Jay Sean
Responsible for 2009's ubiquitous hit "Down," British R&B singer/songwriter Jay Sean is notable for being one of the first British-Asian crossover stars. A chart-topping mix of smooth vocals, pop song structures and the occasional star-studded guest rapper led to massive international popularity and five consecutive Top 40 singles in America around the end of the 2000s.
Born Kamaljit Singh Jhooti on March 26, 1981, in the London borough of Hounslow, he began rapping at age 11 and eventually switched to R&B music, in part because of his Indian heritage, which made it difficult for him to break into the British rap scene. Sean was signed in 2003 by 2Point9, an all-in-one entertainment company whose roster is comprised of British-Asian artists such as Rishi Rich, and he made his recording debut late in the year with "Dance with You (Nachna Tere Naal)." Produced by Rishi Rich and featuring fellow 2Point9 artist Juggy D, "Dance with You (Nachna Tere Naal)" became a major hit in the United Kingdom, reaching number 12 on the singles chart. In the wake of his debut single's success, Sean was offered a lucrative major-label recording contract with Virgin Records. He accepted the offer and opted to drop out of Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, where he was studying to become a doctor. Me Against Myself (2004), his debut album, became a Top 30 hit in the U.K., spawning a pair of Top Ten hit singles ("Eyes on You," "Stolen"); plus, the album became an even bigger hit in India, where it was a chart-topping success and went multi-platinum, thanks in part to Sean's appearance in the Bollywood film Kya Kool Hain Hum (2005).
Despite his international success, Sean left Virgin and released his second album, My Own Way (2008), independently via 2Point9 Records. Though its release date was pushed back repeatedly, My Own Way debuted at number six on the U.K. albums chart, a significant improvement over his last album, which had been released by a major label. The album spawned a couple U.K. Top 20 hits, "Ride It" and "Maybe," the former of which also charted internationally in countries including Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Bulgaria. The focus would turn toward America in 2009 when Sean signed with the Cash Money label. The relationship kicked off with the single "Down," featuring special guest and labelmate Lil Wayne. The track would land on Sean's album All or Nothing released in November of that year. The single "2012 (It Ain't the End)," featuring Nicki Minaj, was released in late 2010 and was followed a year later by his mixtape The Mistress. His sophomore release for Cash Money, Neon, was released in July of 2013 and included guest spots from Rick Ross, Ace Hood, and Busta Rhymes.
After leaving Cash Money in 2014, Sean released The Mistress II mixtape in November, and followed it with the Mistress II EP, which included acoustic versions of some of the mixtape's songs. Two years later, he returned with "Make My Love Go," his debut single for Sony and a reunion with All or Nothing collaborator Sean Paul; it became his first charting single in the U.K. since 2011. October 2016 saw the release of "Thinking About You," a collaboration with Hardwell. Early in 2017, the single "Do You Love Me," which featured co-production by Rock Mafia, arrived. A string of singles followed over the next two years including 2017's "What You Want" featuring Davido, 2018's "Emergency," and 2019's Gucci Mane and Asian Doll collaboration "With You." That year also brought new single "Lonely," which was followed in early 2020 by "Surma Surma." Both songs were streamed over a million times in a relatively short time frame.
© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo
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Tonight
Pop - Released by TwoPointNine Ltd (Entertainment) on 11 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Need to Know
Soul - Released by Kamouflage Entertainment on 13 Jan 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Meri Ban Ja (Be Mine) [feat. Yash Narvekar]
Indian Music - Released by Warner Music India on 1 Jun 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bak2²1
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Theme Muzik Entertainment on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cherry Papers
Soul - Released by Kamouflage Entertainment on 10 Jul 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Days Like This (VIZE Remix)
Electronic - Released by One Seven Music on 27 Jan 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Make My Love Go (The Remixes, Pt.2)
Soul - Released by Kamouflage Entertainment LLC on 30 Sep 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Now or Later
Soul - Released by Kamouflage Entertainment on 15 Jan 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Why Why How Why
Soul - Released by Kamouflage Entertainment on 13 Jan 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Don't Give up on Me
Dance - Released by Columbia - B1 Recordings on 30 Jun 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Tonight
Pop - Released by TwoPointNine Ltd (Entertainment) on 11 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
What You Want (Team Salut Remix)
Pop - Released by Epic Amsterdam on 1 Dec 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stay
Pop - Released by TwoPointNine Ltd (Entertainment) on 7 Jul 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
With You
R&B - Released by The Heavy Group - Republic Records on 8 Mar 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lonely (Black Caviar Remix)
Pop - Released by The Heavy Group on 20 Mar 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nakhre (Dj Vix Desi Remix)
World - Released by Break The Noise Records - Kamouflage Entertainment on 12 Nov 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Eyes On You
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Relentless - Virgin on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo