Priyanka Chopra has been signed to Universal Music Group and DesiHits’ record label and now the question is, can this actress become the next pop star? I’ve been engaged in countless great conversations about this and with what’s to come, I’ll go ahead and share my thoughts.
SAMMA (South Asian Media, Marketing, and Entertainment Association) has just awarded Piggy Chops the Trailblazer Award for being the first Bollywood actor to win a major record deal in the U.S.
Regarding the SAMMA recognition, “win” makes it sound like earning a record deal a race or game which has me uncomfortable. Deals are given as milestones in artists careers once they have proven that they have talent and persona to carry a brand. With limited resources and a struggling economy, the music industry has taken hits and the number of music contracts has been reduced. Of course the exception to all this is reality TV; American Idol, The X Factor, and The Sing Off are just a couple of examples of people being able to win record deals.
Now let’s think about the situation in the Bollywood context.
Bollywood is an industry with celebrity status and success for actors, actresses, singers, choreographers, designers, producers, directors, composers, and everyone in between! It is also an industry where people have the ability to swing from one professional role to another. Dia Mirza is an actress turned producer, Himesh Reshammiya is a composer turned singer turned actor, Shimak is a choreographer turned singer, and so on.
Let’s explore the actors turned singers in Bollywood- Abhishek Bachchan’s rapped for films, Amitabh Bachchan is a regular playback singer, Hrithik Roshan even has a few songs under his belt. Were Bollywood music directors deaf or were they protecting their soundtracks from Priyanka’s voice? The likes of Vishal and Shekhar, Salim-Sulaiman, and Jatin-Lalit could have pulled Priyanka Chopra into a studio and had her sing, but no one did.
I am sure with some studio time and the right vocal coaches, Priyanka can carry a tune, but I don’t know how her Desi audiences will react if her voice is unrecognizable and how potential Western fans will respond during live shows. Too much sound editing and “studio magic” can really change a voice and leave a music listener feeling lied to.
However, best of luck to Priyanka Chopra and the new leg in her career. I hope moving forward the Desi industry pays proper attention to those artists with no “fame” and real talent to help nurture new careers and provides a foundation for this industry to GROW and FLOURISH.