Marriage feels like a rebirth of sorts for me: Armaan Malik

The biggest example of me converting my emotion into music is that I put out a whole wedding album. And you know whether it’s our first dance song or whether it’s the song to which Aashna (Shroff) walked down the aisle, all of it was just imagined by me in my head, purely from an emotional point of view. I think that's a very strong place for an artist where you can draw inspiration from what you are feeling and what you are going through and put that into words and lyrics and music. Just give it shape, and I think that the project itself —  Saanvarey, is testament to the fact that an artist is at his best when he is talking about his own emotions; and for me, that was really a very personal thing to share out there with everyone. I was initially very hesitant. But then I told myself, it’s an emotion that is so universal. There is a line that goes — Tuhi mera ghar menu lagdave — which I feel is a very universal thought when two people come together. But they may not be able to express it. So, I thought why should I not do it for others so that they can dedicate it to their loved ones. I’m grateful that I get opportunities, self-made opportunities also sometimes where I’m able to, you know, translate my emotions into music and it connects with the audiences.

It feels amazing to start this new chapter especially because I’ve been looking forward to this next stage in my life. A lot of times we always look at professional goals and professional check marks to hit, and somewhere, we forget ourselves in the process. We have a life to live as well and I’m so glad that I’ve been able to, you know, firstly meet someone like her, build a friendship first which is like how Shah Rukh Khan always famously says — pyaar dosti hai. The last seven years we've been together, we have built a very strong friendship and then obviously we took this exciting new step in our lives. And for me, it feels like a rebirth of sorts because I’m going to have new experiences, and I feel like my music is also going to change from here on. Lot of feelings that I’ll be able to write about that I probably wouldn’t be able to write about before. So yeah, overall, it’s a very transformational journey and I’ve always looked forward to it. I’ve always had this wish to get married to my best friend — the one I love, so I’m glad it happened.

My passion for singing was something that was found very early. I was 5 years old when I realised that I really love music and singing; I was around 8 years old when I decided that I wanted to do this for a living. So, pretty much before I was 10, I was already in the industry and I had my priorities set.

I've had various defining moments — the first one I think would be when I participated in Saregama Pa Little Champs. The show made me a household name as a child star. Then I went on to sing some iconic Bollywood songs like Bum Bum Bole and Mere Buddy as a child singer. Then came a time when I released my first album as a teenage pop singer at the age of 17 — a self-titled album called Armaan. I debuted in Bollywood as an adult playback singer in Salman Khan’s Jai Ho. I went on to be the youngest singer to perform at SSC Arena Wembley in London. For me, these were really big moments. Also, I am the first one to crossover and sing English pop music and be featured at the Times Square, when the whole world was under lockdown. I think a lot of unique things have happened over the last few years and I feel like I continue to break norms. I think that is what helps me gain these defining moments in my life because I don't like following the beaten path. I always take the off route and it leads me to places that people have not been to.

I think winning the MTV European Music Award twice back-to-back for my songs Control and You — and this recognition came quite early in my English music career. For someone who had just started singing in English — I started putting out singles in 2020 —this was a very big deal. As an Indian artiste, I take pride in these victories because it has given me the faith that I what was setting out to do was resonating with people.

It's very rare that you see a lot of celebrities or musicians doing weekly chats with their fans, but I do that. I do a ‘Fridays with Armaan chat’ with my fans on X/Twitter. I try to be as active as I can on Instagram Live. I mean these are little things, but it goes a long way in the fandom because they really feel connected to me. I feel people who have invested time in listening to my songs, invested money in buying concert tickets and merchandise of mine and in general, are so invested in what I'm doing, least I can do is pay them back with my time. Yeah, that's literally the reason I feel I have a strong fan base. It's not just because I have music that has commercially done well and people like that music, so they like Armaan. There's a very big difference between being a fan of the artiste and being a fan of the person, and I think I've made sure that they are a fan of the human first and then the artiste.

Ballads come naturally to me because I feel my voice is made for romantic songs. Having said that, I also happen to sing some really interesting dance songs, peppy songs. Some of those are Buddhu Samann, Sau Asmaan which are love songs, but also, dance songs. Then there are songs like Butta Bumma in Telugu, which are very quirky and have a very upbeat, rustic style to it, so not a lot of people associate me with those songs. Armaan Malik means Pehla Pyar or you know, romantic songs, Sab Tera, Sau Asmaan, Mai Hu Hero Tera — those are the songs that come to your mind, but there are lot more in my discography that I feel people have not delved into.

Honestly, 2024 was a very tough year for me and for a lot of fans as well. When I interacted with them online, I just got to know that overall, it was one of the toughest years for people to navigate emotionally. I think the only advice that I can give is to take things one step at a time. It’s easier said than done. But genuinely, try to enjoy each day as it is happening, whether you’re at lunch with your family or whether you’re doing your work. I love what I do, so it never feels like work, but whatever you’re doing in that moment, savoring it is very important because tomorrow is again a new whole day, where you start from zero. I feel like a lot of people have forgotten how to take care of themselves, I’ve also learned so much about my mental health, and especially during the pandemic, because we struggled so much navigating life. So I would say that for your mental health, for your sanity, put yourself first and make sure you’re physically, mentally sound. Like they say, in an aircraft, they always tell you to take care of yourself and then you’ll be in a condition to take care of someone else.

I have some really exciting music that is lined up for this year across languages, across genres. I’m very excited to put out more and more independent music. This year, more than ever, because I’ve been waiting and sitting on some really nice music and I’ve just not had the scope or the time to put them out because I was navigating concerts, and of course, my wedding. So, 2025 is going to see me put out a lot more new music. I am going to be doing a bunch of shows and concerts. I’m excited for 2025 to happen to me. I have just one intention for this year — to enjoy the process, to enjoy whatever I am doing and hopefully, get 6 pack abs by my birthday.