Exclusive Interview with Armaan Malik

armaanmalik

Jovan caught up with Armaan Malik one of the most promising talents to come out of India. The winner of various prestigious awards like the Filmfare, GiMA & Dadasaheb Phalke, Armaan has over 20 super-hit Bollywood songs to his credit to bring you this Exclusive Interview.

Hi Armaan how are you doing? Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.

I’m doing great…currently enjoying a beautiful phase in my life and working hard towards achieving my dreams. I’m glad to talk to you guys too.

You appeared in the 2011 film Kachha Limboo and that was your first on screen experience, can you describe that for us? How did it feel being in a Bollywood film for the very first time?

It was fun but very hectic too. Shooting a film isn’t as rosy as it seems on the big screen. There are countless re-takes and a lot of learning up to do especially with the dialogues from the script. I can only remember song lyrics not dialogues haha.

I wanted to do it just for the kick of it. I was never too keen on taking up acting as a career. My love for music is way too high for me to put my heart into something else.

With your dad being a script-writer, music director, composer, singer and actor; how much did you learn from him and what do you think has been the most important thing he's taught you throughout your young career?

My Dad is my guiding force. He delved into many careers but never became successful in any of them…which is why when I was growing up he always reiterated that I should focus on one career path and see it through till the very end.

As someone had once rightly said – you can learn a great deal about life, from failures, my brother Amaal & I have learnt a lot from our dad.

His mantra for me has always been – Never be too arrogant nor be too naïve or innocent. To survive in this industry all you got do is be SANE

Who gave you the title of the 'Prince of Romance', did you come up with it yourself or was it a name that was given to you?

Well I have been known to sing a lot of beautiful romantic songs and for a long time my fans on social media always referred to me as their prince. Around the same time last year, T-Series came out with a Playlist of my songs named – Prince Of Romance. I guess it stuck on and I’m now known by that title. I really like it… I feel like musical royalty!!

Why did you decide to do a love mashup featuring Kaun Tujhe and Kuch Toh Hain? What was it about those 2 tracks that made you want to include them?

The story behind this mashup is that I truly loved Kaun Tujhe but I never got to officially sing it for the M.S Dhoni Album and I sang Kuch Toh Hain but it never became as big or successful as I wanted it to. So I thought why not put both these beautiful melodies together and see how it works. It got a great response for this mashup… with 4 Million Hits already on it.

You recently released 'Aaja Na Ferrari Mein', how was the response for that track? Can you tell us about how this entire project came together from start to finish?

It was amazing to see the kind of response I got for this single. It was a new, fresh direction for me and its very tough to change your style once you are known for it.. but It was needed, and I am glad it was welcomed with open arms and 18 million views ;) (winks)

You have sung many Hindi tracks for many different films; what has been your most favourite project to date and why?

My favorite songs have been Main Hoon Hero Tera, Wajah Tum Ho, Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon & Bol Do Na Zara .. I think these are the four tracks that really changed my life and they all happened one after the other.

You are a household name already in the Bollywood industry at such a young age, what do you hope to accomplish by the end of your career? What goals do you have?

I wish to become a global singing icon…that’s been my biggest dream…to spread my music and love worldwide. I want to make India proud in the world.

In 2016 you did a World Tour 'Armaan Malik Live' at just the age of 21, how did this come about?

The promoters for the tour wanted my show to tour across USA & UK. I was really ecstatic as it would be my debut world tour. It was a thrilling experience touring so many amazing cities and countries. It helped me grow as a musician and as a person.

As part of your 'Armaan Malik Live' tour in 2016, you performed at 'The SSE Arena', Wembley in the UK, to which you went on to achieve the '4th Best Live Show' at 'The SSE Arena Live Awards 2016'. Congrats on this achievement at such a young age, how does this make you feel with such an achievement?

It was pure magic. I didn’t even expect it. It was a dream come true for me to perform at such a prestigious venue, so early on in my life. I am grateful and blessed. That’s all I can say.

What do you think is your biggest accomplishment to date so far?

My biggest accomplishment was when I became the youngest Indian to have performed at SSE Arena, Wembley and also when I was ranked #4 in the world as the ‘Best Act’ through popular vote at the SSE Live Awards 2016. A proud moment for me representing music from India at a global level.

With so many artists releasing independently what are the advantages of being on a record label?

There have always been artistes doing stuff independently. But the opportunities today are endless, and with the advent of YouTube & Social Media, the growth has become phenomenal.

Labels are specialists in promoting and marketing music, something which is very difficult to do alone. I am not saying it’s impossible to promote your music independently, its just that its difficult and the journey is much longer.

With Labels in the picture, an artiste definitely gets more visibility and its easier for labels to facilitate in-house collaborations with their other signed artistes.

Creatively, what do you think of the contemporary Punjabi music industry? Which artists excite you and do you think are maintaining standards?

I think the sound has changed. It’s become more Trap/Hip-Hop yet maintaining those strong Urban-Punjabi roots. I like how it’s shaping up. I really love listening to Diljit Dosanjh, he is one of my current favourite Punjabi artistes.

The last few years has seen the scene shift almost entirely from CD to iTunes and digital sales. Do you think it’s important for established acts like you to try and appeal to younger audiences who are the new generation in buying music legally?

To be honest, the culture of “legally buying music” has never been there in India. There were always these free download sites for the MP3 versions to your favourite radio hits. There are very few connoisseurs of true music, who still believe in paying for music and buying it legally, but that % of people Is very low in this country.

However, today there is the Apple Music Service available in India and streaming services like Saavn & Gaana who are really making waves among the youth and that’s just how the industry is working today.

I loved collecting CD’s, but today everything related to music is Digital, and you gotta move with the times. Having said that, I wish to collect more and more Cd’s coz the feeling of owning a CD and having the album artwork right in front of you is Surreal.

Music has no barriers, it’s great that you are creating new different sounds and thinking outside of the box. Do you somewhat feel you have opened doors for others to experiment with music, like you have?

Yes I definitely feel so. I feel if you’re successful and influential, you have a certain responsibility towards the industry. You’ve gotta take the initiative to bring about the change. It helps the musical family to grow and move with times and trends.

Thank you for taking your time and we from Simply Bhangra wish you all the best and success this year and the future. We defiantly can’t wait to hear more from you. Any messages for all your fans out there?

Big Hugs to all my #Armaanians out there. I love ‘em so much and they know I do. I am blessed and grateful to have them in my life. Thank you for always supporting.

He seems to be one of the very few artistes to actually have a dedicated fandom of his own and he frequently enjoys replying to his fans.

Interviews