After lending his voice to many a Bollywood hit number, Armaan Malik has shown us a new side to him by releasing his debut English song Control. The R&B song steers clear of his trademark sounds and dives into a world of groovy and pop-like tunes. Not only has Control reached Platinum sales, it has also been nominated in the category of Best India Act at the Europe Music Awards (EMA) 2020 which will be aired live on November 9 on Voot Select and VH1 India. The singer is up against Divine, Prabh Deep, Kaam Bhaari and Siri x Sez On The Beat for the award. t2 caught up with Armaan for a chat.

Congratulations on your nomination for the MTV EMAs. What was your reaction when you got the news?

I am thrilled to know that my first international single Control has earned this nomination! The amount of love and appreciation I have received these past few months has made me feel very confident about this new journey I’ve embarked on. It really came as a pleasant surprise. My phone was bombarded with messages from everyone I know congratulating me on the nomination. I want to thank my ‘Armaanians’ for always having my back and supporting me throughout my journey. This year has been unique and rewarding in so many ways. I am really blessed and grateful to have had all these amazing opportunities to express my creativity during such trying times. It’s one thing to receive recognition on a national level and a completely different thing to receive the same on an international stage. I am super stoked and look forward to the results!

Were you expecting such a huge response while composing Control?

Everything is so new with this project... it’s probably the first time I’ve taken such a huge risk of jumping into the massive world of global pop. I’ve dreamt about this very moment since I was a kid. I’ve always wanted to be an international artiste representing India on a global stage.
I didn’t expect all of these amazing things to happen right at the onset of this journey and that too for my first international single, but it did. Be it appearing on the coveted Times Square Billboard earlier this year, Control hitting Platinum, or the EMA nomination. All of it has got me feeling like, ‘Yeah, I think I am moving in the right direction’. My fans have warmly accepted this new vibe and new listeners are enjoying the music. I’m so much more confident now about this journey.

What was the intention behind releasing your first debut single given the fact that most of your music is in Hindi?

As an artiste, this has always been my trajectory. My interest in pop and R&B music has been there since I was a 14 or 15-year-old teenager. I’ve always wanted to do this and I have been patiently waiting for this moment when I could show the world the true artiste inside me.

You also mentioned that you’ve ‘taken such a huge risk of jumping into the massive world of global pop’. What are the risk factors that you are referring to?

My fans have been used to watching and listening to the ‘Bollywood singer Armaan’, who they have known all these years, but the true artiste within me is this Armaan who does pop/R&B music. I didn’t want this massive shift in my artistry — which is actually my core artistry — to alienate or make me lose my existing fans and that was one of my main fears when jumping into this uncharted territory.

Coming back to Control, it’s got a very peppy and catchy sound. How would you describe the song sonically?

Sonically I’d like to describe Control as a groovy slick pop-R&B record with meticulously seeded hints of Indian vocal inflections.

Was it challenging for you to put the song together since it sounds different from some of your previous releases?

It wasn’t challenging for me because I feel it is inside of me, it’s my DNA. It was so much fun making this song. I was involved in the entire song-making process and I have even co-written it. Believe it or not, this song was created, produced, and recorded all in a day, and then it was just the mixing and master which happened over some time.

The video for the song also fits perfectly. Could you tell us the story behind it?

The idea behind the visuals was pretty simple. I wanted to portray how I was under the control of this girl... how she was making me do what she wanted me to do through her magical, intoxicating dust. I wanted it to have a colourful yet dark visual appeal and hence we tastefully used neon lights throughout the music video. Bobby Hanaford, who has directed this video, brought my vision to life with ease and style.

Are we going to see a few more English releases in the future? An EP, album or collab perhaps?

I’m working on a bunch of exciting collaborations in English and across other languages too... so pretty excited about that! A few Bollywood songs are also in the pipeline. However, their release depends on when the coronavirus situation settles down and the films start getting their release dates.