United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
based Canadian-French pop music artist and actor of South Asian heritage who has been named "the next big thing" in the Asian music and film scene by
MTV India
MTV India is an Indian pay television channel specialising in music, reality and youth culture programming. It was launched in 1996 as the Indian version of MTV and is owned by Viacom 18, a joint venture operation between MTV International ow ...
and HELLO! Magazine, and has recently won the Artist of the Year 2014 Award at Anokhi Media Awards in Canada.
He was named one of the UK's Top 5 Most Stylish Asian Men by the New Asian Post. He is also the brand ambassador for the New York-based luxury watch and lifestyle company Nooka. Abbas's music reflects his varied background with desi and middle-eastern influences, and he sings in English, Urdu, Hindi and French.
Biography
From singing for the Mickey Mouse club to being photographed at
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
's parties, the French pop sensation Abbas Hasan has already had quite a journey into the music world. Abbas Hasan is of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
i heritage. Born in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
, Abbas moved to
Paris, France
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
at the age of one, where he forayed into the world of arts and music at a young age. His childhood music experiences included advertisements and other public broadcasts, and took on a new direction through singing and performing for
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
in Paris. Over time, he continued his involvement in the world of drama, music and modelling across his moves from France to Canada and
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. He is now signed with Rishi Rich Productions, famed for launching other acts including
Jay Sean
Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with " Dance with You", which reach ...
and Juggy D.
Commonly referred to in music press as the next
Jay Sean
Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with " Dance with You", which reach ...
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...
. In an online interview, Abbas said that because of his Pakistani background, he is fluent in
He was named Bachelor of the Year for 2010 by Asian Woman Magazine, included in Asiana Magazine's Most Eligible Bachelors List for 2010, and has been included in a list of Top 10 Most Handsome South Asian Male Models in the UK, compiled by an event management company named KZ Entertainment.
Music career
Nominated for the "Artist of the Year" award by Anokhi in Canada for 2014, Abbas's music experience began with singing and performing for
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
as a child in Paris. Abbas launched his career with his debut single with Rishi Rich named "''Sona''" which was released on iTunes,
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
,
E-music
eMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. In exchange for a monthly subscription eMusic users can download a fixed number of MP3 tracks per month. eMusic was established in 1998, is headquartered in New York ...
and
Napster
Napster was a peer-to-peer file sharing application. It originally launched on June 1, 1999, with an emphasis on digital audio file distribution. Audio songs shared on the service were typically encoded in the MP3 format. It was founded by Sh ...
and successfully topped the British Asian music charts shortly after its release. His next single "''Habibi''" did equally well topping the British Asian charts once again. After touring the UK with the BBC Asian Network's Melas, Abbas went to India to star in his first film.
After performing at the London premiere of
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awa ...
and
Shahid Kapoor
Shahid Kapoor (; born 25 February 1981) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Initially recognised for portraying romantic roles, he has since taken on parts in action films and thrillers, and is the recipient of several awards, inc ...
's
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
film Teri Meri Kahaani, Abbas burst onto the international stage as the only new talent to perform at the first ever
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...
Film Awards (TOIFA) held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Since then, went on a European tour with Indian Bollywood songstress
Shreya Ghoshal
Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awa ...
and Abbas released an international hit with Rishi Rich entitled "Away" starring BAFTA award-winning actress Humaima Malick. Abbas's "Away" single featuring Rishi Rich received rave reviews from the press and the video has been termed "iconic"; rumours suggest his next video will star "
Slumdog Millionaire
''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pat ...
Freida Pinto
Freida Selena Pinto (born 18 October 1984) is an Indian actress who has appeared mainly in American and British films. Born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra, she resolved at a young age to become an actress. As a student at St. Xavier's Col ...
or Mahira Khan
Most recently Abbas has been in the news for having an upcoming release with Bollywood superstar
Shahrukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood ...
.
Film and Acting career
Abbas is playing the lead role in a Malayalam–language Indian film titled '' Mazhavillinattam Vare''. He is playing the role of a Pakistani cricketer named Yassin Mubarak Azad. He was cast in the film after Pakistani cricketer Mohammed Asif and later Mohammad Hafeez were replaced from the role. The film drew controversy when Mohommad Asif was dropped from the film due to match fixing allegations. Abbas made a cameo appearance in a television advert with one of the biggest stars in
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
,
Shahrukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood ...
. Following his performance at the Times of India Film Awards, rumours are circulating about Abbas acting in more films in the future.