After 3 years away from the scene, Jay Sean is back, with a new album and a new hair do. InsideDesi caught up with him in DUBAI, where aside from skiing at the world’s only artificial ski slope, he was performing for one night only at the exclusive club Tribe in the heart of the city. The event was a sell out, with thousands of adoring female (and male) fans screaming for the ‘Ride it’ singer. The transition from local West London Asian talent to recognised global urban star was clear to see as he wowed the crowd with new songs from his forthcoming album as well as old favourites from the days of the Rishi Rich project. With rumoured girlfriend and US r’n’b star Thara cheering him on backstage, Jay was on top form in Dubai. I caught up with him for a quick coffee before the show and here’s what he had to say….

The New Album

SA: Firstly how’ve you been? And how’s the new album coming along and when can we expect to see it in the shops?

JS: I’ve been good, very busy with the album, it’s finished! It’s out in April so make sure you all check it out.

SA: Tell us more about the change in look and also the change in your sound? It’s definitely helped in establishing you as more of a mainstream urban artist as opposed to a british bhangra artist.

JS: Well the change in look was just natural, people change their hairstyle all the time and I felt like having something different. The sound has remained the same really, I’ve never seen myself as a true bhangra artist but more of an urban artist from the start.

SA: Can you give us some inside info on who’s featuring on the new album, we’ve heard that Timbaland may be producing on it? Any truth in that story??

JS: Well Timbaland was actually supposed to be producing a couple of tracks for the album…until he discovered this unknown guy, Justin Timberlake? There’s a girl called Thara on the album, we did a track called ‘M.U.R.D.E.R’

SA: Tell us a bit more about Thara…

JS: Thara’s really talented and is popular over in the states, she’s working with recognised artists like Fatman Scoop out there so big things are on the horizon for her. I thought I’d grab her while the opportunity’s there.

SA: ‘Grab’ her in more than one way??

JS (laughs): Very clever, no comment!

SA: The album’s titled ‘My Own Way’, is this title aimed at those who weren’t willing to give you the creative musical direction you desired with this album?

JS: To be honest, no. This is an album of love songs and it’s a fun album. I’m not a politician so I’m not gonna send out any messages or try and be political through my music like for example Eminem. My album’s just more about the music rather than giving out any messages to groups or individuals.

SA: I’ve heard your track ‘Me against my label’ … I must say its very funny, can you tell us some more about this particular track?

JS (laughs): Where did you hear that! That track was just a messing about session in the studio one time, it wasn’t for release or anything. But yeah I do like adding a touch of humour, it’s a lot of fun really, I’m just enjoying what I do.

(SA: For the record, I heard the track on Mentor’s MySpace page!)

SA: ‘Ride it’ has arguably been your most successful track to date, how did the song come about? Any stories attached to it?

JS: I was actually going into the studio to record a different track that day. But one thing led to another and me and the producer were just playing around with the beat and in the end we had ‘Ride it’.

SA: What’s your favourite track from the album?

JS: Everyone always asks that and its always a difficult question because it’s hard to pick a favourite but I think if I had to choose one it’d probably be ‘Stay’ which is the next single after ‘Maybe’ is released.

SA: Who would you like to work with on your next album?

JS: I’m looking towards America and the big US artists. People like Puff Daddy need to check out the Asian scene so I’m hoping to work with some top names from America. India’s a huge market and I think they need to realise that there’s a lot of Asian kids out there who’d like to see the big American artists work with Asian artists.

Global Appeal

SA: So what it’s like getting in touch with so many people around the world?

JS: It’s amazing. It’s the best part of my job, being able to travel all over the world and meeting all my fans from different countries. Even in places like Germany, you wouldn’t expect it but the fanbase is just growing and it’s great to go to places like that across Europe and of course being in cities like Dubai.

SA: How’s the Dubai vibe? You’ve performed here quite a few times, are you familiar with the atmosphere and people here?

JS: Dubai’s such a buzzing place. I’ve been out here before with Rishi and Juggy as the Rishi Rich project and we used to love coming here. There’s a really big Indian population over here and it’s great to come down and give back to the fans in Dubai.

SA: Where else will you be touring in the next few months?

JS: Well after this I’m back in the UK and I’ll be back there for a while actually. There’s a lot of gigs coming up and one in particular I’m really looking forward to is on the 22nd of March and has such a huge line up with top artists Akon, Kelly Rowland and Craig David, so it’d be awesome to share the stage with them. There’s also the UK Asian Music awards on the 6th of March. I’ll probably be going out to the Far East in April sometime.

Girls!

SA: Jay, the million pound question for many females out there… Describe your perfect girl….

JS (laughs): My perfect girl has to be someone who I can call my best friend. Someone who I can be myself around, who’s funny and I can have a laugh with. Anyone can have good looks, I believe everyone’s born with good looks. There are so many good looking girls out there, and obviously attraction is important but I think it’s all about a girl who I can click with me personality wise as well.

SA: You’ve had Bipasha Basu in one of your videos, amongst a string of other beauties over the years, are we going to be seeing any more recognised faces in a Jay Sean video?

JS: You’ll have to wait and see! I’m not gonna tell you. Just wait and see, you might be surprised…

SA: If you could take a Bollywood actress on a date, who would it be and where would you take her?

JS: Bipasha Basu and I’d take her to shoot my music video! Oh wait I’ve already done that! Nah only joking, hmmm I’d probably take out Rani Mukherjee. She seems really nice. I’d take her out to dinner (init)!

General

SA: If you could be a superhero, who would you wanna be and why?

JS: I’m not gonna say Superman, everyone probably says that. I’d say Spiderman… I’d love to climb walls and swing around cities like that, very cool.

SA: What do you get up to when you’re not in the studio or performing?

JS: I’m just a normal guy really, I love going to the cinema, watching movies, going bowling with my boys, Nandos!

SA: Are you a hot or extra-hot Nando’s guy? (Just to clarify, I’m referring to how spicy Jay’s Peri-Peri sauce is!)

JS (laughs): Medium all the way!

SA: Can you give us 5 words describing yourself….

JS (thinks): Fun-loving, dedicated, humble, honest… dunno… (after a couple of minutes) actually scrap ‘dunno’ and put happy! I’m a happy guy.

SA: Any final words….

JS: Just a big thank you to all the continued support and to all my fans for sticking by me. It’s such a great feeling to be out here in Dubai and to reach out to all the fans. Check out www.jaysean.com , www.myspace.com/jayseanbeats, I would say add me on Facebook but it keeps saying I’ve exceeded my friends limit or something!

However, they weren’t Jay’s final words with Inside Desi! As a week after chillin with the R&B star in Dubai, I caught up with him again after the UK Asian Music Awards, where he won Best Urban act and Best Video for his hit single ‘Ride it’. I just had to take the opportunity to ask Jay a few more questions. Here’s what he had to add….

SA: So Jay, here we are again! How did you celebrate your recent 2 awards at the UK AMA’s from the other night?

JS: Well actually I was on my way to the afterparty when my brother got pulled over by the police! And he also got 3 points on his license! Oh and I also lost my phone! That was a nightmare. So for the 2 awards that I received, 2 bad things also happened that night! So it kinda balanced out. But the night was great and winning the awards was really special. The afterparty was good fun and I forgot about everything the next morning!

SA: Sorry to hear about the phone! That must’ve been a pain. Where have you since put the precious AMA statues?

JS: They’re at home on the shelf with the other awards that I’ve received.

SA: You won best urban act at the awards, testament to your development as a recognised urban artist, do you ever see yourself working with artists from the bhangra scene again?

JS: Yeah maybe, if it’s the right kind of song and vibe and the right type of collaboration for the right reasons. I probably wouldn’t do it just for the sake of it but if there was something hot coming up then I’d like to do it.

SA: Have you worked with Rishi Rich on the new album?

JS: No. Not on this album. I mean for me this album was just to go into a different direction, a change from what I was doing before and just embark on a new journey and fly out of that little nest I was in! it was important for me to do my own thing.

SA: Do you mean the bhangra nest?

JS: Exactly. People used to label me as a bhangra artist and I think I got that tag because of Rishi but I mean for me its like ‘erm I sing in English!’ its not like you hear Lehmber Hussainpuri singing in English. But me and Rishi still get along so well and who knows I might work with him again.

SA: Tell us a bit about the new single ‘Maybe’…

JS: ‘Maybe’ is one of my favourite songs off the album because I think it’s really different from any of the other songs I’ve done so far. The song’s not about the production, it’s not about the beats, you’re not gonna hear dhols and tablas or any bollywood samples on this. With ‘Maybe’, if you like the song, it’s not because of any other reason, it’s because it’s just a good song. And for me it’s been a test because it’s something different which I’m doing but so far the response has been really positive and I think people like the song. The song speaks for itself like many great songs, Whitney Houston’s ‘I will always love you’, Bryan Adams ‘Everything I do’, people will always like great songs like those whether they’re Indian, Chinese, black, white or whatever because it’s all about the song, the lyrics and the melody and that’s what I’m trying to do.

SA: The video also looks great and you look like you’re really enjoying yourself at the moment…

JS: The video was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed doing it. It’s quite different, check it out on YouTube!

SA: What can we expect from the rest of the new album?

JS: More tracks like the stuff you’ve been hearing so far. More songs like ‘Maybe’ and ‘Ride it’. As I said, I’m an R&B boy, I love R&B and alot of people have discouraged me from doing it but I wanted to do an album which I loved and enjoyed. When I was with my previous record label, they didn’t want me to do an R&B album, they wanted me to do more of a rock album! Or something more like a James Blunt type album and I was just like “I don’t understand what you’re talking about!”(laughs) I don’t know how to do that. So I decided to stick to my guns and do what I do best and what I know which is R&B. It’s like you can’t tell a Spanish singer to sing in German for the rest of his life, he’s not gonna be able to do it. So I thought that this album is me and I can’t change me and if people still like it then brilliant and there might be people who hate this album but there’ll be people that love it as well.

SA: Is there more up-tempo songs or can we expect more slower and mellow tracks?

JS: it’s a real mix. I’ve tried to make an album with a good variety of sounds and an album where people hopefully won’t have to skip a song and go “errr I hate that one!”

SA: We just have to ask about Thara, she’s with you everywhere at the moment! She was in Dubai and again the other night at the UK Asian Music Awards, is there something there? And what do you make of the rumours?

JS: I’m trying to introduce her to the Asian scene in the UK because she’s from New York and it’s a very different scene out there and the scene over here I know it better than most people after spending more than 4 years in it and I want people here to see what she’s all about. And she’s my best friend so I want to help her out and show her around, show her the ropes. (SA: Jay mentioned in Dubai that his perfect girl would be someone he could call his ‘best friend’….)

SA: Finally, are we ever going to see the infamous spikey hair do again?

JS (laughs): NO way! That’s all from back in the day now… maybe I’ll do a Mohican though for the next album, you never know!

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