MUMBAI: Despite ruling the roost for more than two decades, Indian singing superstar and ace singer Sonu Nigam looks forward to exploring and experimenting, which is what makes him stand out from the rest. His latest English track, Hall of Fame released on 20 October, is in collaboration with Grammy award winning producer Jason Goldstein and American rapper M C Yogi. The track is a part of Billboard presents Electric Asia Volume 2 album and has a groovy vibe to it.

Sharing the reason of being a part of this song, Sonu says, “The composition of Hall of Fame is terrific. As a singer, it gave me scope to sing in three different octaves and emoting, expressing every word through my voice.”

Hall of Fame track features four artistes of different origins and ethnicities, a blend that has brought out the best. Sonu explains the confluence of synergies, “The world has become technically very advanced place and never ceases to surprise you. I made this song with Jim Beanz sometime back.  When Jason Goldstein came on board, he just transformed the song and also got the American rapper MC Yogi. Everything fell into place and synergies worked out well. The result is for everyone to see.”

Sonu Nigam has sung in English language previously too, however, his Hindi or Kannada songs have been the most popular. This is It, a tribute to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, with Jackson’s brother Jermaine Jackson or the track Underwater with KSHMR, are among his memorable songs sung in English. “I had the honor to sing and give tribute to Michael Jackson. In fact, that’s the only tribute given to the King of Pop with any of his family member involved. I also sang for Let’s Go For Glory for ICICI World Cup and Underwater for KSHMR.”

Yet, Sonu feels Hall of Fame is his biggest track in English till now and the most different too. “There are many ways Hall of Fame is different. This could be my fourth English track till now and possibly the biggest.”

He continues, “Without blowing my own trumpet, as a part of self-analysis, this song gave me immense confidence about the variety of songs I can sing. From romantic Suraj Hua Maddham to patriotic Sandese Aate Hain or Mera Rang De Basanti Chola to mad Punjabi songs like Oh Naiyo Naiyo or Suna Suna from classically mild to this. Therefore, Hall of fame gave me a chance to do something, which nobody else can claim of, which is attempting Indian genres and then doing something like this so diverse.“

Observing the usual trend in music fraternity and musicians, Sonu makes a point, “I have tried to work on various Indian Genres and don’t have ego issues with any genre of music. Like an Indian Classical musician might have a problem with Western music or Rock Musicians might think that Rock music is the best form of music. I personally think that we have to look at music in its totality rather than segregating music and musicians. This ability to understand and accept other forms of music that could help me give justice to Hall of Fame.”

Another reason that sets Hall of Fame apart from rest of his work and makes it a heart-warming experience is endearing to know, “The production, the melody and words of this track are so contemporary that my son (Nevaan Nigam), who is just 11 years old, but has exceptional knowledge about contemporary music, has liked this song. And for the first time, he is appreciative of his father’s English rendition.”

Sharing his experience of working with Grammy Award winner Producer-Engineer Jason GoldStein, Sonu says, “Jason is a very classy and humble man. We met personally only once, post which we stayed in touch through Skype and Whatsapp. He knows his job and respects that I know mine. Similarly, I like to take people’s expertise rather than telling them what is to be done.  Humans think unnecessarily that they are gods and know everything, which wasn’t the case here, as we as a team gave each other a lot of freedom and thus it was a smooth sailing.”

 At this stage of career, where he has witnessed adulation and appreciation for each of his track, whether independent or Hindi film song, the question is what makes him tick? To which, he responds, “I actually lead my life without any pre-conceived notions or expectations from life or karma. The best way to lead life is welcome it with arms wide open and embrace everything that comes your way. I have led a very long professional life to understand if something is not meant to happen, it will not happen, at least at that point when you require it the most. At the same time, sometimes, unexpected miracles happen.”

He signs off, “Therefore, I leave everything to God, to the Universe to unfold whatever it has to challenge me, excite me or give me a reason to work hard on myself. I am always a student of life and music.”