Jay Sean
Encyclopedia
Kamaljit Singh Jhooti , better known by his stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer-songwriter, rapper
, beatboxer
and record producer. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground
scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with "Dance with You
", which reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart
in 2003. This led to him being signed to Virgin Records
and having two UK top 10 hits as a solo artist in 2004: "Eyes On You
" at #6 and "Stolen
" at #4. They were included in his critically acclaimed debut album Me Against Myself
which, though only moderately successful in the UK, sold more than two million copies across Asia and remains his most successful album to date. Alongside the Rishi Rich Project, Sean was a pioneer of Bhangra-R&B fusion
, which his debut album helped popularize among the worldwide South Asian diaspora
.
He eventually left Virgin in 2006 and founded his own independent label, Jayded Records. After a gap of nearly four years, he returned in 2008 with "Ride It
", which reached #11 in the UK and topped the charts in several Eastern European countries, including Romania where it was one of the best-selling singles of the year
. It was followed by hits such as "Maybe
", which reached #7 on the Japan Hot 100
, and "Tonight
". They were included in his second album, My Own Way
, which became his most successful album on the UK Albums Chart
, reaching #6, and topped the UK R&B Chart
. At around this time, he began increasingly incorporating electropop
sounds into his R&B
music.
Since the end of 2008, has he been signed to Cash Money Records
. In 2009, his American debut single "Down
" topped the Billboard Hot 100
, making him the first solo artist of South Asian origin
and first UK urban act to top the Hot 100. It was the seventh-best selling song of 2009, having sold more than three million copies in the United States that year, eventually reaching four million sales in the United States and six million sales worldwide, making him the most successful British/European male urban artist in US chart history. It was soon followed by another hit, "Do You Remember
", which has sold more than a million copies in the US, and entered the top ten on the Hot 100, making him the first male act since Chingy
in 2003 to "simultaneously appear in the Hot 100 top 10 with his first two charting singles." They were included in his American-debut album All or Nothing
, which debuted at #37 on the US Billboard 200
and reached #11 on the Japan Oricon
Albums Chart. Sean is sometimes referred to as a "one-man
boy band
" and was ranked #35 in Billboard' s Hot 100 Artists of 2009.
, Northwest London to Sharan and Bindi Jhooti, Punjabi
Sikh immigrants
. His year of birth is uncertain, with different sources giving dates ranging from 1979 to 1983. He was raised in Southall
, west London, and displayed musical talent at an early age. At age 11, he and his cousin Pritpal Rupra formed a hip hop duo named "Compulsive Disorder". His stage name at the time was MC
"Nicky J", with the "J" being derived from the first letter of his last name "Jhooti". He eventually came to be known by the nickname "Jay" among his friends.
He was a student at Latymer Upper School
, the same private school that Hugh Grant
, Heston Blumenthal
and Lily Cole
had attended. He left the school in 1997. He finished his GCSEs
as a "straight-A student" and then completed his A Levels
with an A grade in Biology
and B grades in Mathematics
and Chemistry
. He later enrolled in Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of London
, to study Medicine
before he dropped out in 2003 to pursue a singing career. For his music career, he chose the stage name Jay Sean; "Jay" was the nickname his friends knew him as (derived from his previous stage name "Nicky J"), while "Sean" is derived from "Shaan"—a nickname he was called at home by his grandmother—which means "shining star" or "pride" in Punjabi
.
, the Rishi Rich Project was formed (consisting of Rich, Sean and Juggy D
) in 2003. Their first taste of UK chart success was the Asian underground
song, "Dance with You (Nachna Tere Naal)
", which became a Top 20 hit, peaking at #12. This led to Sean signing a £1m deal with Virgin Records
, under their label Relentless Records
. His second single, "Eyes on You
," was his first solo effort and became a Top 10 hit, peaking at #6. His third single, "Stolen
," peaked at #4, with Bollywood
actress Bipasha Basu
making an appearance in the video. His debut album, Me Against Myself
, was released in 2004 and received much critical praise and acclaim. Sean was referred to as an "Asian
sensation" and was praised for his experimental
, creative fusion
of contemporary R&B
, British hip hop
and Indian music
.
Despite initially failing to reach the top 20 on the UK Albums Chart
(where it peaked at #29), the album gradually managed to sell 100,000 copies in the UK and went on to become a substantial hit in India, selling over two million copies there. He made a brief appearance in the 2005 Bollywood film Kyaa Kool Hai Hum
, providing the song "Dil Mera (My Heart)" to the soundtrack, based on "One Night" from his own debut album. Beyond India, the album sold over 300,000 copies across other parts of the world, including Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Hong Kong. His performance of tracks from Me Against Myself on MTV Asia (alongside the Rishi Rich Project) had a television audience as large as 165 million viewers. It helped establish Sean as a major recognized artist across Asia and among the worldwide Desi
diaspora, and remains his most successful album to date. With his debut album, Sean was influential in popularizing Indian
-R&B fusion
sounds in Asian underground and Indian pop
music.
He recorded a 16 track album which was scrapped because Virgin felt the market had changed to where it was all about Pop music. In February 2006, after several delays of his second album, he left Virgin Records
.
, Jay Sean continued to work on his second album, which was initially named after the title track "Deal With It," but the song ended up being given to Corbin Bleu
. Sean's background vocals remain on Bleu's version of the track. The song "Deal With It" earned Sean a BMI Songwriter Award
and later inspired the 2009 single "Juliette
" by South Korean band Shinee
.
Jay Sean returned in late 2007 with the new single "Ride It
", which was the first single from his second album My Own Way
. It was to be the first album released as a joint-venture between his own label Jayded and 2Point9 Records
. The video for "Ride It", released in early 2008, featured Jay Sean with a new style after being out of the limelight for nearly three and a half years. My Own Way debuted at #6 in the official UK Albums Chart
and generated two more UK top 20 singles, "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). "Ride It" was successful in Eastern Europe, especially in Russia, Turkey and Romania, where it became one of the three best-selling singles of the year
. "Maybe
" was his most successful single in Japan, where it reached #7 on the Japan Hot 100 Singles. A Mandarin Chinese cover version of "Maybe" by Coco Lee
has been released in China. Sean sang a Hindi
version of the album My Own Way for release in India. The album sold more than 350,000 copies across the world.
Touch Magazine in the UK 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
. Jay Sean was confirmed for the third series of Celebrity Scissorhands
in October 2008 but he withdrew before the show was aired for unclear reasons.
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 male British Asian
singer to sign with an American label. His American-debut single was "Down
" featuring American rapper and label mate Lil Wayne
. It topped the Billboard Hot 100
, replacing The Black Eyed Peas
. This makes him the first British artist to top the Hot 100 since Freddie Mercury
of Queen
in 1980, and the first solo artist of Asian descent to do so. "Down" has sold more than six million copies worldwide, and three million digital copies in the US, making the song the best-selling single by a British/European male artist in North America since Elton John
's "Candle in the Wind
" in 1997. In addition, "Down" has received a large airplay
of two billion listener impressions on radio worldwide. In November 2009, Sean's next single from his album, "Do You Remember
", was released and featured Jamaican dancehall superstar Sean Paul
plus US Southern crunk rapper Lil Jon
. It entered the Hot 100 top ten on the week of 9 January 2009, breaking "a three-week streak of no titles moving into the top 10" since December 2009. Like its predecessor, it has sold more than a million copies in the United States.
At the 2009 UK Asian Music Awards
(AMA), Jay Sean won three awards, including "Best Male", "Best Urban Act" and "Best Album", the latter for his second album, My Own Way. He met with Rishi Rich
, Juggy D
and H-Dhami
during the ceremony. After the award, he was in America for the first time since signing with Cash Money, he announced through an interview with MTV IGGY that he was recording five new songs for his album, then titled My Own Way (U.S. edition), one of which was his American-debut single with Lil Wayne
, later titled "Down". Sean discussed a collaboration with Akon
at the 2009 Grammy Awards, in addition to recording a song with Nadine Coyle
and told viewers that the album will be released in third quarter of 2009. The album title was later changed to All or Nothing
, and featured brand new songs and some of the songs from My Own Way. Despite success with two singles from the album, the album itself only debuted at #37 on the US Billboard 200
. It was his lowest-charting entry on the UK Albums Chart
, debuting there at #62. Despite this, it has become his highest-charting album in Japan, reaching #11 on the Oricon
Albums Chart.
Sean was featured on a song called "Written on Her
" alongside Birdman for the CEO’s 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. On 2 February 2010, Kevin Rudolf
's single "I Made It (Cash Money Heroes)
", featured Jay Sean alongside Birdman and Lil Wayne, was released. In early December 2009, it was confirmed that he has collaborated with Justin Timberlake
and Esmée Denters
on a song, "Love Dealer
". There have been talks of collaborations with other American artists such as Ashley Tisdale
, Taylor Swift
, Nicole Scherzinger
, Rihanna
, Usher
, and Jay-Z
& Beyoncé
.
Jay Sean was in early September 2009 nominated for the 30 Under 30 award. At the 2009 UK Urban Music Awards
, he won the Best Collaboration award for "Down" alongside Lil Wayne. In early December 2009, he was ranked #35 in Billboard' s Hot 100 Artists of the year. On 11 December 2009, he became the first South Asia
n origin artist since Freddie Mercury to perform at Madison Square Garden
, as part of the Jingle Ball
concert, alongside beatboxer MC Zani. Sean's performance "had the entire crowd – parents and children, teens and twenty-somethings – dancing."
was asked about what he thought of the Stateside success of British R&B artists like Jay Sean and Taio Cruz
. "Sustaining longevity is all about time. They have a lot to prove." Usher said. Sean responded by stating: "He's been in the game for, what, 17 years? I completely agree with what he says. Longevity trumps everything. America has only heard one album." "I'm so new to America. I've got so much more to show them, so much more to give them." Sean said.
Jay Sean confirmed in July 2010 that he was working on a new album. He also stated that he has completed roughly 75 percent of the album and that guests so far include Lil Wayne, Pitbull
, Nicki Minaj
and Mary J. Blige
. "2012 (It Ain't the End)
" was released to U.S. radio stations and as a digital download to iTunes on 3 August 2010, as the lead single of the album. A new single called "Hit The Lights" featuring Lil Wayne
was released in February 2011.
In support of the album, Jay is co-headlining with Joe Jonas
in the Joe Jonas & Jay Sean Tour
with JoJo as the opening act. the tour which kicks off on 9 September 2011 through 6 October 2011.
According to Cash Money's website CashMoney-Records.com Sean's fourth album and second with Cash Money Records
"Freeze Time", originally schedule to released on November 22nd 2011, but it was moved to December 3rd 2011.
(AKF) in the charity event Partnership Walk and Run by performing in Regent's Park
in 2004 and 2009.
In 2009, Sean performed in Justin Timberlake
's charity concert to raise funds for the Shriners Hospital for Children, alongside artists such as MC Zani, Taylor Swift
and Alicia Keys
. It became one of the highest-earning charity events of the year, raising more than $9 million.
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, beatboxer
Beatboxing
Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, and the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments...
and record producer. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground
Asian Underground
Asian Underground is a term associated with various British Asian musicians who blend elements of western underground dance music and the traditional Asian music of their home countries in South Asia...
scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with "Dance with You
Dance with You (Nachna Tere Naal)
"Dance with You ", released on 8 September 2003, is the debut single by the Rishi Rich Project, consisting of Jay Sean, Juggy D and Rishi Rich. It was an Asian Underground song, which was Sean's debut single and was produced by Rich. The lyrics are in both English and Punjabi, with Sean singing the...
", which reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in 2003. This led to him being signed to Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
and having two UK top 10 hits as a solo artist in 2004: "Eyes On You
Eyes on You (Jay Sean song)
"Eyes on You" is the second single from Jay Sean's debut album Me Against Myself. It was released on June 21, 2004. The song reached #6 on the UK Singles Chart and sold over 60,000 copies in the United Kingdom.-Formats and track listings:CD1...
" at #6 and "Stolen
Stolen (Jay Sean song)
"Stolen" is the second and last single from Jay Sean's debut album Me Against Myself. It was released on October 25, 2004 and debuted at #4 on the UK Singles Chart, making it his highest charting UK single until "Down." It sold over 39,000 copies in the United Kingdom...
" at #4. They were included in his critically acclaimed debut album Me Against Myself
Me Against Myself
Me Against Myself was universally acclaimed by critics across the world, particularly for its experimental, creative fusion of contemporary R&B, hip hop music and Indian music , as well as its social commentary...
which, though only moderately successful in the UK, sold more than two million copies across Asia and remains his most successful album to date. Alongside the Rishi Rich Project, Sean was a pioneer of Bhangra-R&B fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...
, which his debut album helped popularize among the worldwide South Asian diaspora
Desi
Desi or Deshi refers to the people, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and, increasingly, to the people, cultures, and products of their diaspora. Desi countries include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh...
.
He eventually left Virgin in 2006 and founded his own independent label, Jayded Records. After a gap of nearly four years, he returned in 2008 with "Ride It
Ride It (Jay Sean song)
"Ride It" is the first single from Jay Sean's second album My Own Way. It was written by Jay Sean himself and Alan Sampson. It was released on 21 January 2008. The song reached the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #11...
", which reached #11 in the UK and topped the charts in several Eastern European countries, including Romania where it was one of the best-selling singles of the year
End-Year Chart 2008 (Romania)
This is a list of Romanian Top 100's 2008 year-end chart....
. It was followed by hits such as "Maybe
Maybe (Jay Sean song)
"Maybe" is the second single from Jay Sean's second album My Own Way. It was originally scheduled to be released on 7 April 2008 but was postponed...
", which reached #7 on the Japan Hot 100
Japan Hot 100
The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com ....
, and "Tonight
Tonight (Jay Sean song)
"Tonight" is a single by British R&B artist Jay Sean. The single was released on 18 January 2009 and 26 January 2009 , but the music video for the single was released much earlier, on 17 November 2008...
". They were included in his second album, My Own Way
My Own Way (album)
My Own Way is the second studio album by British Contemporary R&B singer Jay Sean, released May 12, 2008 on Jayded Records and 2Point9 Records. Recording sessions took place from 2006 to 2009. Production was handled by Jay Sean and several other recording producers, including Jared Cotter, J remy,...
, which became his most successful album on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, reaching #6, and topped the UK R&B Chart
UK R&B Chart
The Official UK R&B Chart is a forty-position R&B/Hip-Hop chart compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Although the chart does not receive any airplay, its compilation is viewed on BBC Radio 1's website and publications such as ChartsPlus and Music Week...
. At around this time, he began increasingly incorporating electropop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
sounds into his R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
music.
Since the end of 2008, has he been signed to Cash Money Records
Cash Money Records
Cash Money Records is a record label founded by brothers Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed by Universal Republic Records as of 2011...
. In 2009, his American debut single "Down
Down (Jay Sean song)
"Down" is an R&B-electropop song by British artist Jay Sean. The song was released in North America as his debut single from his first album there, All or Nothing. In other markets, including the UK, the song serves as Jay Sean's lead single from his third studio album. The single features American...
" topped the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, making him the first solo artist of South Asian origin
South Asian ethnic groups
The ethno-linguistic composition of the population of South Asia, that is the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka is highly diverse. The majority of the population fall within two large Linguistic groups, Indo-Aryan and Dravidian.These groups are further...
and first UK urban act to top the Hot 100. It was the seventh-best selling song of 2009, having sold more than three million copies in the United States that year, eventually reaching four million sales in the United States and six million sales worldwide, making him the most successful British/European male urban artist in US chart history. It was soon followed by another hit, "Do You Remember
Do You Remember (Jay Sean song)
"Do You Remember" is the second single by British R&B artist Jay Sean from his American-debut album, All or Nothing. The song features Jamaican dancehall musician Sean Paul and American crunk rapper Lil Jon. The song was produced by J remy and Bobby Bass....
", which has sold more than a million copies in the US, and entered the top ten on the Hot 100, making him the first male act since Chingy
Chingy
Howard Bailey, Jr. , better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper.Chingy grew up in the Walnut Park section of St. Louis and began rapping in earnest in his late teens...
in 2003 to "simultaneously appear in the Hot 100 top 10 with his first two charting singles." They were included in his American-debut album All or Nothing
All or Nothing (Jay Sean album)
All or Nothing is the third studio album by British R&B singer Jay Sean, released 23 November 2009 in the United States as the singer's international debut album with Cash Money Records and Universal Republic and a week later on 30 November 2009 with Jayded Records and 2Point9 Records...
, which debuted at #37 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and reached #11 on the Japan Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
Albums Chart. Sean is sometimes referred to as a "one-man
One-man band
A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of musical instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical contraptions. The simplest type of "one-man band" — a singer accompanying themselves on acoustic guitar and harmonica mounted in a metal "harp rack" below the...
boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
" and was ranked #35 in Billboard
1981–2002: Early life and career beginnings
Jay Sean was born as Kamaljeet Singh Jhooti in HarlesdenHarlesden
Harlesden is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London, UK. Its main focal point is the Jubilee Clock which commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee....
, Northwest London to Sharan and Bindi Jhooti, Punjabi
Punjabi diaspora
The Punjabi diaspora refers to the descendants of ethnic Punjabis who emigrated out of the Punjab region to the rest of world. Punjabis are one of the largest ethnic groups in both the Pakistani and Indian diasporas...
Sikh immigrants
Sikhism in England
The arrival of Sikhism in England is relatively recent but today there are just over 336,000 adherents and 300 gurudwaras in England with the largest communities in London, Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Bradford, Leeds and Huddersfield. Leicester is also important having the largest Sikh...
. His year of birth is uncertain, with different sources giving dates ranging from 1979 to 1983. He was raised in Southall
Southall
Southall is a large suburban district of west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Yeading, Hayes, Hanwell, Heston, Hounslow, Greenford and Northolt...
, west London, and displayed musical talent at an early age. At age 11, he and his cousin Pritpal Rupra formed a hip hop duo named "Compulsive Disorder". His stage name at the time was MC
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
"Nicky J", with the "J" being derived from the first letter of his last name "Jhooti". He eventually came to be known by the nickname "Jay" among his friends.
He was a student at Latymer Upper School
Latymer Upper School
Latymer Upper School, founded by Edward Latymer in 1624, is a selective independent school in Hammersmith, West London, England, lying between King Street and the Thames. It is a day school for 1,130 pupils – boys and girls aged 11–18; there is also the Latymer Preparatory School for boys and girls...
, the same private school that Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
, Heston Blumenthal
Heston Blumenthal
Heston Marc Blumenthal OBE is an English chef and owner of The Fat Duck, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire voted Best Restaurant in the UK by The Good Food Guide 2007 and 2009, and voted best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine in 2005...
and Lily Cole
Lily Cole
Lily Luahana Cole is an English model and actress. Cole's modelling career was launched by a chance encounter with Benjamin Hart in Soho, London when she was 14....
had attended. He left the school in 1997. He finished his GCSEs
General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...
as a "straight-A student" and then completed his A Levels
GCE Advanced Level
The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...
with an A grade in Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and B grades in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
. He later enrolled in Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, to study Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
before he dropped out in 2003 to pursue a singing career. For his music career, he chose the stage name Jay Sean; "Jay" was the nickname his friends knew him as (derived from his previous stage name "Nicky J"), while "Sean" is derived from "Shaan"—a nickname he was called at home by his grandmother—which means "shining star" or "pride" in Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
.
2003–06: Me Against Myself with Relentless Records
After Sean's track "One Minute" fell into the hands of producer Rishi RichRishi Rich
Rishpal Singh Rekhi better known by his stage name Rishi Rich is a British Indian music producer born in Croydon, England and based in London...
, the Rishi Rich Project was formed (consisting of Rich, Sean and Juggy D
Juggy D
Jagwinder Singh Dhaliwal, better known by his stage name, Juggy D, is a British Indian singer from Southall, London, England.-Music:...
) in 2003. Their first taste of UK chart success was the Asian underground
Asian Underground
Asian Underground is a term associated with various British Asian musicians who blend elements of western underground dance music and the traditional Asian music of their home countries in South Asia...
song, "Dance with You (Nachna Tere Naal)
Dance with You (Nachna Tere Naal)
"Dance with You ", released on 8 September 2003, is the debut single by the Rishi Rich Project, consisting of Jay Sean, Juggy D and Rishi Rich. It was an Asian Underground song, which was Sean's debut single and was produced by Rich. The lyrics are in both English and Punjabi, with Sean singing the...
", which became a Top 20 hit, peaking at #12. This led to Sean signing a £1m deal with Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, under their label Relentless Records
Relentless Records
Relentless Records, founded by Shabs Jobanputra and Paul Franklyn in 1999 is now a part of Sony Music based in London, UK. Having achieved large scale successes with Joss Stone, KT Tunstall and several urban artists such as Artful Dodger and So Solid Crew, the label is now building a small focused...
. His second single, "Eyes on You
Eyes on You (Jay Sean song)
"Eyes on You" is the second single from Jay Sean's debut album Me Against Myself. It was released on June 21, 2004. The song reached #6 on the UK Singles Chart and sold over 60,000 copies in the United Kingdom.-Formats and track listings:CD1...
," was his first solo effort and became a Top 10 hit, peaking at #6. His third single, "Stolen
Stolen (Jay Sean song)
"Stolen" is the second and last single from Jay Sean's debut album Me Against Myself. It was released on October 25, 2004 and debuted at #4 on the UK Singles Chart, making it his highest charting UK single until "Down." It sold over 39,000 copies in the United Kingdom...
," peaked at #4, with Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
actress Bipasha Basu
Bipasha Basu
Bipasha Basu is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Bollywood films. A former model, she was the winner of the Ford's Godrej Cinthol Supermodel contest in 1996.-Early life:...
making an appearance in the video. His debut album, Me Against Myself
Me Against Myself
Me Against Myself was universally acclaimed by critics across the world, particularly for its experimental, creative fusion of contemporary R&B, hip hop music and Indian music , as well as its social commentary...
, was released in 2004 and received much critical praise and acclaim. Sean was referred to as an "Asian
British Asian
British Asian is a term used to describe British citizens who descended from mainly South Asia, also known as South Asians in the United Kingdom...
sensation" and was praised for his experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
, creative fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...
of contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
, British hip hop
British hip hop
British hip hop is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of urban music...
and Indian music
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
.
Despite initially failing to reach the top 20 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
(where it peaked at #29), the album gradually managed to sell 100,000 copies in the UK and went on to become a substantial hit in India, selling over two million copies there. He made a brief appearance in the 2005 Bollywood film Kyaa Kool Hai Hum
Kyaa Kool Hai Hum
Kyaa Kool Hai Hum is a 2005 Bollywood comedy directed by Sangeeth Sivan and produced by Ekta Kapoor. The film was the surprise box office hit of 2005 and was among the highest grossing films of the year.-Synopsis:...
, providing the song "Dil Mera (My Heart)" to the soundtrack, based on "One Night" from his own debut album. Beyond India, the album sold over 300,000 copies across other parts of the world, including Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Hong Kong. His performance of tracks from Me Against Myself on MTV Asia (alongside the Rishi Rich Project) had a television audience as large as 165 million viewers. It helped establish Sean as a major recognized artist across Asia and among the worldwide Desi
Desi
Desi or Deshi refers to the people, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and, increasingly, to the people, cultures, and products of their diaspora. Desi countries include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh...
diaspora, and remains his most successful album to date. With his debut album, Sean was influential in popularizing Indian
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
-R&B fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...
sounds in Asian underground and Indian pop
Indian pop
Indian pop music , often known as Indian-Pop, Hindi Pop, Indipop or Indi-pop, refers to pop music in India. Pop music really started in the South Asian region with the famous playback singer Ahmed Rushdi's song ‘Ko-Ko-Korina’ in 1966...
music.
He recorded a 16 track album which was scrapped because Virgin felt the market had changed to where it was all about Pop music. In February 2006, after several delays of his second album, he left Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
.
2007–09: My Own Way and All or Nothing
After parting ways with Virgin RecordsVirgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, Jay Sean continued to work on his second album, which was initially named after the title track "Deal With It," but the song ended up being given to Corbin Bleu
Corbin Bleu
Corbin Bleu Reivers , known professionally as Corbin Bleu, is an American actor, model, dancer, producer, and singer-songwriter. He performed in the High School Musical film series, the Discovery Kids drama series Flight 29 Down, and the Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In!...
. Sean's background vocals remain on Bleu's version of the track. The song "Deal With It" earned Sean a BMI Songwriter Award
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
and later inspired the 2009 single "Juliette
Shinee discography
This is the discography of the South Korean boy band Shinee. The band have been in the music business ever since debuting in the mid-2008. They have currently released two full-length albums, three mini-albums and two repackaged albums...
" by South Korean band Shinee
SHINee
Shinee is a contemporary R&B South Korean boy band. Formed by SM Entertainment in 2008, they made their debut on May 25, 2008 on SBS's Inkigayo with their promotional single, "Noona Neomu Yeppeo "...
.
Jay Sean returned in late 2007 with the new single "Ride It
Ride It (Jay Sean song)
"Ride It" is the first single from Jay Sean's second album My Own Way. It was written by Jay Sean himself and Alan Sampson. It was released on 21 January 2008. The song reached the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #11...
", which was the first single from his second album My Own Way
My Own Way (album)
My Own Way is the second studio album by British Contemporary R&B singer Jay Sean, released May 12, 2008 on Jayded Records and 2Point9 Records. Recording sessions took place from 2006 to 2009. Production was handled by Jay Sean and several other recording producers, including Jared Cotter, J remy,...
. It was to be the first album released as a joint-venture between his own label Jayded and 2Point9 Records
2Point9 Records
2Point9 Records is an independent record label, a subsidiary of an all-in-one entertainment company called 2Point9, that was started in 2003 when Telstar Records A&R manager Billy Grant and Promotions manager Rob Stuart decided to leave the company to set up their own little independent...
. The video for "Ride It", released in early 2008, featured Jay Sean with a new style after being out of the limelight for nearly three and a half years. My Own Way debuted at #6 in the official UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
and generated two more UK top 20 singles, "Ride It" and "Maybe". On the back of this Jay received two MOBO Award
MOBO Awards
The Music of Black Origin Awards, established in 1995 by Kanya King MBE and Andy Ruffell, are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognise artists of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music....
nominations, for Best UK Male (alongside Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
, Taio Cruz
Taio Cruz
Taio Cruz is a British singer-songwriter, record producer, occasional rapper, and entrepreneur. In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which Cruz wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a MOBO Award nomination...
, Wiley
Wiley (rapper)
Richard Kylea Cowie , better known by his stage name Wiley is a prolific British music producer, MC and recording artist, and rapper with roots from Trinidad...
and Sway
Sway DaSafo
Derek Andrew Safo is a Ghanaian British musician who uses the stage names Sway DaSafo or Sway. He is signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik record label and he is also a producer, establishing DCypha Productions.-Childhood:...
) and Best R'n'B/Soul (alongside Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
, Estelle
Estelle (musician)
Estelle Fanta Swaray commonly known as Estelle, and formerly as Est'elle, is an English R&B singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer.-Early Life:Estelle was born 18 January 1980 in Hammersmith, London, England...
, Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...
and Chris Brown). "Ride It" was successful in Eastern Europe, especially in Russia, Turkey and Romania, where it became one of the three best-selling singles of the year
End-Year Chart 2008 (Romania)
This is a list of Romanian Top 100's 2008 year-end chart....
. "Maybe
Maybe (Jay Sean song)
"Maybe" is the second single from Jay Sean's second album My Own Way. It was originally scheduled to be released on 7 April 2008 but was postponed...
" was his most successful single in Japan, where it reached #7 on the Japan Hot 100 Singles. A Mandarin Chinese cover version of "Maybe" by Coco Lee
CoCo Lee
Coco Lee , born on 17 January 1975, also known by her official English name as Ferren Lee, is a pop singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. Coco started her career in Hong Kong but, after becoming popular in Taiwan, she was widely considered to be a Taiwan artist. She was born to a Chinese...
has been released in China. Sean sang a Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
version of the album My Own Way for release in India. The album sold more than 350,000 copies across the world.
Touch Magazine in the UK 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
Choice FM
Choice FM, branded on-air as London's Choice, is a brand used by the UK's biggest radio company, Global Radio for its network of black music radio stations...
'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
Tonight (Jay Sean song)
"Tonight" is a single by British R&B artist Jay Sean. The single was released on 18 January 2009 and 26 January 2009 , but the music video for the single was released much earlier, on 17 November 2008...
" and is included in My Own Way: Deluxe Edition
My Own Way (album)
My Own Way is the second studio album by British Contemporary R&B singer Jay Sean, released May 12, 2008 on Jayded Records and 2Point9 Records. Recording sessions took place from 2006 to 2009. Production was handled by Jay Sean and several other recording producers, including Jared Cotter, J remy,...
. Jay Sean was confirmed for the third series of Celebrity Scissorhands
Celebrity Scissorhands
Celebrity Scissorhands is a reality show that is part of the BBC's Children in Need charity campaign, in which celebrities attempt to cut people's hair to raise money for the campaign while trained and watched by professional hairdresser Lee Stafford...
in October 2008 but he withdrew before the show was aired for unclear reasons.
On 15 October 2008 during the MOBO
Mobo
Mobo can refer to:*Shorthand for the motherboard in computers and other electronic equipment*Shorthand for a mobile [network] operator or MNO *Shorthand for a mobile bohemian, a person who embraces mobile technology...
Awards, Jay Sean announced that he had signed with the
American hip-hop oriented record label Cash Money Records
Cash Money Records
Cash Money Records is a record label founded by brothers Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed by Universal Republic Records as of 2011...
distributed via Universal Republic Records making him the first male British Asian
British Asian
British Asian is a term used to describe British citizens who descended from mainly South Asia, also known as South Asians in the United Kingdom...
singer to sign with an American label. His American-debut single was "Down
Down (Jay Sean song)
"Down" is an R&B-electropop song by British artist Jay Sean. The song was released in North America as his debut single from his first album there, All or Nothing. In other markets, including the UK, the song serves as Jay Sean's lead single from his third studio album. The single features American...
" featuring American rapper and label mate Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
. It topped the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, replacing The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
. This makes him the first British artist to top the Hot 100 since Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
in 1980, and the first solo artist of Asian descent to do so. "Down" has sold more than six million copies worldwide, and three million digital copies in the US, making the song the best-selling single by a British/European male artist in North America since Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's "Candle in the Wind
Candle in the Wind 1997
"Candle in the Wind 1997" is a rewritten and rerecorded version of Elton John's own 1973 hit "Candle in the Wind" that was released as a tribute single to the late Diana, Princess of Wales....
" in 1997. In addition, "Down" has received a large airplay
Airplay
* Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay...
of two billion listener impressions on radio worldwide. In November 2009, Sean's next single from his album, "Do You Remember
Do You Remember (Jay Sean song)
"Do You Remember" is the second single by British R&B artist Jay Sean from his American-debut album, All or Nothing. The song features Jamaican dancehall musician Sean Paul and American crunk rapper Lil Jon. The song was produced by J remy and Bobby Bass....
", was released and featured Jamaican dancehall superstar Sean Paul
Sean Paul
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques , who performs under stage name Sean Paul, is a Jamaican pop rap and reggae singer.-1973–1996: Early life:...
plus US Southern crunk rapper Lil Jon
Lil Jon
Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...
. It entered the Hot 100 top ten on the week of 9 January 2009, breaking "a three-week streak of no titles moving into the top 10" since December 2009. Like its predecessor, it has sold more than a million copies in the United States.
At the 2009 UK Asian Music Awards
UK Asian Music Awards
The UK Asian Music Awards, also known by the abbreviation UK AMA, is an award show that is held annually in the United Kingdom since 2002. It is presented by B4U Music since 2008...
(AMA), Jay Sean won three awards, including "Best Male", "Best Urban Act" and "Best Album", the latter for his second album, My Own Way. He met with Rishi Rich
Rishi Rich
Rishpal Singh Rekhi better known by his stage name Rishi Rich is a British Indian music producer born in Croydon, England and based in London...
, Juggy D
Juggy D
Jagwinder Singh Dhaliwal, better known by his stage name, Juggy D, is a British Indian singer from Southall, London, England.-Music:...
and H-Dhami
H-Dhami
Hartinder Dhami better known as H-Dhami is a successful British-Indian bhangra act signed in 2007 to Rishi Rich Productions , a joint partnership between Rishi Rich and entertainment entrepreneur Waleed Jahangir...
during the ceremony. After the award, he was in America for the first time since signing with Cash Money, he announced through an interview with MTV IGGY that he was recording five new songs for his album, then titled My Own Way (U.S. edition), one of which was his American-debut single with Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
, later titled "Down". Sean discussed a collaboration with Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
at the 2009 Grammy Awards, in addition to recording a song with Nadine Coyle
Nadine Coyle
Nadine Coyle is an Irish singer, songwriter, actress, and model who rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of the band Six before becoming a member of successful girl-group Girls Aloud. The group amassed a joint fortune of £25 million by May 2009...
and told viewers that the album will be released in third quarter of 2009. The album title was later changed to All or Nothing
All or Nothing (Jay Sean album)
All or Nothing is the third studio album by British R&B singer Jay Sean, released 23 November 2009 in the United States as the singer's international debut album with Cash Money Records and Universal Republic and a week later on 30 November 2009 with Jayded Records and 2Point9 Records...
, and featured brand new songs and some of the songs from My Own Way. Despite success with two singles from the album, the album itself only debuted at #37 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. It was his lowest-charting entry on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, debuting there at #62. Despite this, it has become his highest-charting album in Japan, reaching #11 on the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
Albums Chart.
Sean was featured on a song called "Written on Her
Written on Her
"Written on Her" is the second single off rapper Birdman’s fourth studio album, Priceless. It was released officially on iTunes on 23 June 2009. The song features British Indian R&B artist Jay Sean, the newest member of Cash Money Records, and is produced by Oddz N Endz...
" alongside Birdman for the CEO’s 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. On 2 February 2010, Kevin Rudolf
Kevin Rudolf
Kevin Rudolf is an American singer-songwriter and record producer signed to Cash Money Records. Rudolf is mostly known for singing and producing rock/pop music...
's single "I Made It (Cash Money Heroes)
I Made It (Cash Money Heroes)
"I Made It " is the first single off Kevin Rudolf's second studio album To the Sky. The single features fellow Cash Money artists Birdman, Jay Sean and Lil Wayne and was released on iTunes on February 2, 2010. A new, shorter version was later released and replaced the original version on iTunes...
", featured Jay Sean alongside Birdman and Lil Wayne, was released. In early December 2009, it was confirmed that he has collaborated with Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
and Esmée Denters
Esmée Denters
Esmée Denters is a Dutch singer-songwriter. She was a regular cover-artist on video-sharing website YouTube on which she covered songs by contemporary musicians like Justin Timberlake and Natasha Bedingfield....
on a song, "Love Dealer
Love Dealer
Love Dealer is the third single of Esmée Denters from her debut album Outta Here. The song was written by Esmée Denters, Justin Timberlake and Stargate in 2009. Stargate produced the song, together with Justin Timberlake who also provided additional vocals. On March 22, the British radio station...
". There have been talks of collaborations with other American artists such as Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Michelle Tisdale is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence portraying the candy-counter girl Maddie Fitzpatrick in Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and the female antagonist Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical film series...
, Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
, Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, model, and actress. Scherzinger is perhaps best known for being the lead vocalist of the Pussycat Dolls....
, Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
, Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
, and Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
& Beyoncé
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
.
Jay Sean was in early September 2009 nominated for the 30 Under 30 award. At the 2009 UK Urban Music Awards
Urban Music Awards
The Urban Music Awards is a HipHop, R&B, Dance and soul music awards ceremony launched in 2003 and now held in six countries annually.The awards ceremony is held annually by Invincible Media Group. The UMA's is now held in 6 countries annually...
, he won the Best Collaboration award for "Down" alongside Lil Wayne. In early December 2009, he was ranked #35 in Billboard
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
n origin artist since Freddie Mercury to perform at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
, as part of the Jingle Ball
Jingle Ball
Jingle Ball is an annual concert produced on by KIIS-FM radio station in Los Angeles. The concert series has been staged at various venues around southern California including the Shrine Auditorium and Staples Center in Los Angeles,and the Honda Center in Anaheim...
concert, alongside beatboxer MC Zani. Sean's performance "had the entire crowd – parents and children, teens and twenty-somethings – dancing."
2010–present: Freeze Time
Early in May, UsherUsher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
was asked about what he thought of the Stateside success of British R&B artists like Jay Sean and Taio Cruz
Taio Cruz
Taio Cruz is a British singer-songwriter, record producer, occasional rapper, and entrepreneur. In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which Cruz wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a MOBO Award nomination...
. "Sustaining longevity is all about time. They have a lot to prove." Usher said. Sean responded by stating: "He's been in the game for, what, 17 years? I completely agree with what he says. Longevity trumps everything. America has only heard one album." "I'm so new to America. I've got so much more to show them, so much more to give them." Sean said.
Jay Sean confirmed in July 2010 that he was working on a new album. He also stated that he has completed roughly 75 percent of the album and that guests so far include Lil Wayne, Pitbull
Pitbull (rapper)
Armando Christian Pérez , better known by his stage name Pitbull, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer. His first recorded performance was from the Lil Jon album Kings of Crunk in 2002, after which he released his debut album in 2004 titled M.I.A.M.I. under TVT Records...
, Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
and Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
. "2012 (It Ain't the End)
2012 (It Ain't the End)
-Music video:The music video for "2012 " was shot in Los Angeles on July 19, 2010, with Nicki Minaj. The video is set to lots of flashing lights and a typical hip-hop club scene environment. But in post-production, Sean says the music video's director Erik White will be zooming out to show parties...
" was released to U.S. radio stations and as a digital download to iTunes on 3 August 2010, as the lead single of the album. A new single called "Hit The Lights" featuring Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
was released in February 2011.
In support of the album, Jay is co-headlining with Joe Jonas
Joe Jonas
Joseph Adam "Joe" Jonas is a Pop American singer, musician, actor, and dancer. He is a member of the Jonas Brothers, a pop-rock band made up of him and his two brothers, Nick and Kevin...
in the Joe Jonas & Jay Sean Tour
Joe Jonas & Jay Sean Tour
The Joe Jonas & Jay Sean Tour is the first co-headlining tour by American singer Joe Jonas & British singer-songwriter Jay Sean in support of their studio albums Freeze Time & Fastlife. The 19-city intimate club trek kicks off in Boston on September 6 and will stop in major cities across North...
with JoJo as the opening act. the tour which kicks off on 9 September 2011 through 6 October 2011.
According to Cash Money's website CashMoney-Records.com Sean's fourth album and second with Cash Money Records
Cash Money Records
Cash Money Records is a record label founded by brothers Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed by Universal Republic Records as of 2011...
"Freeze Time", originally schedule to released on November 22nd 2011, but it was moved to December 3rd 2011.
Community work
Jay Sean is known for community work. He has worked with BBC Blast doing Q&A's on tour events in an effort to "give something back". He has supported the Aga Khan FoundationAga Khan Foundation
The Aga Khan Foundation is a private, not-for-profit international development agency, which was founded in 1967 by . AKF seeks to provide long-term solutions to problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and ill health in the poorest parts of South and Central Asia, Eastern and Western Africa, and...
(AKF) in the charity event Partnership Walk and Run by performing in Regent's Park
Regent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...
in 2004 and 2009.
In 2009, Sean performed in Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
's charity concert to raise funds for the Shriners Hospital for Children, alongside artists such as MC Zani, Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
and Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
. It became one of the highest-earning charity events of the year, raising more than $9 million.
Discography
- Me Against MyselfMe Against MyselfMe Against Myself was universally acclaimed by critics across the world, particularly for its experimental, creative fusion of contemporary R&B, hip hop music and Indian music , as well as its social commentary...
(2004) - My Own WayMy Own Way (album)My Own Way is the second studio album by British Contemporary R&B singer Jay Sean, released May 12, 2008 on Jayded Records and 2Point9 Records. Recording sessions took place from 2006 to 2009. Production was handled by Jay Sean and several other recording producers, including Jared Cotter, J remy,...
(2008) - All or NothingAll or Nothing (Jay Sean album)All or Nothing is the third studio album by British R&B singer Jay Sean, released 23 November 2009 in the United States as the singer's international debut album with Cash Money Records and Universal Republic and a week later on 30 November 2009 with Jayded Records and 2Point9 Records...
(2009) - Freeze TimeFreeze TimeFreeze Time is the fourth studio album by British Contemporary R&B singer Jay Sean, and his second to be released on Cash Money Records.-Background:...
(2011)