It's such a weird process, songwriting, because you just have to feel it. There's no right or wrong melody or lyric.
Jay Sean
I'm a really hardworking person.
I was studying to be a doctor like every good Indian boy, and doing music on the side as a hobby. Then I started to get a little serious and record companies started giving me offers!
Ride It' did it for me. Not only did the Asian community love it, but the black community and the white community got to hear about it. The song became such a big hit for me and got me noticed by the CEOs of Cash Money in America.
When I realized that you can actually impact people's lives like that through music, thats an incredible thing.
I've got my fanbase; I believe in my music; I believe in my vision... And ain't no-one gonna stop me from doing that!
I really enjoyed studying.
The Indian heritage plays a very important role in my career, I have always wanted my Indian roots to be with me. I was also influenced by the urban culture around me back in the day.
I have rather skinny legs - I blame my dad's side of the family.
I wanted to be a doctor originally; that was my realistic dream, because I knew how to get there. Being a pop star was my wild dream, a fantasy - there was no direct route.
I don't like to hold grudges, I don't like to talk ill of people.
I started writing rhymes in fact when I was 11 or 12 years old. I was actually into hip hop before anything else.
There's been so much fusion of genres, whether Hindi and hip or reggaeton and bhangra.
I remember when Kriss Kross came out! I was round about the same age, or maybe a couple of years younger.
I had the most incredible experience of my life being signed to Cash Money.
I believe that if you work hard and you never get to enjoy it then what's the point. You can't take any of this with you, the money or nothing. The only thing you can take is experiences, memories and good times, so I like to get amongst it as much as I can.
What I've found is that a lot of people in the media industry tend to use Macs because they're so good for graphics and music.
I am a pop and R&B singer. I'm not necessarily an Indian singer or musician. I sing in English, and the music I do blends hip hop, pop, R&B, and soul.
There was a time when I had spiky hair and I was doing Indian-influenced R&B fusion songs.
In terms of the way things went for me, I'm a firm believer that experience is what makes you. But I'm not saying it was easy.
I can do whatever I want now. I can drop seven songs in two weeks and fans don't care about whether it's from an album or not. They just care about the music.
I eat a lot of cereal and toast.
The love and pride that I feel from my Indian fan base make every new performance in India unique and special.
So when I wrote 'Down' - when I sang the melody, I sung the word 'Down' for no reason. I don't know why. That's how I came up with the medley. I was like, 'I don't know why I said down, but we got to write a song around it.'
The most important thing is to make quality music that will last.
I used to re-create the beats that I heard.
I'm always trying to not spread myself too thin.
When you look at Beyonce, every interview she does is just perfect delivery, perfect execution, and the thing is, she has honed that skill down.
I've been fortunate to work with artists that are at the top of their respective genres. That allowed me to learn from them and their success.
Bollywood is just amazing.
There are so many egos in this game - maybe we all need to come down a notch.
I used to dance around, I used to sing a lot, I remember, and beat box.
A lot of my writing is done on the road so I can take the music on my iPod, work out a melody then record it into Cubase.
I don't need awards to show me how successful I am or to prove to me that I'm doing a good thing and that I'm succeeding.
Music is a language that should have no barriers.
Deep down inside, I'm a science geek.
When I got my deal with Cash Money, it changed my whole life.
I think, honestly, hard work is the only way that you'll get anywhere and this is not an easy job. People think it's easy to be a singer or to be an artist. It's crazy hours and you need a lot of energy and some spirit inside you to do that.
England really is at the forefront of being a melting pot of all cultures.
My granddad doesn't care if he falls down when he's singing, he's just having a laugh.
I was born and raised in Southall; we had two houses which we made into one big one because there were 12 of us living there: me and my bro, my parents, my grandparents, and my dad's brother's family.
I don't want to just do any acting role that comes just for the sake of getting in a film.
There used to be times when you didn't see Indians on television or if you did it was the corner shop guy in 'EastEnders,' but now they're not as stereotypical and we've managed to fit in and blend really well. England does a great job of doing that.
The minute you forget who your fan-base is, that's the minute everything falls out from under you.
I'd say I am a nice cross of R&B and Pop.
I like to write songs that people can identify with and sing along to.
I grew up on R&B and soul, so that backbone is always there.
When a hit's a hit, you can't hold it down.
I'm so proud of my heritage, and I know who my fans are.
Much like Jennifer Lopez or Ricky Martin who might have started with a hardcore Latin fan-base, I'll always remember what my foundation was.
