It also inspired my belief that anything is possible if you put your heart into it. It inspired me to hone my creativity, challenge myself creatively on this journey with no boundaries, with tolerance, innovation, and passion. Dubai definitely has made me go beyond my comfort zone and not feel restricted. I am blessed to have experienced such diversity and rich cultures, and the opportunity to meet the entire world in one place. It is not just the hard work but the ‘heart’ work here.Īs a singer based in the UAE for a long time, you have been exposed to many forms of music because of the growing multi-cultural community here. If one is fully involved in a project, things happen. Time-wise, it depends upon an individual and passion towards the art. Therefore, the challenge is not just learning the diction correctly (as much as possible) but to be able to have the right expressions because that’s where even a music producer cannot help an artist.
The ability to render each word with the right expression so it seeps into your soul, is important. The biggest challenge then lies in not really understanding the meaning of the words, which can affect the feeling and honesty of the song. Because the more we sing in a certain language, the more we practice and the better we become, and we take a step towards perfection. Do you feel your singing in the language has improved with practice? What is the main challenge of singing in a language that’s not your own? This is your second original Arabic release after the Arabic version of Busy, Busy. It was a two-day shoot, wherein various Dubai locations have been featured including Bab Al Shams resort, outdoor desert areas (highlighting the spirit of the country which is essentially a desert) as well as some studio shots. The song is all about the love and passion of one woman towards the love of her life, which could be herself (self-love), as is depicted through the music video. Ya Weli is an Arabic expression meaning ‘oh gosh’. What can you tell us about Ya Weli and the music video? Hence, I created this song in Dubai with an Arab team.
Otherwise, music has no boundary in terms of language. I wanted to make another song in Arabic after Mashgool (Arabic version of my track Busy Busy) out of pure love, even though learning the language has been a challenge for me.
My passion for singing in Arabic and above all the respect I have for Arabic as a language is evident. It was made with lot of care and respect for Arab culture, which is reflected in the video too. Ya Weli is another labour of love of mine. What inspired you to record this song? What can you tell us about the team behind it? You must be excited for your upcoming release, Arabic song Ya Weli. We chatted with Neha about her latest track which will release on Friday, October 15.
Neha, who made her Bollywood singing debut in 2017 with Humdard from the film Dobaara, is once again pushing her limits in the music world with Ya Weli, an inspiring song about love for which she had to put in a lot of extra effort and practice considering Arabic is not her native tongue.
While the road to success in any field is never smooth, Neha worked hard to balance her personal and professional life over the years but never gave up on her passion which is music, and continued to expand her horizons, whether it was to be part of bands and collaborations, record new and innovative tracks, or shoot unique music videos.ĭuring our last interaction with the charming singer in December 2020, she filled us in on Yaad Aayi, a new Hindi track that was shot partly underwater and featured stunning visuals. Neha’s music career has seen many milestones since she came into the spotlight two decades ago upon winning Zee TV’s national contest in the indie pop category and being a finalist on Channel V’s Popstars.