Sonu Nigam performs at the Indian Pavilion in Global Village.
Dubai - I had to fight my way through people for a seat, literally. I was pushed by enthusiastic crowds and fell into the arms of a policeman. Again literally. All this was happening at the India Fair, Global Village, on Saturday evening. And people were pushing, jostling, screaming for Sonu Nigam, the latest singing sensation in India.
Charm
Dressed in black trousers and jacket and a huge smile, Sonu took to the stage right on time. And then he went on to charm. He sang foot-tapping, palm-clapping numbers from "Kismat", his debut solo album just released by Magnasound. The music is by Biddu, the pioneer of electronic pop in India.
Back-up track
Sonu sang the songs to a back-up track minus the main voice and sang them well. There was the quick, pulsating "Tu", the lilting "O Sudha", the jazzy "ABC" and the funky "Bus Stop". And, of course, the title song "Kismat", all about a man who lives on cloud nine because his horoscope predicts he will meet a beautiful woman that day. Sonu used the empty stage well, filling it with enthusiastic children from the audience who danced all the way. He also kept up an easy patter with the crowd, exchanging pleasantries, peppering witticisms and even flinging across some T-shirts (with his face printed) for
the lucky ones to grab.
The audience loved him, both those who had a chance to sit and those who stood outside the enclosure. And they wouldn't let him go without a few lines from his earlier chartbusters. So Sonu obligingly sang "Yeh dil deewana" from Pardes, with just the children singing along with him. And proved that he could really sing, not just chant, using great music as a prop.
