Jay Sean

Kamaljit Singh Jhooti, better known by his stage name Jay Sean (born 26 March 1981) is British Asian Pop-R&B singer-songwriter from West London, England, best known for his hits "Stolen", "Eyes On You", "Ride It" and "Tonight" in UK. He has released two albums, Me Against Myself (2004) and My Own Way (2008). He was signed to Virgin Records and to Jayded Records.

He is currently signed to Cash Money Records for his United States releases. He has released his debut single "Down" in America and is working with his debut album All or Nothing for the American market.

Early life

Jay Sean was born in the Southall neighbourhood of London into an Asian family. His parents migrated from the Punjab area to the United Kingdom. He is of Sikh Punjabi descent. Jay Sean displayed talent at an early age when at age 11, he and his cousin (Pritpal Ruprai) formed a hip hop duo called "Compulsive Disorder". He later enrolled at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry to study medicine, before he dropped out to pursue his artistic career. He signed with Virgin Records after his track "One Minute" fell into the hands of producer Rishi Rich.

Career

2003-2006: Me Against Myself
Main article: Me Against Myself

His first taste of UK chart success was with his collaboration with Rishi Rich and Juggy D with the song, "Dance with You (Nachna Tere Naal)" which became a top twenty hit. Sean secured a one million pounds record deal with Virgin Records. His second single, "Eyes on You," became a Top 10 hit, peaking at #6. He recorded a video for the song "Me Against Myself" however the video was never released to the mainstream but did leak onto the internet. His third single, "Stolen," and his biggest hit to date in the United Kingdom, peaked at #4, with Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu making an appearance in the video. His debut album, Me Against Myself, was released and received much critical praise and acclaim. The album became a commercial success, not only in the UK, but abroad as well. In India it became a substantial hit, selling more than two million copies. He made a brief appearance in the Bollywood flick Kyaa Kool Hai Hum, providing the song "Dil Mera (My Heart)" to the soundtrack (a music video accompanied the song's appearance). In February 2006, after several delays of his second album, he left Virgin Records.

2007-2008: My Own Way with Jayded Records
Main article: My Own Way (album)

After parting ways with Virgin Records, Jay Sean returned in late 2007 with new single "Ride It", and was the first single from his second album My Own Way (provisionally titled Deal With It). It was to be the first album to release as a joint-venture between his own label Jayded and 2Point9 Records. The video for "Ride It" featured Jay Sean with a new style after being out of the limelight for nearly three and a half years.

Jay Sean wrote the song "Deal With It" (for his own album 'My Own Way'), but he gave it to Disney artist Corbin Bleu (who appeared in the hit Disney movie High School Musical). Reaching over 120,000 radio plays in America, the track was one of the most played songs on American Radio, written by a European songwriter and it make him win the 'BMI Songwriter Awards'.

The album 'My Own Way', debuted at #6 in the UK official album chart. The album generated 5 consecutive UK top 20 singles ("Dance With You", "Eyes On You", "Stolen", "Ride It" and "Maybe"). On the back of this Jay received two MOBO award nominations, for Best UK Male (alongside Dizzee Rascal, Taio Cruz, Wiley and Sway) and Best R'n'B/Soul (alongside Usher, Estelle, Ne-Yo and Chris Brown).

Touch Magazine in the U.K. described him as "the U.K.?s answer to Ne-Yo," while The Independent called him "...an urban legend in the making."

In August 2008, Jay Sean co-hosted London radio station Choice FM's Breakfast show a week in which he only performed previously unheard tracks, including a song whose title was left to the listeners to decide. The unknown track was later confirmed to be called "Tonight" and is included in My Own Way: Deluxe Edition.

2009-Current: All or Nothing with Cash Money Records

On 15 October 2008 during the MOBO Awards, Jay Sean announced that he had signed with the American hip-hop oriented record label Cash Money Records distributed via Universal Republic Records making him the first British Asian singer to sign with an American label. His first American-debut single was "Down" featuring American superstar rapper and label mate Lil Wayne.

At the 2009 UK Asian Music Awards (AMA), Jay Sean won three awards, including "Best Male", "Best Urban Act" and "Best Album" for My Own Way. He met with Rishi Rich, Juggy D and H-Dhami during the ceremony.

On his first interview in America with MTV IGGY, Jay announced that he was recording five new songs for his then upcoming release of My Own Way (U.S. edition), one of which was his American-debut single with Lil Wayne, later titled "Down". Jay discussed a collaboration with Akon at the 2009 Grammy Awards, in addition to recording a song with Nadine Coyle and believes the album will be released in third quarter of 2009. However, the album title has now been confirmed to be All or Nothing and will feature brand new songs.

Jay Sean has also featured on a song called "Written On Her" alongside Birdman for the CEO?s next project, released on 23 June 2009 on iTunes. This song was played during an interview on Westwood Radio 1 with Birdman and Jay Sean. Jay Sean has featured on Skepta's single "Lush" released on 10 June 2009 on iTunes.

He will release his second American single in October and it is thought that it may be "If I Ain't Got You" featuring Drake.

Jay Sean is currently nominated for the 30 Under 30 award.

Community Work

Jay Sean does various bits of work with the community. He has worked with BBC Blast doing Q&A's on tour events in an effort to 'give something back'. He has also supported the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) in the charity event Partnership Walk and Run by performing in Regent's Park in 2004 and 2009.

Awards

UK Asian Music Awards (AMAs)
2005: Best Album ("Me Against Myself")
2005: Best Urban Act
2005: Best Video ("Stolen")
2007: DesiHits Artist of the Year Award
2009: Best Male
2009: Best Album ("My Own Way")
2009: Best Urban Act
Channel U Best of British Awards
2008: Best Video ("Ride It")
UK BMI Awards
2008: BMI Songwriter Awards
MTV Russia Music Awards
2008: Best International Artist
Nominations
MOBO Awards
2008: Best UK Male
2008: Best R'n'B/Soul

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