Stebin Ben on his first Mumbai concert and comments about ‘copying’ Atif Aslam: You cannot copy…
Stebin Ben is set for his first ever concert in Mumbai and the singer talks about it, while also reacting to the comparisons drawn between him and Atif Aslam
Having been part of the Indian music industry for some time now, Stebin Ben is all set to have his first concert in Mumbai this month, and the singer is quite excited about it. “I feel Mumbai is the place where it takes the longest time for an artiste to pick up. I have done shows in clubs here, and if I would have announced a concert then, it would have been a challenge to fill up the place,” he says, adding, “I have performed big concerts as an opening artiste, but for the first time, people will be coming for me. So the feeling would be different.”
Ask Stebin Ben about why the long wait and he shares, “I always wanted to do a concert here when I feel I am ready for it. Only when I am able to offer something different is when I wanted to come back, and that’s why I took a long break from performing at clubs too. I wanted to prepare something special for the Mumbai audience where opportunity met preparation.”
Stebin’s voice is often compared to Pakistani singer Atif Aslam. He has also been accused of trying to copy him. How does he deal with it? “As far as people are trying to be supportive and be nice about it, I am happy with it. A lot of our comments are also from Pakistan, which also comes as hate because they feel that Atif is banned here and Stebin is taking the limelight from it. Atif has had a crazy fan following, so any comparison with such an artiste can lead his fans to take it negatively too,” he says.
The singer elaborates, “There is a way of saying it and if someone says it in a supportive way that your voice matches him and we love it, that is fine. I like it and I love to hear it also. But when they say it in a negative angle, like ‘he's copying Atif’, that I don't understand because you cannot copy a voice. You can copy a song, a note or someone's singing style, but you cannot have the same voice as someone. It is something which you are blessed with, but how you polish it and how you take it forward is something that you adapt from people.”
