Singer Stebin Ben spends every waking day trying to achieve the goals he has set for himself. The performer from Bhopal, who has won millions of hearts with his originals in Bollywood, was recently in Hyderabad for a wedding. CE caught up with him about his journey into the music industry, his switch to being a live artiste and how he turned the pandemic into a golden opportunity. The last time Stebin had performed in town was at Prism Club & Kitchen, Financial District. “I will be visiting again next month for a concert, where a lot of youngsters will be joining me. This time was for a private event which was a hit,” he said.
Stebin’s journey into the music industry started off when he was in school. He knew that this was what he wanted to do all his life. “After college, I packed my bags and came to Mumbai. I tried doing playback, but it did not work out. That’s when I switched to doing live shows, where I performed a lot of Bollywood tracks in rock style. This had gained a lot of traction. In no time, there was a huge buzz about this young voice (he) doing Bollywood music,” he recalled, adding that he started getting a lot of offers for live tours.
This, in turn, brought him opportunities in the playback scene. “I remember Venus Music offering me a remake song, Mera Dil Bhi Kitna Pagal Hai. It did well on YouTube. Post that, I started doing a lot of singles and all of these clocked over 100 million views. This catapulted me back into playback singing for movies, and there was no looking back ever since,” he said.
Stebin credits all his success to the several artistes he looks up to. According to him, he needs to look up to them, be inspired by them, and learn from them constantly. “When I started listening to artistes like Himesh Reshammiya, Atif Aslam, and a few rock bands, I realised that the industry was slowly changing. I started drawing inspiration from Arijit Singh, Dilio, Badshah and others,” he says.
Elaborating further on the changes happening in the music industry, Stebin says: “I think people have become very smart and picky. Today, there are so many options — so many genres and singers. Earlier, it used be only Bollywood music. Now, all States have their own music and they are all going global. Right now, it is all about what the audience and Instagram likes.”
Stebin strongly believes that social media plays a major role in recognising fresh talent. “Once you are a hit on social media, people wait for what you are going to come up with next. Once you create that buzz, they look forward to knowing what’s next. Social media is the best way to connect with people.”
While the pandemic was hard on everyone in every industry, Stebin turned this upset into his advantage. He released Thoda Thoda Pyaar, which became an overnight hit in 2021.“Now, I am getting ready for every opportunity that comes my way. I have signed a project with Dharma (production house). Surviving in the industry is not easy; it’s all about trying and trying,” he concludes.