Shaggy Makes History As Celeb Mentor For India’s ‘International Icon’ Talent Show
Jamaican megastar Shaggy has made another historic feat, this time all the way in India.
The Dancehall legend has teamed up with 94.3 Radio One India and will serve as mentor of the media house’s upcoming project titled International Icon, the first time in history that an International artist and Grammy Award winner will play that role on an Indian singing talent show.
No stranger to India, Shaggy last did a three-city concert there in 2016 which spanned Mumbai, Pune and Goa. His first visit to the country was in 1995 during the heydays of Boombastic where he performed at a cricket match, according to the Hindustan Times newspaper, and last year he also teamed up with Indian singer Mika for the single Belly Ring.
International Icon is described by Radio One as a one-of-a-kind international digital musical talent hunt show, which will target Indians across the world, who have a strong connection with international music.
“When ‘THE MAN’ calls it out himself, you gotta listen boy! Get ready to go down as a superstar in the history of music. Hell yeah, Radio One is coming up with the Greatest International Singing Talent Hunt Show – International Icon which is going to be mentored by none other than SHAGGY himself! Stay tuned for the registrations!” 94.3 Radio One India posted on its social media pages recently.
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“International Icon will give the listeners of Radio One a chance to become online sensations by unleashing their hidden singing talents. The specialty of the competition is that anyone can participate, straight from the comfort of their homes,” the station later said in a release.
Radio One also said the move is an initiative of 9122 Records which is the official Label Partner of International Icon.
In embracing his new role, Shaggy said he was honoured to be the face and mentor of International Icon, especially due to the love and support he has always received from his Indian fans.
The Oh Carolina singer also said he was looking forward to checking out the entries as he had always known that India possessed great vocal talent.
‘So, I encourage you to participate in the campaign and who knows, we could be jamming together soon!” he said.
In an interview with Rolling Stone India, Shaggy praised Indian food and culture and said the country has always held special memories for him and he has a lot of good friends there.
“Every time I’m in India, I’m always eating pretty well. I’m a big fan of the culture. The Indian audience for years and years, from the beginning of my career all the way down, we’ve had a long list of success. It’s always been great,” he said.
He said he was not ruling out a tour of India post-COVID, and was in fact hoping that it would materialize soon.
Banana was a big success in India. It’s always a place I’ve had a great, great time with over the years. Absolutely looking forward to it. Hope that that happens. Hope that this pandemic eases real quickly, and we could get back to being on the road and touring,” he said.