MUMBAI: Dubai-based singer Neha Pandey dropped a peppy and soulful beat “Ya Weli” which means “Oh Gosh” penned by Nour Tarek.

To know more about the song, Radioandmusic got in touch with Neha Pandey, she also emphasized how she balanced writing songs, to being an entrepreneur, mother, and fashion influencer.

Check the interview below:

Tell us about your inspiration for writing “Ya Weli”. What’s the narrative of the song?

The catchy track combines peppy and soulful beats to create magic that can only be felt. Literally translated, ‘Ya Weli’ means ‘oh gosh’ - the song commemorates and memorializes a woman’s expression of love – the passion for herself, her life, or her desires. Like I always say, ‘Sometimes the best things happen when you don’t plan them’, and this was exactly the case with my Hindi “Ya Weli”. It was originally written in Hindi and then we made an Arabic version, which was released earlier this month.

Watch here:

How do you manage to make time for such good music while being busy as an entrepreneur, mother, and fashion influencer?

That is one question that I ask myself as well. I feel like a superwoman but believe me, there’s a lot of pain and there is a lot of resilience & patience, so many qualities required and I am very blessed. I am grateful to God to give me so much strength and the ability to multi-task and accomplish my goals; and be best in all the roles that I have been given in life.

Music is your passion and you followed your dream. Tell us about the learnings on the way.

This is a beautiful question. I always say that music is my passion & passion is everything for me. My Determination and drive come with a lot of love and heaps of learning. I have learned to have patience & resilience above everything else to be a better version of myself. I compete only with myself because everybody is unique and we each have to work with our strenghts and leave the rest are in the hands of God.

As a singer-songwriter, what comes first to you, the melody or the lyrics. What’s your songwriting process like?

I am blessed to be a singer and above it all a songwriter as well and for me of course lyrics have to make sense and be relatable. For me, mostly I would be writing a poem or lyrics and then the tune is used to complement to build a beautiful song. However sometimes I also work vice versa with composing a tune first and then penning the lyrics as per the song flow. Both ways are creatively challenging as the goal in both is to complement each other to create a hit song.

How is it being a Desi Artist on an International level? Please share your experience making music with artists from various cultures.

It’s been an absolute delight and honor, and it's just my good fortune that I get to meet artists from all over the world and get the opportunity to perform, write songs with them, and get better at my craft. As a Desi artist, I get so much respect overseas and between artists, we respect each other and when we get together, it’s such a musically creative phenomenon.

You sang in a choir, sung with Bollywood biggies like Meet Bros, Arko and you’ve done so many concerts. What has been your success mantra or motto?

I have been very blessed and I feel extremely grateful. I would say I think a lot of it is to do with destiny as well. There is definitely no dearth of talent around us. I thank God for the good fortune of getting such opportunities to be appreciated by some of the biggest artists. My success mantra is that you do your work with 100% dedication and excellence, with no compromise, focus on growing as an artist and stay humble, resilient, and passionate.

What’s Neha’s vocal exercise routine like? Any tips for aspiring singers?

Yes, practice makes a woman perfect, practice makes a man perfect. We must vocalize to polish our voices so hence I do my vocal exercises daily. Vocal routines differ from artist to artist.  There is no single method that fits all. I do my breathing exercises and then follow it up with some scale exercises, ear training and vocal exercises before I sing, either in the studio or at live concerts. I also ensure I hydrate my vocal cords throughout the day. My advice to aspiring singers is practice to be the best and own your craft, success is never easy.

Your dream collaboration would be?

I had a dream to perform with the legend, Michael Jackson, but that ended way too soon “gone too soon”. I do have a dream to collaborate with Amr Diab and many other international artists. I identify with being a global Desi artist.

Upcoming projects?

My next project is a Sufi project soon to release. I am also working on a few dance songs and soulful singles due to release in the next few months of 2021 and whole of 2022.