Tulsi Kumar is known for her playback with some very popular tracks such as Love Mera Hit Hit, Soch Na Sake and Sanam Re to name a few. She’s currently in the UK performing in the High Rated Gabru UK Tour 2018, alongside the hugely-talented Guru Randhawa.
As Tulsi Kumar marks her debut with the UK audiences, BizAsiaLive.com caught up with the singer amidst her five-city tour.
I noticed on social media that your first concerts here in the UK, including London, have gone very well.
Yes, it was really good. London was waiting for this and so was I. I was in anticipation of how the audience will respond to my tracks but then I saw the love they had for Bollywood and for Punjabi music… The best part was when they were singing and dancing to my tunes. I felt totally amazing last night in London.
How did you find the crowds in London?
I think they’re more connected to their roots and to Indian music. I sung a range of my songs from Sanam Re, Soch Na Sake going into a Punjabi medley and faster tracks like Saiyaan Superstar and Naachenge Saari Raat. The audience was singing with me on each and every song. That was a moment when I totally mesmerised. The energy the crowd passed on to be also transformed me. The entire vibe for the London and Gravesend concerts were amazing.
Concerts in the UK have grown in popularity in recent years. Was the UK always a destination you’ve wanted to perform in?
Yes, obviously. It’s on the wishlist of every artist to do a UK tour. And my wish has come true with his High Rate Gabru UK Tour 2018. We’re doing a five city tour – Gravesend, London. We’ve got shows coming up in Manchester, Leicester and Birmingham. I’m really looking forward to those. It was nice to see yesterday that the audiences were standing and dancing and not just sitting on their seats. That was the greatest thing about last night.
You’re performing with Guru Randhawa. How have you found his energy and how did you collaborate?
Guru and I have collaborated on a track called Raat Kamaal Hai already so I knew him since then. For the UK tour, I was asked by the organisers if I wanted to be a part of this tour and I was happy to because I share a very good rapport with Guru. He new video is doing phenomenally well. I thought we would make a great combination because I do a lot of Bollywood and he does the hardcore Punjabi tracks. I think the youth here are loving this combination. Everyone has been very happy with the kind of response we have received so far.
You’ve sung your first Sufi track in the recently released ‘Satyamev Jayate’ (2018). What was that like?
Yes. Actually I’ve done a lot of romantic tracks and one of those is also in ‘Satyamev Jayate’ along with Atif Aslam. However, the Sufi track was something that’s always been on my mind and it’s always been something I’ve wanted to do. It’s a very mature track called Tere Jaisa. There’s quite a lot of thehraav and depth and maturity. That was the challenge and Arko has written and composed it beautifully. A little bit of rehearsal went into it but I really think this is one song that’s amongst one of my favourites. It’s something I really looked forward to being a part of. I was very open to learning on the track when Arko approached me and it really was a learning experience for me. The song is being appreciated by the audiences and we’ve crossed over 30 million views already and it’s only been abut 15-20 days since the film released. It feels very good when you try something new and it gets accepted and Tere Jaisa is one of those tracks.
Finally, what particular tracks to you prefer to sing to a live audience?
I actually like to see what the audience wants. Certain audiences like softer numbers and others come with the mindset of partying. So, keeping that in mind, I tweak my setlist while I’m up on stage, to match the vibe of the audience. The best part about the show in London was that they were ready and grooving to my slower songs and then when I switched to the up-temp numbers, they started dancing. They just wanted to hear good music so I gave them both sides of me (laughs). Guru then lit up the stage with his Punjabi numbers so the audiences got to hear a great mix of it all together.
BizAsiaLive.com thanks Tulsi Kumar for talking to us while she was in the UK on tour with Guru Randhawa.
