Jay Sean to take on the U.S
Posted on 16 October 2008 by Shuhel Miah
Although Jay Sean didn’t win any awards at last night’s prestigious MOBO award ceremony, he did make a rather surprising revelation backstage. He announced that he had signed a record deal with Cash Money Records - the label that made a massive score not too long ago with Lil’ Wayne’s latest album: ‘Tha Carter III’ (more than a million copies were sold in its first week). It seems that this is to be Jay Sean’s attempt to duplicate his UK success stateside.
The track record of British artists attempting to make a mark in the US has not been too great. Only a selective number have managed it, including Mark Morrison, Joss Stone, Radiohead and recently, Leona Lewis. The failure list includes - but is far from limited to - Robbie Williams, Mis-Teeq… and most importantly Craig David. With comparisons between Mr.Bo-Selecta and Jay Sean made quite rampantly, it’s apparent that Jay needs to bring more to the table, and work harder than ever before to make his attempt a success (none of Craig David’s six singles released from his ‘Slicker Than Your Average’ album charted in the U.S, consequently causing him to retreat back to familiar geographic territory).
Having already experienced what can only be described as a dream year (mainstream recognition, two top 20 singles and a top 10 album); Jay Sean does have momentum on his side. The 2 mil plus South Asians in the U.S (he’ll be the first to express his gratitude to the UK equivalent for his current accomplishment) also puts him in good stead to make waves and achieve the crème of music artistry success.
There are a few big/huge/massive concerns attached to the signing however. Cash Money Records churn out ‘Dirty South’ Southern Rap (anyone remember previous label artist Juvenile?), it’ll be interesting to see how this will affect Jay Sean’s style of singing; are we going to see ‘Jay Sean‘ replaced by ‘Jay Sheezy’? Also, one of the labels previous major signings included Terrance Quaites aka TQ, West coast American RnB singer, most notable for his albums ‘They Never Saw Me Coming’ and ‘The Second Coming’. 2 Years in, there was no album and no single - only a string of terrible collaborations - eventually resulting in a killer blow to his promising career. There was evidently a black and white clash between TQ’s style, mannerism, and image from that of The Cash Money Records clan.
The signing will see Jay Sean disappear for some time while he spends the next few months with the whining Lil’ Wayne, and the coo’ing Birdman (the guy actually makes pigeon noises in his songs) in an attempt to build up his U.S career. Whatever the outcome, we can all be sure that it will be quite different.
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Tags : jay sean, mobo awards
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October 16th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Can’t wait to hear his collabo with Lil’ Wayne. He’s one of my fav, hip hop artists out there at the moment.
October 16th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Craig david had success in the uk and sold many albums in the usa, he built up a huge fanbase and had 3 top 20 singles in the billboards, better then any other british urban artist to date, i hardly call that unsuccessful. jay sean has done well thus far, but nothing special from any other artist out there.
October 17th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I do agree with the author. This is no where close to the ‘new era in asian music’ everyone has been speculating. Had he signed with a more contemporary U.S record label e.g. Arista, Def Jam, even Bad Boy then it would have been something to look forward to. But Cash Money??
October 17th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaig Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaavid!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCQlxLmbxlU
October 17th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Sham…you’re the funniest. ;)
October 17th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
There is a lot of insight and information in this article. The guy seems to know what he’s talking about. Keep up the good work.
October 18th, 2008 at 1:07 am
i cant wait til jay sean goes to america, i’ll be glad to see the back of him, so overrated
October 19th, 2008 at 9:15 am
It was a brilliant move by both Cashmoney and Jay doing this deal.
Cashmoney has just proven that it can do more then Rap…Look At Kevin Rudolf with the #7 song in the country. Thats Rock y’all…Wheezy just happens to be on it, but that ain’t a rap record.
And for Jay its smart to sign to a label with a history of self starter success. Those guys know that Jay has already been successful,
just like they were when they did their Universal deal. Meaning, Cashmony know what its like to be on the bottom and then suddenly on the top.
So I would guess they leave him alone, and let him be who he is. Its clear he is nothing like the current crop of US RNB artists…i mean we are ALL tired of the sound a-likes, so leaving him to be exactly who he is will be the smartest way to the Gold for both Cashmoney and Jay.
As for him signing with a more traditional major? Hell no! Why would any established artist want to do that? And get stuck behind terrible release schedules and wack artists with higher priorities…
Look at Sony, it can barely sell a record anymore, Atlantic can’t even finish albums, and Arista??? What is Arista? lol…does it even exist? Jive already has male RNB talent and J Records can’t make anything work.
Universal is a smart place for Jay. Cashmoney is hot right now with Wayne and Kevin Rudolf and they control their own releases.
Also, from what I know, this deal is NOT a 360 deal in any way. So Jay clearly came out ahead. Sony/Warner/INterscope…they are all doing 360 deals which for an artist like Jay would be terrible. He already tours all over the world…giving him tour money would have been terrible.
So all in all, I would say…VERY SMART MOVE by BOTH PARTIES!
GOOD LUCK
October 19th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Alen, previous attempts by British RnB acts has proven that the U.S very much likes it’s own style of music. JS will need to up his game, he will need to be more like the them, and less like a Brit, he’ll need to add more energy and ego to his songs, he’ll need to drop his clean image and be more urban and street. If he keeps his style as it is atm, I’m confident that he’ll be back in the UK well before he has a chance to settle in the states.
October 19th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
The only real Brit RnB act I can think of that made a sizable impact in the U.S is Mark Morrison, and he guy actually was more American than British (he was in Britain, but grew up in Miami).
October 19th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Jamal,
I think everyone is forgetting that Craig David did sell a million records when he first came across the pond. Also, are you aware that 60% of the worlds record sales come from OUTSIDE of the USA? haha..
The stamp of approval by Cashmoney merely rasises Jay’s stock around the world where he is already working and selling records.
Japan, India, Eastern Europe…these places will react to the deal based on the glitz and glam of such a deal.
The real, and VERY SAD reason why Jay might not work in the US is because he is Indian…This country is so racist deep inside its core that I wonder if people will support him.
On the other hand, the south asian demographic is the fastest growing one in the US and has the highest income per family household of any other Group..including white people. So that foundation will at the very least be a very real fanbase for him.
Look at Nina Sky or other artists like them, With one hit record, they can tour for the rest of their lives.
I think the combination of his world-wide success story, combined with the growing demographic here in the states, and Lil Waynes monstrous image at the moment and the fact that Jay is a hit song writer already (has written smashes for other american artists..see BMI Awards 2008) all lean towards Jay having a good shot at cracking our marketplace. Or at the very least improving his standing world-wide.
I mean, we can’t be mad at the dude for trying his hand at the highest level of game can we? Why play if you don’t play to win. Right? Plus, clearly this kid is smart, you are aware he sold over 100,000 units w.out a deal right? Just like Cashmoney did back in the 90’s…the kid outsold major label RNB acts by himself…
interesting convo!!
October 21st, 2008 at 10:39 am
Amazing site..really interesting stuff.
t5m was lucky enough to be at the Mobo’s and caught up with some of the top talent backstage and on the
red carpet. Take a look at http://www.t5m.com/mobo-awards, with some great exclusive videos on Jay Sean.
February 15th, 2009 at 5:11 am
Jay Sean is crap man!!!
March 21st, 2009 at 6:05 pm
lil wayne soundz like hez going 2 cry lolz but he kl
March 26th, 2009 at 2:29 am
I am American and I have to disagree with the writer of the article. I don’t consider Mark Morrison a success. That’s the “Return of the Mack” song, right? That’s one song. It remains to be seen what Leona Lewis will do. Radiohead I will give him, but what about Coldplay? They are successful here too.
I also think Craig David was quite successful here and I am a huge fan of Craig David. At any rate, I have never heard of Jay Sean before, but I am looking forward to hearing his voice. R & B is getting quite stale and if someone can provide a fresh new boost, that would be just wonderful.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:46 pm
WEN DA RAR TA BLOWS ITS A MADNESS I CAN MAKE A NIGGERS HEAD SPIN LIKE AN ATLAS JHEEZ
November 25th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Alen,
You made some excellent points! I am so proud of Jay Sean for doin what he does best. His new album is SICK! Way to go son!