Music
Kamaljit Singh - Jay Sean - Conquers Pop World
by SANTHAM PILLAY
At a press conference last week, ahead of his three-day, three-cities tour of South Africa, Jat Sean said the welcome he received had exceeded his expectations.
"I've been blown away by the reception. It's been amazing. You just want to soak up the culture. I've always wanted to visit Africa. I think here and South America are the only places I've never toured, so it is one of my dreams come true," he said.
Sean, whose real name is Kamaljit Singh Jhooti, has been in the music industry since 2003.
He dropped out of the London School of Medicine and Dentistry to pursue his dream of becoming a singer.
"My parents have been supportive. I couldn't do what I do without them. I mean, trying to live out a dream is very difficult if the closest people around you are not supporting you.
"My mom and dad were very cool about all of this. I think they saw it coming from a young age. They were like, 'this guy obviously likes to sing - he might try to do something with this one day.'"
He attracted global attention with the hits Do You Remember, Maybe and Down, a song featuring American artist Lil Wayne.
The 29-year-old said although he now lived in America, he was still very much in tune with his roots.
"I am very proud of my [Sikh] heritage. I speak to my grandparents only in Punjabi."
He added that, like most international visitors, he had "a lot of preconceived notions" of what South Africa would be like.
The most surprising feature to him was the different accents of the country's race groups.
"The Indians have completely different accents to everyone else in the country, and it's amazing. I don't understand how this happens.
"It still baffles me, you know. I don't understand it. But, again, it's a wonderful feeling for me to be taking all this in," he added.
His fourth studio album is set for release later this year.
[Courtesy: Times Live]
August 4, 2010