Armaan Malik promises loads of fun, magical music for fans in Doha

Armaan Malik, a rising star on the music scene of Bollywood, is all set to perform in Doha on June 7 for the first time. The show will take place at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena from 7:30pm onwards.In an interview with Community via e-mail, the singing sensation, also called ‘Prince of Romance’, shared his thoughts and plans.How did you get interested in music? I grew up surrounded with music. Music has been my lifelong passion. I started singing and taking music lessons at the age of 3 and at the age of 4 I started singing on stage and ever since I’ve never looked back.Did having family in the music industry help you for a break through? Be it participating in a reality show at the age of 9 (SaReGaMaPa Lil’ Champs), singing for ads and jingles, and doing playback for composers who do not belong to my family; I never left any stone unturned to make a name and identity for myself independent of my family. I worked really hard from a young age and never used my family’s name to get myself a chance.How important was MS Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) for you as you and your brother were carrying the entire album together?MS Dhoni was a crucial album for both Amaal and Me. It was a huge project and to be the main singer on the album was a huge responsibility on my shoulders. MS Dhoni has probably some of the biggest songs of my career and all the credit goes to Amaal and Manoj Muntashir for creating such timeless melodies. Even Neeraj Pandey Sir, the director of the movie, had a great vision for the album. It felt great to be trusted by such amazing creative minds.How thrilled are you to be the voice of Aladdin for the Hindi version of the live action feature film Aladdin?I am really thrilled to be a part of such an epic movie. It’s an absolute honour to be the voice of such an iconic character. The most exciting part for me was singing the Hindi Version of Naya Jahaan (A Whole New World) which is one of my favourite Disney songs of all time.How do you feel about success of your song Chale Aana?It’s amazing to see the kind of love I receive for my songs. Chale Aana is a very special song and I am so happy that it has reached out to such a wide audience. It has now reached 43 million views on YouTube and is no. 1 on the iTunes India Charts.Who gave you the title of ‘The Prince of Romance’?Well my fans lovingly call me Prince AM and I also happen to sing a lot of romantic songs hence my fans coined the term ‘Prince of Romance’. The title then went on to be more famous when T-Series released an Album featuring all my romantic hits titled – The Prince of Romance. Since then everyone has been using it. It feels good to own such titles and win the love of so many people.What have been your all-time favourite tracks to listen to and sing?Well from my own songs my top 3 would be – Bol Do Na Zara, Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon, and Tere Mere. Other than my own songs my all time favourite tracks are Humein Tumse Pyaar Kitna, Channa Mereya and Hawaayein.Being so young and so successful who were the people you looked up to in the industry when you started your career?I really look up to Sonu Nigam. He has been a huge inspiration for me ever since I started singing. It was such a great feeling singing a track called the Goggle Song as a duet with him for the movie Mubarakan. It was like a dream come true. He’s definitely a huge inspiration not only to me but even to all the budding singers out there.Is there anything you would like to change about the music industry in India?It’s very unorganised. There is no proper system in place. The musicians and songwriters (composers and lyricists) barely see any incomes from royalties etc and it’s sad that other countries follow these payouts as standard practices and we don’t. I hope that this changes. Creators of music shouldn’t be shortchanged in this manner. I would like to change this in our industry.What would be your message to your fans and aspiring singers? Well it’s a very tough industry and one may face a lot of rejection early on and throughout the course of one’s career. Having talent is one thing, but getting heard is the tough part. Hence I always encourage all those who want to be a singer/musician in the future to start growing themselves on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram through covers and singing videos. Today there’s far more opportunity in being discovered online by a composer or producer, rather than actually going out there and pitching for work.Are you excited about your debut performance in Qatar?I am super thrilled to be coming to Qatar for the very first time. It’s amazing to be celebrating Eid with all my fans there. It’s my debut concert there and it’s Doha Waves’ 100th show, so definitely it is going to be a huge concert.It’s going to be a night full of love, magic and loads of fun, Can’t wait to be there already.