ON THIS DAY IN 2008...

omposer-singer Ankit Tiwari’s (right) wish to hit the road and sing to an international audience at an international venue got fulfilled with his debut world tour recently.

“I think it’s a dream for every musician to go on a tour with their entourage. It gives a sense of freedom and inspires one to create music that transcends boundaries,” says the Sun Raha Hai Tu singer, who became quite a rage after he sang the number in Aashiqui 2.

“I performed in seven cities across the US. I was thrilled as well as a bit emotional to have got such a tremendous response. I performed at some renowned theatres,” he says, adding that some of the cities he performed included McFlair Theatre (Dallas), Ritz Theatre (New Jersey), Watner Theatre (Washington DC), Lowell Memorial auditorium (Boston) and Terrace Theatre (Los Angeles). Although he has done innumerable shows in India, he says that the high he got performing for people who may not have even understood the language, was unmatched. “As an artist, it gives me a high to perform in front of a live audience. What makes it even more thrilling, perhaps, is when it is in front of a foreign audience, who may not understand the lyrics, but enjoy the music and the emotions behind it. It’s amazing to see how music binds all,” says Tiwari, who will now be performing in London and Canada in August.

“The first schedule of the world tour took off brilliantly. Now, we have planned concerts in London and Canada in August,” he says, adding that there is a surprise up his sleeve for his fans. “While I will be singing my hits, I’m also planning to surprise fans with something unexpected... I’m working that out with my team,” he says.

Although many may say that Bollywood is killing independent music, Tiwari feels it has also helped reach music to the masses. In fact, the composer-singer, who initially became popular as a background singer in films, feels it is a “giveand-take” relationship. “If the song is good, it helps push a film to a large extent, whereas because of films, certain music reaches out to every corner of the country,” he says, hoping that people appreciate other genres of music as much as film music.

singer Amy Winehouse, who died in 2011, performed an exclusive gig at a Moscow art gallery, Russia, for the owner of a London based football club, Chelsea FC — Roman Abramovich — and his girlfriend Dasha Zhukova. It was reported that the singer was paid £1m for the concert at the launch of The Garage gallery, which has been set up by Zhukova.