Youtube star Arjun: My aim is to break into the mainstream scene… I just need the right song

London based singer, songwriter and producer Arjun on performing with Chris Brown, international success and over 100 million YouTube views
Next big thing? Bollywood star Arjun wants to crack the mainstream
Sarah Allidina25 August 2015
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

YouTube sensation Arjun, who has performed with Chris Brown and clocked up a staggering 100 million YouTube views, admits that he’s ready to try and crack the mainstream.

Speaking to Evening Standard Online, the singer said: “Not a single Asian artist has signed to a mainstream label since Jay Sean and Raghav.

“My aim is to be the next person to go into the mainstream scene. It’s a matter of time until I get the right song. “

He added: “10 years ago, there was a cultural explosion in the UK; curry was the most popular dish, Bend It Like Beckham was in the cinema, Bombay Dreams was in the theatres, the first Asian family appeared in EastEnders and the first Bollywood actor was showcased in Madame Tussauds. Indian was cool.

YouTube sensation: Arjun already has a staggering 100 million views on Youtube 

“Over the last few months we’ve seen a revival of that interest in Asian culture; Desi Rascals is on Sky1, Bend It Like Beckham is in the theatre, Zayn Malik has branched out, Naughty Boy is popular,” Arjun continues.

“Now is a really good time for someone like myself. We should have another poster boy who is Asian and in the top 10 charts.”

But it doesn’t sound like mainstream success if too far away for the singer, after performing alongside a number of big names.

He told us: “My music is a fusion of RnB and Bollywood. I exist in these two worlds but I’m not fully in either of them. My music relates to people like myself who are Asian but listen to Drake and Chris Brown.

“In the space of 3 months I did a show with Arijit Singh the biggest singer in India, a show with British singer Jay Sean and then I performed at V Festival with Chris Brown.”

Arjun added: “People are getting more and more access to India, UK Asian artists are heading towards India and India is looking to the UK for new ideas and styles.

“They don’t want to keep reproducing the same music and they’re looking to the UK for the next big thing.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in