“He’s Punjabi just like me!”
That’s what The Daughter’s Friend J said about Jay Sean, whose song “Down (Featuring Lil Wayne)” is number 6 on Billboard’s Hot 100 at the time of this post. I had heard the song before, but I had no idea that he was Asian. Given the difficulties that Asians have had cracking the American market, I suspect that was part of the marketing strategy for him in the American market.
A singer-songwriter originally from England, Jay Sean dropped out of medical school to pursue his music career. While in England, he took the stage name “Jay Sean,” which is probably more marketable than his birth name of Kamaljit Singh Jhooti. He became known for working on projects fusing traditional Punjabi music and contemporary Pop and R&B (check out Dance With You) and has developed a following in many countries including India. One commenter on the video to Down asked about the small amount of “Asian” music at the beginning, so it looks like he is adding some Asian elements but keeping it to a minimum. I think that the fact that he could be made to pass for Hispanic (compare him in the Down video to the Dance With You video) helps him. The overall strategy seems to be to minimize his Asianness.
I personally wish him much success and hope he can continue to break barriers. I have seen comments about him like “the hottest Indian I’ve ever seen” (you can see him without his shirt toward the beginning of the Down video), so I think some barriers are already being broken!
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4 Comments to “Jay Sean: Asian Male Hits #6 on Billboard’s Hot 100”
erika888 wrote:
Sad that he has to minimize his Asianness to be able to be “marketable”. Oh well. I don't pay attention to the top 100 anyway
Posted on 20-Aug-09 at 10:35 am | Permalink
ravnek wrote:
Ravnek Rapmasterrav. Hi kidtha Jay Sean we used to party together in london with rishi … Jatt by Ravnek RAPMASTERRAV out on itunes uk 79p and amazon !
Posted on 09-Oct-09 at 5:48 am | Permalink
Huh wrote:
Hottest Indian man I have ever seen? Yeah, right lol.
As for the “minimization of his Asianness,” he got a haircut and put on muscle long before singing onto the American label (see “Ride It” from 2007). Does that mean Asians can’t get buzz cuts or go the gym lol?
I don’t think he can pass as Hispanic (he looks straight up South Asian), but I guess people who don’t expect an Indian to be muscular and attractive would automatically assume he is because he’s brown-skinned.
Posted on 16-Nov-09 at 10:31 pm | Permalink
Huh wrote:
Oh, another thing. The Asian sound in the beginning of the “Down” video is a clip from his 2007 single “Ride It.” I don’t think it had anything to do with his trying put some Asianness in the video (especially since the music is East Asian rather than South Asian), but more to do with marketing and remind people who know of him of his last single.
Posted on 17-Nov-09 at 3:17 pm | Permalink
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