythms with a credible R&B sensibility to produce a thoroughly authentic sound. With the highly-contagious Eyes On You already dominating radio nationally, Sean’s eagerly-awaited debut album has garnered positive critical anticipation from both the streets and the broadsheets in equal measure. It's not everyday you come across an urban music singer who includes punk and stadium rock as important to his musical upbringing as hip hop and R&B.
However, Jay Sean isn't your run of the mill urban music artist. Having given up a promising medical career in favour of his first love, music, Jay Sean’s story begins more than a decade ago in Hounslow, west London. "I started rapping 11 years ago," Sean remembers. "I was in a group called Compulsive Disorder, it was a punk-rap group. We got ourselves a few gigs and when DJs such as Choice FM’s 279 played it, we received a lot of local notoriety." Disillusioned with the UK's cynical rap scene, focussed as it was, on the colour of his skin rather than the content of his songs, Sean quickly immersed himself in R&B. "Hip hop was my first love, but as soon as I got into producing, R&B became my mistress. As a teenager, I grew up on a cocktail of music. I was surrounded by a lot of different influences from black, white and Asian friends," says the 22 year old. Integral to Jay Sean's trademark smooth R&B sound is the flawless production of UK superproducer Rishi Rich. The relationship, as Sean admits, is based on total trust and an obvious appreciation of one another’s respective talents. "Rishi’s an important part of my whole career, he’s fundamental," says Sean.
"He was the one who discovered me and had the faith to encourage me." For Sean, their initial meeting provided its very own 'Dr. Dre/ Eminem' moment. "Some close friends heard an early song I wrote called One Minute. Rishi Rich was one of the people that heard it. I had heard about him through the streets. When we met he asked me to sing for him on the spot! Rishi told his management about me, and on the strength of my impromptu performance, they wanted me to join their crew." However, as the only Asian R&B singer around at the time, Sean realised that becoming a soul singer was not necessarily the traditional path for what he describes as a "well brought up Sikh lad". He continues: "Like most people I was always singing around the house, so much so that when relatives came from overseas, I had to sing for them. I was the party trick!" he laughs. The diversity of the album proves that Jay Sean although an avowed entertainer is so much bigger than the 'Asian R&B' pigeonhole lazy commentators will unsuccessfully attempt to force him into. Songs such as One Night, On & On and Stolen deal with the universal issues of love, loss and regret to which everybody can relate.
"I believe that there was never that opportunity for Asian people to showcase their talents effectively," Sean says when asked why there’s been no breakthrough Asian urban performer up to this point. "It’s only in the last few years through the mainstream’s fascination with Bollywood and all things Asian that we can now be accepted in non-traditional and less stereo-typical roles," reasons Sean. It’s a theme tackled on the early song You Don’t Know Me, a track dealing with the negative response of record companies unwilling to take him seriously as an artist, who just happens to be Asian. "It was important to me to make sure that the Asian community understood me and what I was about. The song helped me gain respect in my own community, as it takes record companies to task for their own musical blindness."
On Me Vs Myself, one of the album’s stand-out tracks, Sean takes the opportunity to controversially attack himself. It's possibly the first time that an artist has attacked himself on vinyl, even Eminem would be proud. "All I do is diss myself!" he laughs. "It's Jay the singer versus Jay the rapper. I’m hard on myself. In truth, I’m not afraid to have a dig at myself as I try not to take myself too seriously." As a whole, it's the different influences that clearly inform much of Jay Sean's debut album and make the entire project such an intriguing find. Songs such as the massive Eyes On You through to the ultra-spiritual Ramta Jogi, mark Sean out as a singular talent to be reckoned with. Sean's biggest strength includes not only his versatile vocal talents, pitch-perfect delivery backed with on-point production but the fact that as a young Asian man, he represents a demographic wholly under-served by the mainstream. Sean already enjoys a huge fanbase from his highly-rated weekly Kiss FM show with Juggy D and Rishi Rich.
A recent performance in India on MTV Asia, where he performed as part of the Rishi Rich Project to a television audience of 165 million viewers led to a recent chance meeting with superproducer Tim 'Timbaland' Moseley and may yet see a Jay Sean collaboration. "Timbaland heard me rap and said he was feelin’ it. So I took him shopping in Southall to get some Indian CDs. He said my vocals were hot, which was really cool, a big compliment from one of the biggest producers on the planet." With a sound that embraces rather than alienates all races and colours, we can safely say that we've got front row seats in witnessing the emergence of the UK's first Asian R&B superstar. Watch this space.
Name : Avril Lavigne
Birth Date : September 27, 1984
Birth Place : Napanee, Ontario, Canada
Birth Name : Avril Ramona Lavigne
Height : 5' 2"
Nationality : American
Biography of avril
Avril Lavagne was a born star. She was born on September 27, 1984 in Napanee, Ontario, Canada. She is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She gave a very early start to her career. Lavigne grew up singing country music and in a church choir and taught herself guitar. She was honing her singing and songwriting skills on her own improving day by day...All because she knew that one day she will be agreat star singing before thousands of people. Often during her childhood she use to stand on her bed visualizing it as a stage and sing on top of her voice. She use to feel as if thousands of people were applauding her song. She was soon to make this dream come true. Her first success was winning a radio competition which gave her the advantage to travel to Ontario and sing with Country legend Shania Twain. Avril had a strict policy for herself. She clearly states that she is not gonna be what others like. She will dress, act and sing what she feels is good and what makes her content.
Although Avril was trying her best to give a bosst to her career it was finally at the age of 16 when she was in New York that she was finally signed to Arista records when an Arista employee was so impressed that he insisted that he return with his CEO to hear Avril sing. Once signed to the major label, Avril moved south to New York where she finally began her professional career in earnest. Her time in NY was relatively short-lived because she was not getting the satisfaction she needed from her music. the company wanted others to write song for Avril. But this was not what she wanted. Avril wanted to write her songs. So she next moved to the west coast where she hooked up with producer/songwriter Clif Magness. She was happy here because according to her Cliff understood her feelings. The songs for "Let Go" began pouring out, with Magness at the helm as well as up-and-coming production team the Matrix. Soon after Avril hooked up with Nettwerk Management.
Her debut album turned out to be a big hit. She made her policy "of being her own" true in her debut album - "Let Go". "Anything But Ordinary" is a rockin' ode to individuality, while guitar-driven first single, "Complicated," is a simple song that kicks pretenders to the curb. The string-inflected "I'm With You" reaches out for connection to reflect Avril's more mellower side, but tracks like "Losing Grip" and "Unwanted" courageously confront rejection and betrayal with all the heaviness such subjects demand. Then there's "My World" and the metaphoric "Mobile," which perfectly articulate the Avril experience.
Its just right to say that Avril Lavagne is one of the most popular singer of the recent times. She is a skater-punk, a dynamic spirit, a true wild child. She is definitely one of those rare creatures who attracts people with her voice and character.
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