French-born with international pop sensation JAIN is a true international citizen: She has spent significant portions of her live in the United Arab Emirates and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her full-length debut 2016’s Zanaka quickly put her on the global pop map: The album sold over one-million copies worldwide, with singles “Come” and “Makeba” climbing the charts. Adding to a growing profile, the accompanying video for “Makeba” led to the French-born pop earning artist her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Music Video.
JAIN’s sophomore album, 2018’s Souldier reached #1 on the French charts, with the album achieving double platinum status, while album single “Alright” was certified diamond. That same year, Rolling Stone named the French-born pop artist, “An Artist You Need To Know.”
The French pop star has played over 300 shows in 15 countries across the European Union, North America, South America and Asia, as well as the rounds of the global festival circuit with sets at Coachella and Lollapalooza. She has also performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Later . . . with Jools Holland, the 2018 Ryder Cup and the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Her highly-anticipated third album The Fool was released earlier this year through Columbia/Sony Music France. The album serves as a new chapter for the French-born pop sensation. Thematically, the album chronicles the stages one goes through whenever they make a fresh start — fear, excitement, innocent, self-doubt/doubt, letting go, epiphany and more. And while her perviously released work saw her effortlessly meshing a myriad collection of genres, styles and instrumentation including Arabic percussion, African rhythms, electro pop, reggae, soul and hip-hop, The Fool is a decided change in sonic direction with the material drawing from Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks.
Recently, the French pop sensation’s hit “Makeba” has gone viral globally. I’ve seen at least three different Instagram reels today that have mentioned the song. And understandably, artists and producers from across the globe have shared their own takes on the smash hit single, including American producer Ian Asher. Asher’s remix retains JAIN’s coquettish delivery and the song’s incredibly catchy hook but while stepping up the tempo quite a bit — creating a subtle yet breezy house meets footwork take.
The Ian Asher remix serves a reminder of why the song has become so wildly popular a few years after its release — it has a hook that you can’t get out of your brain, no matter what you do.
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