All or Nothing – Jay Sean Lays it All “Down”

Jay Sean is certainly riding high at the moment. His first single “Down”, off the new album All or Nothing, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year. And his second single “Do You Remember” released on Nov. 3 looks poised to repeat that feat.

 

Jay Sean may be new to many here in North America, but he has already enjoyed success in the U.K. and Asia with his previous releases. All or Nothing is Sean’s third album and will be released next week on Nov. 23.

 

 

Jay Sean’s real name is Kamaljit Singh Jhooti and was born in London, England to a family of Punjabi/Sikh descent. He was interested in music at an early age and began rapping at 12 when he and a cousin formed a hip hop duo “Compulsive Disorder”. Sean credits rap with helping him structure, produce and write songs.

 

While studying medicine in London, Sean created a demo tape that caught the attention of British Asian music producer Rishi Rich. Rich was putting together a project fusing traditional Punjabi music and contemporary Pop/R&B. Sean and Rich collaborated with British bhangra singer Juggy D and released the single “Dance with You (Nachna Tere Naal)”.

 

The song hit the UK charts and with the success Jay Sean decided drop out of med school to pursue a singing career. As for his stage name, he has a simple explanation as to how he chose Jay Sean.

 

“Well Jay is the initial of my last name Jhooti,” says Sean. “And Sean came from a nickname that I was called, a petname at home which was Sean and that’s how I put the two together.”

 

In 2003, Jay Sean signed a major label contract with Virgin Records and he created his first full length album Me Against Myself. The album was released in 2004 and included two top ten singles in the U.K. Sean toured through Europe and South East Asia with a handful of dates in the US. His appearance in a Bollywood movie Kyaa Kool Hai Hum certainly created more exposure for Sean in India where the album sold more than 2 million copies.

 

After creative differences Jay Sean decided to leave Virgin Records and released his sophomore album on his own label Jayded Records. The follow-up, entitled My Own Way, debuted at number 6 on the U.K. albums chart and produced two top 20 hits.

 

In 2008, Jay Sean signed with US hip-hop record label Cash Money Records. Being signed to Cash Money has opened the door for Sean to collaborate with the A-list of hip hop. On the first single, “Down”, Sean sings with label mate Lil Wayne and the new single “Do You Remember” features Sean Paul and Lil Jon.

 

Building on past success and experience, Jay Sean is ready to show his fans how far he has come and what he has to offer on his new album which will consist of ten brand new tracks along with three of Sean’s favourite songs from his second album.

 

“For me the most important thing about this album is let people have insight as to who I am as an artist and the kinds of songs I like to write and emphasis on me as a singer-songwriter,” says Sean.

 

“I’m very much into writing about what I feel are my true life experiences. I’m not afraid to tell a story which might be dear to my heart and close to me. It will give you an insight into who I am as a person too.”