Exclusive! Jay Sean: Want to bring more South Asian talents to the spotlight

If you are a headphone-wearing music addict, who kept a keen note of everything happening on the radio in the late 2000s or early 2010s, chances are you have at least heard one or two soundtracks or even an album by Jay Sean. Even now, the most kicking clubs sound empty without the track 'Ride It' playing at least once. The singer was recently in India to perform at concerts in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai.

Just minutes before his Mumbai concert last week, WION got the opportunity to speak to Jay Sean via Zoom call. Here's an excerpt of the conversation:

WION: Jay Sean, hello and welcome to WION. How have you been?

Jay Sean: Thank you for having me you guys, I have been incredible. I have had the most wonderfultour of India. Especially bearing in mind, that during the pandemic, we were unable to tour as artists, that was so difficult for us. I usually come to India at least once a year, so it was really nice for me to be back.

WION: You had shows in New Delhi, Bengaluru and now you have one in Mumbai. How has the response been so far?

Jay Sean:I mean honestly, absolutely electrifying. We have very different shows depending on what part of the world I am performing in. In Delhi,it's a very heavy Punjabi roots demographic so it allows me to be able to draw certain songs that will really act well in that audience, that I don’t necessarily get to perform in other parts of the world. So that was super fun. Then in Bengaluru, we almost got rained out. We had an outdoor venue. It was like an amphitheatre, and I didn’t expect this time it would rain. But the show went on and it was absolutely wonderful. I'm pretty sure that tonight is going to be amazing, all our tickets are sold out. So it would be great.

WION: When did you decide that youjust want to sing?

Jay Sean:You know it was always more than just singing for me. Ienjoy the process of singing.I enjoy writing songs, and I enjoy performing them but what I wanted to do wasto change the way South Asian people such as myself were portrayed in society. When I was a kid, and I listened to Hip Hop, there wasn’t anybody who looked like me on TV.There was no brown boy doing mainstream music and I thought to myself, well that needs to change, doesn't it? Look how many of us are there are in this world. We are the second largest demographic on planet Earth, and you can't name me oneIndian popstar...are you serious! So I was like this needs to change. And that to this day is something that I have always advocated for.I have always wanted more of us in mainstream representation.I've always tried to break down the barriers and that to me is my calling.

WION: What should we expect from Jay Sean? Give an exclusive on your upcoming albums or songs?

Jay Sean: Music is always going to be there for me and I will keep doing it as long as people want to keep hearing music from me, but I have a bigger picture, a bigger vision. I am creating a hubto bring out South Asian artists and be that portal to the mainstream. Everything I have been through in my career, you have to go through that process, you can't necessarily bring that whole scene forward if you yourself are not established. So now I'm in that position, where I'm in the spotlight so I want to bring the next generation artists to the spotlight, whether they are singers, songwriters, performers, dancers, authors, actors.This is my main goal now, so that's something I have been working on.