In the months that preceded the release of Control, Armaan Malik, having then connected with mid-day for a separate property, spoke ebulliently of his forthcoming debut English single. That this wasn't merely yet another Indian artiste dabbling in western music was made evident after the unveiling of the March release, which caught Indian fans by surprise owing to its production value.

It was tough to sieve the factors that distinguished it from an international production. If there were any, Malik says, they were intentionally introduced. "We added a few Indian elements to establish my heritage, but the sound was definitely international. We didn't want anyone to hear it and say this has been made by an Indian. The idea was to make it sound global, not even American. We sprinkled elements that would make people sit up and take notice, and call this a quality product. I'm not going to deny that I loved proving those people wrong who believed that such a production couldn't come out of India. I have always wanted to quash that notion. I wanted everyone to know that India has fabulous talent hasn't been given a chance," he says of the track that made it to the Billboard charts, earned him a space on a Times Square billboard, and now, a nomination in the Indian category of the upcoming MTV Europe Music Awards, which will air on Voot Select. Malik's co-nominees include Kaam Bhari, Divine, Prabh Deep, and SIRI with Sez on the Beat.