Right, so we all know that online social media has exploded onto the scene and is recognised worldwide - my family in Punjab are more clued on with using sites such as Facebook and Twitter more than i am (and im on Facebook as soon as I get out of bed in the mornings!) For social media to gain this much popularity is one thing but for a well established Punjabi singer like Kamal Heer to release a song about Facebook takes social media to a whole new level through another culture!
Kamal Heer was born in the village Halluwal in Punjab, India. He moved to Canada at a young age where he started to compose music in 1990. His music has always been very traditional and centred around Punjabi culture; with popular topics such as the beautiful land of Punjab itself and Punjabi pride, which has made it that little bit more shocking that he has produced a song based around such a western concept of online networking.
Facebook has over 400 million users of which only 8 million are based in India (bearing in mind the country has a very unreliable electricity source outside urban areas) these numbers are still rapidly increasing; from 1.8 million in 2008 to 3.5 million in 2009! Facebook being available in various languages such as Punjabi, Hindi, Bengali and Tamil opens its arms out to an even larger target audience within India alone.
Kamal Heer sings about how he viewed a girl’s photo on Facebook and became attracted to her. He mentions various points about the networking site such as relationship statuses and friend lists etc. The year 2010 witnessed a very large growth in mobile phone usuage in India of which the majority had downloaded the Facebook application making it easily accessible 24 hours a day and this is signified in the video for this song of how a famous figure also uses his iPhone for scrolling through Facebook. Through releasing this song Kamal Heer has created a online reputation for himself within India, the UK and abroad, he also paints the picture to the Indian audience of Facebook being the main place for networking and meeting new people aswell as building existing relationships.
A South Indian journalist quotes ‘Facebook allows Indians to do two things they love: tell everyone what they are doing and find out other peoples business’.
As the demand for smartphones and portable devices such as the iPad are increasing within India, the world of online social media has seen nothing from the Indians just yet…
I have seen this video many times. I think what you have stated in the above post is completely correct. Bhangra songs have never been about topics such a social media, do you think this is the way foward within todays society?
ReplyDeleteThe bhangra industry is sure changing, this would never have been produced 10 years ago. Music is changing as society is changing
ReplyDeleteBhangra songs have always been traditional and focused around punjabi culture. They will always remain this way and never lose their originality however new topics within society such as the explosion of social media will also be illustrated through songs...
ReplyDeleteThere is also another punjabi Facebook song out now, by Bill Singh...it is in an even more traditional format than this one!
ReplyDeleteBy releasing a song about Facebook, Kamal Heer is actually creating an online reputation for himself. Through his lyrics he defines what Faebook is, the purpose of it and the many outcomes that it can create. He has actually carried out pr for himself by linking online social media to himself and his singing career. The song has helped boost his online identity as more fans actually added him on facebook as a result of this song. It also encouraged word of mouth as no other Punjabi singer had sang about a topic such as this one before. This increased his visability even more through engaging with his fans using a unique technique
ReplyDeleteThat is a very intresting point you have made there Gurpreet. It must all be part of a pr trick in order to increase his own reputation and what an excellent way to do so! Thank you for posting the link on your blog aswell (you saved me from sitting here and searching for it) quite a comical video
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this song! Very well done with the blog! i think you summed up the song excellently. Yes, i agree the video is quiet comical - is very intresting how even though he is promoting himself through social media, there seems to be a girl involved, typical!
ReplyDeleteKamal Heer has focused on one of the main attractions to Facebook - the fact that it can be used as a dating site. As strange as it sounds, many people on Facebook use it as a mean of commuinication in order to search for their 'blind date' and many have been successful!
ReplyDeleteSo not just a place to share photos and find old friends or for just being nosey to see what everybody is up to, it is also a way of meeting your perfect partner!