In 2007, a track titled Rog went viral online and shortly after that its video was released. Falak Shabbir has never looked back since. Today, he has more hit tracks such as Mandiya, Teri Yaad, Munn Mein Kya, Intezaar, Mahiya, Tera Saath Ho and others to his name.

Falak has a unique vocal style with catchy music and intelligent lyrics. With such control and command over his vocal chords, I ask him if he has received any formal training. “Not at all, probably this is the reason why I have my unique style,” he quips.

His genre has always been commercial hip-hop, R& B and club/house music which click well with audiences. The track, Tera Saath Ho, from his first album has been taken as the lead track for a UK-Indian thriller drama, Seven Welcome to London, while Rog and Mera Munn are also included in the film. “International recognition is every artiste’s dream. I was approached by the director and actor of the film. It feels incredibly awesome,” he says.

His new songs are getting hits on Youtube and in just over four months Sohniye has about two million hits. Ijazat, on the other hand, is a smooth Punjabi R&B number with melodious music, heart-wrenching lyrics and a well-directed video. The track was launched earlier this year and already has over 1.5 million hits. Sohniye, Ijazat and the songs of Seven Welcome to London feature in Itunes in the package titled Falak—The E.P which reached a milestone when it touched the 17th spot on Itunes top 100 list. “It sets a standard for my own self and I know that I have to be even better with my next project,” says Falak.

So is he planning to release a mainstream album anytime soon? “There is recession in every industry. It is getting increasingly hard for brands and companies to invest in artistes’ album these days. Video and audio piracy is another issue due to which physical album launches are just not profitable anymore. But my new album, Juda, will be out towards the end of April. It will be launched worldwide and I hope to gain new fans with it.”

Among Falak’s future plans are playback singing for Bollywood and foreign tours: he will also be in India in April and then Norway in September. A UK tour is expected around mid-July.