Express News Service
Armaan Malik thinks he could have done better. The 28-year-old singer’s new album, Only Just Begun, is the latest addition to his body of work spanning nearly a decade. The good thing about being a young established musician is that he has enough number of years to reinvent and hone his craft. The negative, however, is that youth comes with the label of being too inexperienced to be taken seriously, and Armaan admits to facing the latter often.
“People don’t give me the credit for my success. Because of my age, a lot of my work is dismissed. This is demotivating for an artiste,” he says, adding that he would probably have been considered a teen sensation in the West. “Here, I continue to be brushed off as someone who still has a long way to go,” rues Armaan, whose new album is on Spotify.
Featuring eight Hindi songs, the album is meant to reflect the versatility of his musical repertoire, which combines pop—he grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars and John Mayer—with elements of 80s’ soft rock. Showcasing the range of the singer’s soulful voice, the album captures the varied moods of romance, separation and new beginnings. ‘Kasam Se’, for instance, is dedicated to his influencer-fiancée Aashna Shroff. “I worked on Only Just Begun for three years.
I wanted it to bring forth my emotional temperament as an artiste. This is the pop-infused real me. It is what I have always wanted to do, and you will hear more of it,” shares Armaan, who debuted as a child artiste with ‘Bum Bum Bole’ in Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par.
Grandson of popular music director Sardar Malik, and son of composer Daboo Malik, music was his natural career. His first song, rendered in his twenties, was ‘Jai Ho’ in 2014 in the Salman Khan-starrer of the same name. He has sung Hindi hits such as ‘Besabriyaan’ and ‘Jab Tak’ from M S Dhoni: The Untold Story, ‘Buddhu Sa Mann’ from Kapoor & Sons, ‘Sau Asmaan’ from Baar Baar Dekho and ‘De Taali’ from Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.
Alongside his playback career, Armaan also worked as an independent musician. After launching his eponymous album in 2014, he ventured into the English music scene with frequent collaborations with the likes of K-pop star Eric Nam and American producer DJ KSHMR. He is the first Indian singer to hit the No. 1 spot on the Top Triller Global Billboard (a views-based ranking chart for songs) in 2020.
While the singer managed to diversify his portfolio, he acknowledges that not all musicians have the resources to do so. To bridge the gap, he launched his label Always Music HQ in partnership with Warner Music Inc last year. The idea was to help budding artistes get a foothold in the industry, without depending on record companies, which tend to “suffocate creativity” with clauses. “It is a stand you have to take as an artiste. All my music is under my label. Not many people are lucky enough to have that,” he says, adding, “I would love to give newcomers the same opportunity.” With his own career now in sync, Armaan hopes to give others a fresh beginning.
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Armaan Malik thinks he could have done better. The 28-year-old singer’s new album, Only Just Begun, is the latest addition to his body of work spanning nearly a decade. The good thing about being a young established musician is that he has enough number of years to reinvent and hone his craft. The negative, however, is that youth comes with the label of being too inexperienced to be taken seriously, and Armaan admits to facing the latter often.
“People don’t give me the credit for my success. Because of my age, a lot of my work is dismissed. This is demotivating for an artiste,” he says, adding that he would probably have been considered a teen sensation in the West. “Here, I continue to be brushed off as someone who still has a long way to go,” rues Armaan, whose new album is on Spotify.
Featuring eight Hindi songs, the album is meant to reflect the versatility of his musical repertoire, which combines pop—he grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars and John Mayer—with elements of 80s’ soft rock. Showcasing the range of the singer’s soulful voice, the album captures the varied moods of romance, separation and new beginnings. ‘Kasam Se’, for instance, is dedicated to his influencer-fiancée Aashna Shroff. “I worked on Only Just Begun for three years. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
I wanted it to bring forth my emotional temperament as an artiste. This is the pop-infused real me. It is what I have always wanted to do, and you will hear more of it,” shares Armaan, who debuted as a child artiste with ‘Bum Bum Bole’ in Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par.
Grandson of popular music director Sardar Malik, and son of composer Daboo Malik, music was his natural career. His first song, rendered in his twenties, was ‘Jai Ho’ in 2014 in the Salman Khan-starrer of the same name. He has sung Hindi hits such as ‘Besabriyaan’ and ‘Jab Tak’ from M S Dhoni: The Untold Story, ‘Buddhu Sa Mann’ from Kapoor & Sons, ‘Sau Asmaan’ from Baar Baar Dekho and ‘De Taali’ from Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.
Alongside his playback career, Armaan also worked as an independent musician. After launching his eponymous album in 2014, he ventured into the English music scene with frequent collaborations with the likes of K-pop star Eric Nam and American producer DJ KSHMR. He is the first Indian singer to hit the
No. 1 spot on the Top Triller Global Billboard (a views-based ranking chart for songs) in 2020.
While the singer managed to diversify his portfolio, he acknowledges that not all musicians have the resources to do so. To bridge the gap, he launched his label Always Music HQ in partnership with Warner Music Inc last year. The idea was to help budding artistes get a foothold in the industry, without depending on record companies, which tend to “suffocate creativity” with clauses. “It is a stand you have to take as an artiste. All my music is under my label. Not many people are lucky enough to have that,” he says, adding,
“I would love to give newcomers the same opportunity.” With his own career now in sync, Armaan hopes to give others a fresh beginning.
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