'Slumdog' Remix The Oscar-winning song 'Jai Ho' is reworked with help from a Pussycat Doll
- Article<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#articleTabs=article> - Comments<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#articleTabs_comments> more in Arts & Entertainment<http://online.wsj.com/public/page/news-arts-movies-music.html>ยป - Email<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> - Printer Friendly<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> - Share: - Yahoo Buzz <http://buzz.yahoo.com/article/wsj/> [image: more]<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> - facebook<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> - MySpace<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> - LinkedIn<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> - Digg<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> - del.icio.us<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> - NewsVine<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> - StumbleUpon<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> - Mixx<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> - [image: smaller]<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> Text Size<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> [image: larger]<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#> - By ETHAN SMITH<http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=ETHAN+SMITH&ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND> Getty Images Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman, above-left, will try to scale the U.S. pop charts A.R. Rahman triumphed at the Oscars Sunday night. Now one of America's biggest record labels is hoping the Indian film composer can conquer the U.S. pop-music charts, thanks to an unlikely collaboration with the lead singer of the pop group the Pussycat Dolls. The morning after Mr. Rahman's twin victories for best song and best score for the film "Slumdog Millionaire," Universal Music Group's Interscope Geffen A&M Records released an English-language pop version of his prize-winning song "Jai Ho." (The title means, approximately, "Be Victorious" in Hindi.) Tune In Listen to a clip from the remixed version of "Jai Ho": - "Jai Ho"<javascript:dj.util.Url.openWin('http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-audioPlayer_image.html?mp3File=jaiho_0228.mp3&h=200&w=200','imageShell07','200','200','off','true',40,10)> Read More - *Full coverage of the 2009 Academy Awards*<http://online.wsj.com/public/page/oscars.html> The new version of the song adds to Mr. Rahman's original music and vocals a rough English translation of the Hindi lyrics, sung by Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls. "You are the reason that I breathe," she sings in the song's chorus. "You are the reason that I still believe / You are my destiny." The remix, titled "Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny)," was produced by Ron Fair, the chairman of Interscope's Geffen Records division, and a pop producer and songwriter who has created hits for the Dolls, Christina Aguilera and others. The producers were aiming to have the new song ready for release immediately after the Oscars whether or not the original won. The remix was created over about a month, from mid-January until last week, with contributions from three continents. Mr. Fair and a team of songwriters worked in Los Angeles, with input from Mr. Rahman, via Skype, in Chennai, India. On a concert tour with her group, Ms. Scherzinger recorded her vocal parts at studios in various cities around England. Getty Images Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls Mr. Fair enlisted several lyricists to create English lyrics that satisfied competing goals. "The challenge was not to make it too literal, too uncool," he says. "We were trying to make something that would appeal to contemporary music fans, yet still be true to the story of the film." Mr. Fair's new mix preserves the original's electronic dance beats, Japanese taiko drums, and soaring Hindi melodies. But partly because it was composed for a film, the original "Jai Ho" didn't conform to a traditional structure for a Western pop song, leading to one of the bigger changes Mr. Fair made in creating the remix. "We formatted it so his music would fall into our formats for verse and chorus," Mr. Fair says. Mr. Rahman, 42 years old, has scored dozens of popular films in India, and is one of the country's biggest music stars. By unit sales, he's one of the most successful in the world, with an estimated 100 million albums sold. A spokeswoman said that Mr. Rahman recently returned to his home in Chennai and was unavailable. This isn't Indian music's first appearance in Western pop. In the 1960s the Beatles and others used sitars and tablas in psychedelic rock. More recently, some hip-hop performers and producers, including Dr. Dre and Timbaland, have tapped into Indian music. Whether the attempt to create a pop-crossover version of Mr. Rahman's work will connect with Western fans remains to be seen. Four days after its release, and before the start of any significant marketing push, the new "Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny)" had climbed to No. 46 on the iTunes Top Songs chart. The original (also distributed by Interscope) has been in the download service's top 10 all week. Regardless of the new song's ultimate commercial performance, Mr. Fair says he can learn a lot from Mr. Rahman. The executive is scheduled to fly to Chennai this summer so the two men can collaborate. "This is one of the world's great living composers in any medium," Mr. Fair says. "If I could have a little bit of time with A.R. Rahman, it would be like a master class." http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123568984902087603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj -- regards, Vithur
