The man behind some of pop music’s biggest hits is taking on his most ambitious project yet, except this time the West has nothing to do with it.
Savan Kotecha at the premiere of “The Idea of You” held at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 29, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images)
Variety via Getty Images
It is astounding to me that more people have not heard of Savan Kotecha (pronounced SAA-vun Ko-TEY-cha).
His CV is stacked: four Grammy nominations (and at least 13 more for projects he was involved with), a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination, and two Billboard Music Awards.
What is more, Kotecha’s songwriting credits read like a hit parade: One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful,” Ariana Grande’s “Problem” and “Side to Side,” Usher’s “DJ’s Got Us Falling in Love Again,” the Eurovision Song Contest soundtrack, and most recently, Ed Sheeran’s “Sapphire.”
When we finally chat, he’s scored another win: the soundtrack for Netflix blockbuster KPop Demon Hunters — which was released as a partnership between Republic Records and Kotecha’s Visva Records — has just scored multiple Grammy nominations.
Congratulations! I say. On screen, Kotecha is not bouncing off the walls with excitement, as I would have imagined myself in that situation.
“I mean, this is the first time for my label, so that’s really fun,” he says with measured enthusiasm. But he’s just “not an awards guy”; he’s happier for the writers whose songs are being recognized.
Very well, I concede, and turn to discuss why we’re really here: India’s newest boyband, Outstation.
India’s First True Teen Boy Band
Members of Indian boyband Outstation. L-R: Mashaal Shaikh, Shayan Patten, Hemang Singh, Kurien Sebastian, Bhuvan Shetty
outstation/instagram
Outstation is what Kotecha calls India’s first authentic teenage boy band.
The five members — Bhuvan Shetty, Hemang Singh, Mashaal Shaikh, Kurien Sebastian, and Shayan Patten — range from 17 to 22 and were assembled after nationwide auditions and a rigorous boot camp.
Unlike previous Indian pop groups whose members were typically in their mid-to-late twenties, Outstation targets the world’s largest youth market: India’s teenagers.
Building the Band: Chemistry Over Creds
The journey to form Outstation involved extensive outreach.
Working with Republic Records’ investment — “quite generous, but quite minimum for what you really need” — Kotecha’s team scoured India for talent. The project also partnered with Represent, a UMG-affiliated talent management company founded by Aayushman Sinha, and production house Jugaad Motion Pictures.
Finding talent from across India’s diverse regions proved challenging within budget constraints, Kotecha admits. The final lineup includes members with backgrounds from Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Goa, but he hopes future acts might represent still unrepresented regions like the Northeast, which remains largely invisible in Indian entertainment.
At boot camp in Goa, candidates went through dance and voice training, plus challenges like busking. “There’s going to be days where you have to fight for the crowd’s attention,” Kotecha explains. But more than talent, he wanted boys who would just get along. “By boot camp, we already knew they were talented. Then it was just about chemistry.”
The age range — 17 to 22 — was carefully considered, as was mental health support. “Fame is such an unnatural thing,” Kotecha muses. “I’ve been in situations with groups where they didn’t have tight family bonds outside, and that’s where things go south. We’re very conscious to make sure if support is needed, they have it.”
The Power of Teenage Girl Fandoms
The gap in India’s music landscape has bothered Kotecha since he started in the business. While Bollywood dominates and 90s pop groups existed, none featured actual teenagers. “When I look them up, they’re all mid-20s, late-20s,” he explains.
How will India produce its Beyoncés if young people can’t start early? “When you go to college and then start music, you’re already 20 years behind,” Kotecha argues. “Then you’re in your 40s, and that’s too late.”
Kotecha’s bet on teenage audiences, particularly teenage girls, is strategic. “If you cater to the teenage girl audience in India, they will be there for you,” he says confidently.
It’s a statement grounded in fact.
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 drew 70 million viewers in 70 days, becoming Prime Video’s most-watched series among women under 34. KPop Demon Hunters became Netflix’s most popular film of all time, with its soundtrack landing four songs in the Billboard Hot 100’s top ten simultaneously, a first for any film.
The Beatles perform at Shea Stadium, New York on 15th August 1965. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
getty
Yet teenage girls continue to be vastly underestimated as an audience demographic, despite their track record. Beatlemania — which launched the Beatles to global superstardom — was instigated and dominated by teenage girls who forced the adult world to pay attention long before critics took the band seriously.
As cultural critic Susan Douglas notes, it allowed young women to be “major players in a cultural drama” at a time when their acceptable role was limited to “perkiness.” The pattern repeats with every generation — Elvis, Backstreet Boys, One Direction, Taylor Swift — yet the economic power of young female fans remains consistently dismissed.
Accordingly, teenagers are a demographic Kotecha believes has been severely underserved in Indian entertainment. While Bollywood has massive stars, they’re typically in their 40s. “It’s tough to get like a 14, 17 year old girl to fully get behind fan culture for a 40-year-old man,” he notes.
It would also be hugely problematic, I add, which makes him laugh.
“Yes, beyond the obvious issue there”.
No Western Validation Required
Perhaps most striking is Kotecha’s insistence that Outstation remain decisively Indian. The band will sing primarily in Hindi, with plans for other Indian languages as they grow. Despite interest from international record labels, he’s keeping control domestic. “I said, ‘It’s not for you’.”
“I didn’t want Outstation to be always looking over to the West,” he says firmly. “That’s why I keep saying, this is India’s band. This is something of a matter of national pride. It’s India’s band for India, for Indian youth.”
This stance stems from what Kotecha sees as a problematic pattern: the constant seeking of Western validation. He’s unimpressed with Indian artists who, before building a domestic fanbase, immediately seek features with Western artists—often ones no longer relevant in their home markets.
“As soon as somebody gets a lead, we need a feature from the West. It’s like, why? You’re not even big enough in India yet,” he says.
Meanwhile, Western acts are now scrambling to announce shows in India after decades of treating the country as a near-wasteland for concerts.
Dua Lipa performs at the Zomato Feeding India concert in India, Nov 30, 2024.
Zomato
Kotecha is blunt about the underlying issue: “America is a fairly racist place. They don’t care, you know. We have to do it for ourselves and our own culture. And then if you have the best thing, everyone else will come .”
Now, with increased investment in India’s non-playback music industry by major players like BTS parent company HYBE, Kotecha knows there are eyes everywhere watching to see if Outstation can be successful.
“I hope we’re also successful, but we’re paving the way,” he says, adding that he’s met with HYBE India already. “I invite everyone to take shots because it’s better for everyone. It is a big win for everybody.”
“The arts are going to be the greatest export India can have,” he says. “Any country in the world with great arts, that’s going to be the best representation of the flag.”
“Anywhere.”
What’s Next
Outstation will officially debut on November 18 with their single Tum Se, but before that they will open for Akon at his Mumbai show — their biggest performance to date.
The early fan response to teasers and their sold out prom event suggests something special. “In two years’ time, that’s going to be a great thing to say. I was able to be at Outstation’s first, you know, proper gig,” Kotecha muses, comparing it to his own experiences seeing NSYNC at an early radio show or Lady Gaga opening for New Kids on the Block.
For Kotecha, this band is one part of a busy slate including a Western band project with “very close friend” Simon Cowell (documentary coming in December), TV shows, and film opportunities. He’s slowed his songwriting to focus on his label and these ventures.
Despite staying behind the scenes for 20 years, he’s willing to step forward if needed. “If it helps that I’m out there more, I’ll be out there more. But I really want the focus to be on these talented boys.”
With Outstation, Kotecha’s message to Indian artists is clear: “Be Indian. You have the richest culture in the world, the most musical artistic culture, with its own uniqueness. If you reject that, you’re just a C-list version of what’s happening in the West.”
