14 April,2011 09:20 AM IST | | Prachi Sibal
This weekend you won't get lonely. You have Aliaune Badara Akon Thiam for companyThe nightclubs in town are going to get quite a run for their money this Sunday. Grammy nominated R&B artist, Aliaune Badara Akon Thiam aka Akon as he is more popularly known will set the stage sizzling and has a message for his fans here. "Fans can expect to party and dance to my all time hits and some new songs from the new album Stadium. I always love to get the audience involved. So fans in Bangalore, get ready", he says.u00a0He confesses he cannot pick any single performances as his favourite one, telling us, "I have had so many great performances." Akon shot to fame in the year 2004 with his single Locked Up from the album Trouble which was allegedly based on his days during a sentence he served in prison. There was no looking back for the Senegalese artist then on and he went on to produce hits like 'Sexy Bitch' (which was changed to Sexy Chic), 'Smack That', 'Lonely' and 'I Wanna Love You' enthralling listeners world over, ruling the Billboard charts and nightclubs until date.u00a0Besides his acclaim of having collaborated with artists of the accord of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga; Akon is known to be of quite the entrepreneur nature. Akon co-owns hitlab.com, a website for music lovers, an NGO Konfidence, an apparel label Konvict Clothing and a Record Label Konvict Music. His entry into the Indian music scene was through collaboration for the Shahrukh Khan starrer Ra One with composers Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravijani.Akon has delved into the vast genres of pop, hip hop and R&B emerging with a dance and sing along sound that keeps you glued to the floor. Talking about his inspirations the artist says, "I've had so many inspirations over the years. From my father and my African roots to the old classic music of Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder and others. They were the pioneers that paved the way for us to get where we are today. The old school OG's (Original Gangsters)." He almost brags of his experience working with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson as being surreal, "I never thought that I would be in the producer's seat, behind a mixing board telling Mike to sing the note like this, you know what I'm saying, it was crazy."Besides two shows in the country in Gurgaon and Bangalore, Akon who's flying down with his wife, will be celebrating his birthday in Pune, a day before his concert. Not one who gets much time to celebrate he admits he belongs to the category of workaholics. "I am a workaholic. I work 24 hours a day. I really don't get a chance to sleep, unless I'm on a plane.u00a0 The more I put on my plate, the more I have to be responsible and know if I'm taking something on that's another hour I may not sleep," he says.Though he says it is hard to pick out one song he has performed as the most memorable one surely has his pick amongst the collaborations. "One of the most exciting was the collaboration with Michael Jackson",u00a0 states the singer. "I would love to work with so many artists; Bruno Mars, Seal come to mind," he adds. There isn't much he wishes to reveal about Indian collaborations yet, we wonder if Bollywood is keeping its secrets too this time.
At: Gayathri Vihar, Palace GroundsOn: April 17, 5 pm onwardsLog on to: www.kyazoongya.com for ticketsFor:u00a0Rs 1,500 onwards
