Comments (0)
Features |  25 Apr 2011 16:42 |  By 

Arya Acharya: I Opened for R&B sensation AKON

Arya Acharya, is the first winner of Hitlab.com contest who got the golden opportunity to perform live at the Akon Concert in Gurgaon, Delhi. Arya is a composer, producer and singer with an experience of more than 10 years in Rap and Hiphop music. The lucky winner shares his experience of performing live with the International R&B singer AKON.

I owe a huge gratitude to Akon and Venky's for giving me a chance to perform an opening act for Akon's Concert  Hitlab selected me from thousands of Indian artists who uploaded their songs on www.hitlab.com website  My song â€?India' featuring KK, from my debut album â€?Azadi-Voice of the People' scored very well. Hitlab.com's CEO Pierre Gauthier said that not only did my song score highly but the singing, rapping and compositions of my songs were outstanding. Gauthier also informed me that I was the winner and would be invited to perform the opening act for Akon on his India Tour in Gurgaon, Delhi.

It was for the first time that Akon, the number one artist in South East Asia, was performing a full scale concerts in the country giving over 20,000 fans a reason to celebrate. Akon's Concert in Delhi was schedule on 16th April. The moment I entered the arena the feeling was out of the world, the thought of sharing the same stage with the world's biggest R&B superstar Akon was unbelievable and exhilarating. The main stage setup was the biggest and the best it can be in showbiz, the best lighting, humongous PA sound systems and amazing visual setup. A crowd of around 10,000 people were screaming out loud, the energy was positive and heart pumping.

The moment, I set my foot on the stage to open for Akon the audience burst out in euphoria and when I introduced my Unee Q Desihop music - a musical amalgamation of Hindi and Urdu vocals, the crowd started screaming out loud. My performance was power packed with three back to backs songs �Chal,chala,chal, Azadi and India' and at the end of every song the audience screamed for more. They loved my Desihop style of music which talked about real Indian issues and its reality based Hip-hop music, the cheer at the end of the third song �India' was mind-blowing. By the end of my performance the crowd was totally pumped up and the energy level was breathtaking. The crowd of 10,000 people screaming together was absolutely pulsating.

And the moment arrived; when Akon stepped up on stage and set the stage on fire with his power pack back to back performances. The jubilant audiences grooved on thumping hip hop numbers �Beautiful, Lonely, Right Now, Dangerous, I'm So Paid, Angel' and also songs from the latest album �Stadium' which is inspired by Akon's personal experiences of staging international concerts.

I was in complete awe of his performance but what caught me of guard was Akon's comment on my performance. Akon met me backstage after my performance and congratulated me for my power packed performance and said, "Congratulations for being our first Hitlab winner in all of India..."

I hope to get a chance in near future to collaborate once again, and would love to do a fusion song and jamming  with Akon which would be the biggest and the most exciting experience ever.

Games