Armaan Malik: I have like almost 100 songs sitting in my laptop, ready to be released but I need them to be perfect

Armaan Malik has been keeping himself occupied creating new music and has over a 100 songs ready for release. However, the singer admits that he is procrastinating to make them perfect before hitting the release button. “My fans would actually want to hear all of those 100 songs that are sitting in my laptop. But we are not going to put them out until they are perfect,” says Malik.

The Chale Aana and jab Tak hitmaker says that there’s always this pressure to stay relevant in the music industry and stay fresh in the minds of people. “And that can only happen when we release music frequently. But, this process becomes extremely tough because we’re always on a lookout for ways to make their work perfect before releasing it,” notes the 27-year-old.

As artistes, says Malik, one has to keep upgrading and renewing themselves every year or every six months and with every new song they release. “Not everyone has their peaks every year, there would be phases that are low, dull and then next year will be really shining for you. Although it’s not easy to stay at it throughout, we need to keep learning and soaking in as much as we can along the way,” he explains.

That being said, Malik has found a way to stay relevant over these years by working in multiple language industries, from Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Malayalam to Kannada. However, that also comes with its own challenges, like deciding the playlist for live shows in particular regions.

“I sing songs in so many different languages; I genuinely do not know which song has reached out to what set of audience and has become famous. For instance, when I perform in Delhi, I usually sing Punjabi songs to bring that North Indian flavour,” he says and is quick to share an incident: “I did a show in the capital recently and the crowd was chanting ButtaBomma ButtaBomma. It’s a Telugu song of mine. And never in my wildest dreams would I ever think to include that in a Delhi setlist. So, as an artiste, it’s very difficult to figure these things that what will audiences like.”

Talking about how a musicians have to connect with the audiences on a different level while doing a live show, Malik shares how his team, his band is always on their toes as he often changes the setlist in between a live act.

“After a couple of songs, when I see the audience, I immediately gauge their energy. Are they wanting to listen to more love songs? Or are they actually in the mood for dance? Sometimes, I cut short my set or shuffle the order of songs, so I can tune in to what the live audience is feeling in that moment. It’s definitely a very tricky thing, but that’s the exciting part, because these are the things you can’t predict,” he ends.