Shaidayee: Terence Lewis Spills The Beans On His Debut Song, Reveals Which Singer He Admires The Most: “…For Me They Are Like (Goddess) Sarawasti” [Exclusive]

Terence Lewis made a name for himself in the world of dance when he debuted on Dance India Dance as one of the judges in 2009. In the years that followed, he choreographed for a number of films, including Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela and continued judging several dance reality shows. Less than a week ago, he made his debut as a singer.

You read that right! Terence, who we know as an amazing dancer and choreographer, has entered the world of music as a singer with T-Series’ Shaidayee. Since its release, six days ago, the song, also featuring Jeniffer Piccinato, has amassed over 5.3 million views.

Soon after Shaidayee was released, Koimoi caught up with Terence Lewis for a lengthy chat and asked him how did the transition from dancing to singing happen. While he called the song ‘bahot pyaara’ and ‘sweet’ the choreographer-turned-singer said that when he heard the song for the first time the tune stayed with him even when he began to work on a different project. In the same chat, he also revealed which musicians he admires the most and which genre of music he likes. Read snippets of our exclusive conversation with him here.

During the candid chat with Terence Lewis, I asked him who he admires the most in the music field the same way he respected Saroj Khan when it came to dancing. The ace choreographer replied in a jiff and said, “(There are) too many to name but I will name them. I love singers. In my house, jab bhi koi mehfil baithti hai, its common knowledge ki singers hote hain, ya musicians hote hain. Because I feel for me they are like (Goddess) Sarawasti coming to my house. Honestly I feel joh singers hai, joh live singing karte hai, unki mai bahot kadar karta hu.”

Terence Lewis continued, “For example, there is Arijit Singh, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Atif Aslam, Khailash Kher, Daler paaji. I have heard them singing live. Ek, ek ghante… na sur hilta ha, kya power ke saath gaate hai – and no auto-tuning, nothing. So that is why for my song I said, ‘Boss, I want it to be sung clearly properly, without any drama and clean singing. Toh woh koshish rahi hai. They have been very inspiring for me.”

The Shaidayee singer Terence Lewis continued, “Lataji (Lata Mangeshkar) in her best days – between the 1950s and 1970s, what she has sung… her voice, the texture of her voice. Kishor Kumar, he sang that song ‘Neele Neele Ambar’ – that song if you listen to na, bahut logo ne cover version banaya hai par joh Kishore Kumar ne gaaya hai, joh ease ke sath – it much have just been a mic and him and musicians honge and he just sang it. He has not tried to make it jazzy… Even Mohammed Rafi sir. There are many legends and I’m a big fan of musicians, big fans of singers.”

Terence Lewis further added, “Even in today’s generation, there are girls who sing really well. Shreya Ghoshal for that matter. Neha Kakkar for her popularity and the way she sings all these naughty songs. She has a very peppy voice and she’s got a very different texture. And everybody is different. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan cannot sing a song that is sung by Vishal or Badshah. They are very different. So I think, har gaane ka ek sur hai and there are singers meant for each genre. “ He added, “That’s why I felt Shaidayee is my genre happy go lucky.”

Stay tuned to Koimoi to read more about our conversation with Terence Lewis, his plans when it comes to singing, acting and lots more.

Must Read: DID L’il Masters 5: Remo D’Souza, Geeta Kapoor & Terence Lewis Reunite After 10 Years!

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube