It was a festive and exciting night at The UK AMAs Nominations Party at Gatecrasher in Birmingham tonight! Not surprising to us, was Navin Kundra’s nomination as Best Male Artist and Best Alternative Act! You can hear what we mean by going to his Official Website and listening to his amazing new dance track Mehbooba, his beautiful love song Tere Liye and his other great tracks too.

Other nominees/categories are:

Best Male Artist
Imran Khan
Jay Sean
Jaz Dhami
Mumzy Stranger
Navin Kundra

Best Album
Des C – First Flight
Imran Khan – Unforgettable
Jay sean – All or Nothing
Jaz Dhami – JD
Sukshinder Shinda – Collaborations 2

Best Club DJ
Dj H
Dj Kayper
Dj Vix
Jags Klimax
Panjabi Mc

Best Desi Act
Des C
Imran Khan
Jaz Dhami
Malkit Singh
Sukhshinder Shinda

Best Female Act
Amar Dhanjan
Hard Kaur
Karen David
Natasha Khan – Bat for Lashes
Sophie Choudry

Best Nomination
Aron B
JK
Young Archie Assignment

Best Urban Act
AG Dolla
Jay Sean
Mumzy
Sef Naqvi
ZeeKay

Best Producer
Aman Hayer
Punjabi By Nature
RDB
Rishi Rich
Sukhshinder Shinda

Best Radio Show
Bobby Friction – BBC AN
Mr Kay – Buzz ASIA
Neev – Kiss 100
Nihal – Radio 1
Noreen – BBC AN

Best Alternative Act
Bat for Lashes
Engine Earz
Navin Kundra
Niraj Chag
Shiva Soundsystem

Best International Act
Kaka Bhaniawala
Ms Pooja
Outlandish
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Roach Killa

Best Video
Imran Khan – Amplifier
Jay Sean – Down
Mumzy Stranger – Showgirl
Sef ft Des C Dboy – Need A Hero remix
Sukhshinder Shinda – Ghum Sum

Best International Act
Adnan Sami – Ek Ladki Deewani Si
Bohemia – Da rap star
Jaswinder Daghamia – Yaar Nai Labhde
Ms Pooja – Romantic jatt
Outlandish – Sound of a Rebel

Award night is March 11, 2010 at the legendary Royal Festival Hall on London’s Southbank and B4U Music will once again record and broadcast the main event to a worldwide audience. It is an event that you won’t want to miss.

Abs Shaid, CEO of UKAMA says: “This year we are raising the bar again. Year on year the UK AMA strives to be in touch with the British Asian music industry and 2009 has been yet another important year for British Asian artists in the UK. From hitting the charts in America, to signing to major record labels, our artists have once again proved that they are capable of huge achievements. The UK AMA will continue to
celebrate and acknowledge these amazing achievements.”

B4U International Head of Sales and Marketing Kevin Rego says: “As the leading Asian channel in the UK, B4U Music is delighted to be presenting the UKAMA once again. B4U Music has been a strong supporter of the UK’s Asian music artists and as a channel we are constantly looking at ways to integrate the Asian music scene into
the mainstream market. We have identified the constant growth in highly talented Asian artists this year, and being a part of the UK AMA yet again will allow us to further celebrate this success and continue to promote Asian music on a global scale.”

Lebara Mobile’s UK Managing Director, Russell Atkinson, commented: “Lebara Mobile is delighted to be working with the UK Asian Music Awards as the title sponsor. Music brings people together through a universal language and this partnership will allow us to further connect with Asian communities, who remain one of our key target audiences in the UK. We look forward to working closely with the UK Asian Music Awards to celebrate and promote Asian culture and achievements.”

Mark Strippel, Head of Music at BBC Asian Network says: “For the first time BBC Asian Network will be giving multi-platform coverage to the UK Asian Music Awards, across Radio, Online and Interactive TV. Our decision to be broadcast partner reflects the emergence of these Awards as one of the key events in the British-Asian music
calendar.”

About Lebara Mobile
Lebara Mobile’s vision is to be the leader in providing low-cost, high quality international mobile services. Lebara Mobile was founded in 2001 as part of the Lebara Group. Lebara was ranked as the UK’s fourth fastest-growing private company in the Sunday Times ‘Fast
Track 100 listing’ in 2006, was voted Best Newcomer at the Mobile Industry Awards in 2008, and was recently recognized as delivering the Most Innovative Service at the 2009 Mobile News Awards.

About B4U Music
Launching in 1999 B4U MUSIC is the primary channel to showcase the very best in Bollywood hits, Bhangra, Hindi pop and desi remixes. From the most recent videos to the golden oldies and entertaining music based shows, B4U Music caters to a diverse audience of all ages.

(The above quotes and About information are courtesy of the official UK AMA press release)

Voting begins NOW, on the UK AMA website

Breast cancer affects so many women and men in this day and age. Even celebrities like the timeless Mumtaz and more recently Namrata-Singh-Gujral {Americanizing Shelley (2007), 1 a Minute Documentary (2010)} have been dealing with this disease rearing its ugly head in their lives.

In conjunction with this, we praise AV8 Events, Eastern Arts Beauty, Unity 101’s Urban Unity Show and Asiana who are presenting the 1st ever “Ladies Night” to be held in Southampton on Sat. 13th March 2010 in aid of The Breast Cancer Campaign.

The event will be held @ P.O.S.H Southampton. It will be a champagne reception and three-course meal. There will be a professional photographer, dancers, raffle, free giveaways and beauty treatments for you to enjoy. Hosted by Unity 101’s Urban Unity Show, JC Sona – exclusive DJ set

Live on Stage: Navin Kundra (Our Favorite) & Parichay

For More Info. Please call: 07811 166688 / 023 8077 3991

Please do all you can to support this cause and this event. Thank you in advance from I Crave Bollywood!

Online Donations can also be made here

\"Ladies Night\" @ POSH Sat 13th March 2010 [HQ]

Nominations are being cast for the UK Asian Music Awards 2010. Who will be in the running – you choose. As for I Crave Bollywood, we are standing behind Navin Kundra.

You’ve read about him, heard and seen his videos here on ICB. Now it’s time to show some support for him.

He has smashed the charts with his debut single Tukde Tukde and his amazing Tere Liye, which has taken on a life of its own from personal dedications for loved ones to engraved engagement and wedding bands with its lyrics.

Navin is a twenty-four year old Asian R&B artist from the UK who is currently taking the world by storm.

As a singer/songwriter/composer/producer, Navin has blown away his audiences with his songs, which are in Hindi, Punjabi and English. Amazingly enough, his fans, who are scattered worldwide, include not just desi listeners but many non-Indian fans who do not even understand Hindi or Punjabi. They say they can still enjoy his music because it transcends the language barrier.

His inspiration for his songs comes from life in general, he says. Musically, he looks to Mohd. Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, R.D. Burman, Sonu Nigam, Michael Jackson, A R Rahman, Whitney Houston, Lionel Ritchie and others.

One song in particular, which has been #1 for six weeks in the ClubAsia music charts, is his new single Tere Liye (For You). This love song is hitting the airwaves across the globe in places such as USA, Dubai (where Navin performed live at the top of the Burj-Al-Arab hotel), Holland (where he has performed thrice) and Suriname, South America (where he has never even been, yet his track made it to a local desi radio station and to the #1 spot within just 2 weeks)!

You may wonder where it all began for this rising star. Obsessed with music from an early age, and without any formal training, Navin has been singing since he was 14. And yet, just five years later at 19 he became the youngest winner of Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma World Series (held in Dubai), where he represented the UK. The following year, he gave a mind-blowing performance with his rendition of Robbie William’s song ‘Feel’ in the BBC Asian Network’s Unsung competition, which not only rendered him the winner but also graced him with the ‘Audience Favourite’ Award. Afterward, he performed live at the prestigious Birmingham Symphony Hall along with some of the biggest artists in Asian music including Gurdaas Maan, Jazzy B, Stereo Nation and the Rishi Rich Project.

Since then he has worked with the likes of legendary percussionist Pandit Dinesh, and virtuoso piano player Kishon Khan, Mona Singh, Adil Ray and Shin. He is now under the management of Nyrone Persaud from N1 Management, who also managed Raghav. Along with producer Mushtaq, Navin co-wrote two of his songs, namely ‘Tere Liye’ and ‘Love Thing’.

Navin is diligently working on his yet untitled debut album, which he wants to get just right before offering it to his fans. He welcomes suggestions from his fans on naming it, so they too can become part of his journey.

It will include his already released songs – ‘Tere Liye’, ‘Main Ha Tere Naal’ (I am with you) (co-written with friend M Johal), ‘Zinda Hoon’ (I am Alive) (also a music video with dancers from the Eastern Illusion Dance Troupe), the upbeat club song ‘Love Thing’ (his second music video which incorporates the famous Bindya Chamkegi song by the timeless Lata Mangeshkar in the Bollywood film ‘Do Raaste’), ‘Tukde Tukde’ (Pieces) (co-written with M Johal), ‘Khaali Dil’ (Empty Heart) (co-written with M Johal) and ‘Aaja’ (Come On), his exhilarating dance track ‘Mehbooba’ and his beautiful tribute to Michael Jackson – ‘Fade Away’.

In his words: “I don’t want to limit myself to any one particular genre. I like to try different things, as I feel that my biggest strength as an artist is my versatility. My debut album features songs in Hindi, Punjabi and English with a mixture of different flavours so there’s something for everyone.”

With the release of ‘Tere Liye’ on February 14, 2009, Navin did something very different. Along with the purchase of this amazingly beautiful love song, one could have Navin record a personal dedication to their loved one. The results were phenomenal and moved him to continue the offer for any occasion.

Navin is very much in touch with his supporters, so I asked them to describe his music. Here is what they expressed.

“Always brightens my darkest moments, adds color to my world.”

“Peaceful, calming.”

“Magnetic. It takes me into the depth of my heart, to a place where I have always imagined how I want someone to feel about me, especially Tere Liye. Thoughtful, romantic.”

“Evokes all kinds of emotions that shows how truly talented he is.”

“The essence of love. It makes you want to fall in love.”

“I could just sit in a dark room and chill while listening to his music.”

“Words can’t describe such a beautiful voice, such peace and such love. When you close your eyes, it feels as though he is in front of you, giving a performance just ‘Tere Liye’. His songs give us a reason for every moment. He tells you ‘Main Hain Tere Naal’. His passion and desire is locked into each word.”

For Navin, his “Dare to Begin” motto served him well. Now that he has begun, there is no stopping him. His hard work and dedication have certainly been paying off. Besides working on his album, Navin is also touring both nationally and internationally.

A regularly updated schedule of performances is located on his Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/navinkundra and Twitter – http://twitter.com/NavinKundra, where he interacts on a regular basis with his fans. This includes the time he takes to personally answer his fan mail. His official website, where you can listen to and purchase his music is www.navin-online.com and www.iTunes.com. His videos are on his YouTube channel www.youtube.com/navinonline.  

Now you can see why ICB supports Navin – Come join us and support him too for the UK AMAs. http://www.theukama.com/

Please nominate in the following categories – Best Male Artist, Best Desi Act & Best Alternative Act

UPDATE The nominations have been finished and Navin has been nominated for Best Male Artist and Best Alternative Act – voting has begun so vote, vote, vote!

Thank you in advance!

Download Tere Liye now from iTunes.

Mobile’s Uk Asian Music Awards
MARCH 2010 @ Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall

In conjunction with Mehbooba’s release, Navin has agreed to sit down with I Crave Bollywood for an intense interview about his music and his life.
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Summertime conjures up all sorts of ideas for fun in the sun. This season, while you’re out and about taking advantage of the great weather, don’t forget to have your radios blaring the song that is certainly turning up the summer heat – Navin’s Mehbooba.
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Host: Kandy Nights
Type: Party – Club Party
Network: Global
Start Time: Saturday, August 8, 2009 at 10:00pm
End Time: Sunday, August 9, 2009 at 2:00am
Location: Piya Piya Bar & Restaurant
Street: City Road, EC1Y 1HQ
City/Town: London, United Kingdom
Phone: 07961904274
Email: kandynights@live.co.uk
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Fans the world over are still mourning over the untimely death of pop icon Michael Jackson. The web nearly came to a screeching halt last week as everyone went scrambling to any and all sites that were carrying details about his death that they hoped were just rumors.
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After his first performance ever in Holland at the Silverdome, Navin has already been requested back to the country for two more shows. One visit he just completed on Saturday May 23 at the Spui Theatre, Den Haag and after an outstanding 2-hour performance, the audience was screaming for more. So in his charming way, he gave them what they asked for and sang Tere Liye in a very different way.

The voice is the most exquisite instrument ever created. Care for it, train and tune it … Perfect it.

As Navin perfects his voice with each performance, he makes it ever more challenging for me to find ways to describe it. With his new song Tere Liye, sung with passion and deep feeling, he blends highs and lows like the tides which ebb and flow, caressing the shoreline. The crescendos can be likened to the waves crashing against the rocks but in such a way that it smooths out their roughness, while the splash sends a soft, refreshing spray into the air.

His music is the gentle yet commanding wind that carries the sound of the waves and guides them to the waiting listener on the shore. As the sunlight sparkles across the water, so does this combination of the two elements music and lyrics. It is sure to hit the top of the Asian R&B music charts the world over, as it already has in several countries including the UK and Suriname, South America.

Please visit his website – Navin Online
And vote for Tere Liye – Sunrise Radio Charts

Thank you!

The 3,000 or so fans that assembled for the Hindi Paas Party at the Silverdome Arena in Holland were in for a treat on April 12, 2009. When Navin from the UK took to the stage, the crowd waited in anticipation and they weren‘t disappointed by any means.
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Bollywood playback singer (Kambakkht Ishq) Navin is offering you the chance to order his new single Tere Liye, with a twist. He will personalize it with a special audio dedication to you or your loved one.
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