Her music may take some time to catch on in America but Priyanka Chopra, whose debut album is helmed by Grammy Award-winning producer-songwriter RedOne -- the same man who helped Lady Gaga into superstardom -- is getting plenty of mainstream media attention.
LA Times wrote recently that the 30 year old actresses 'looks like a pop star when she struts into Hollywood's Chalice Studios, entourage in tow. Her sultry smile, body-hugging dress and towering heels command attention.'
Her experiment is 'as calculated as it is risky' the newspaper said. "I have been taking risks my entire career," Priyanka says taking a break between the video shoot for her song, In My City. "I have always liked to surprise myself but I would not have thought a few years ago I would be doing all this in Hollywood."
She says a few producers in Mumbai have been urging her to sing, and not to forget her father. Her voice is a bit hoarse at the end of the day but she will still talk about her new passion. "I felt shy of doing that. Now that I have taken the plunge, I am working really really hard. Still, it scares the crap out of me.'
Chopra's album will officially launch Desi Hits! Universal, a label headed by London-based Bollywood music producer Anjula Acharia-Bath and Jimmy Iovine, the label head behind Gaga, Eminem and Black Eyed Peas. Their goal: to break an Indian pop scene in America and other English speaking countries, particularly the UK. The songs are in English but the music is hybrid, with plenty of Indian touches.
"There was a time, especially in the UK, when we used to listen to our music with our windows closed," Acharia Bath says. "But now we want our windows to be wide open and the whole world to listen to our music."
Insiders say that Priyanka's gorgeous looks will help sell the album once the video is out. The lead single, In My City, which debuted in America last month after receiving a big ovation in India, got a major push when it was chosen as the anthem for Thursday Night Kickoff -- the pre-game show for NFL Network's Thursday night football.
"Our first real validation was the NFL," Acharia-Bath has said. "It shows that she can break mainstream and be as American as apple pie." Priyanka cannot think of singing for her Bollywood films too soon. "What I am doing in Hollywood is an exhausting, exhilarating journey," she says. "I will need someone to persuade me strongly to sing for my films. As I said before, I like to surprise myself."
Having shown her mettle in a variety of tough roles and worked with some of the top film makers in India, would she one day soon think of directing a film? "I don't think I am ready for it," she says. "But who knows? I will never say never."
