BY KEVIN JACKSON—
Observer writer—
Sean Paul—
Sean Paul has struck gold yet again. This time it is with the dancehall song Calling on Me featuring Swedish singer Tove Lo.
Released in February via Island Records, Calling on Me is certified gold in Hungary by the Hungarian Recording Industry Association.
Banx and Ranx produced Calling on Me. It has racked up impressive streaming numbers in European countries, including France, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom.
It has combined global audio and video streams totalling 82,959,424. Of that amount, 66,049,785 are audio streams while 16,909,639 are video streams.
Calling on Me is also featured on charts in Switzerland, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Vietnam. Despite its success outside of Jamaica, it has got very little local support.
“I can’t really force anyone to like anything. I feel humbled by the way it has been doing,” Sean Paul, 47, told Jamaica Observer’s Splash.
He continued, “I wrote that song about my family. My dad passed away two years ago, so in the song I was talking to my dad and to my family, including my mother and my brother. It’s a very meaningful song that came at the right time, where people would feel the need to reach out to others.”
Sean Paul shared how he brought Tove Lo in for the collaboration.
“I’ve seen her in concert already in Europe. I like her voice and the following that she has. She seems to be a free spirit and I think she just matched the song in general— what I was saying and what I was feeling. When I sent the song to her, she sent back messages that she loved the song and the beat,” he said.
Tove Lo is known for the hit songs Habits (Stay High), Talking Body, and Cool Girl.
Sean Paul said, despite his international success, he continues to work closely with local dancehall acts as well as those signed to his Dutty Rock Productions.
“We are about the drop a project called Swiss Cheese rhythm which features Ding Dong, Chi Ching Ching, Shenseea, Sizzla, Agent Sasco, Christopher Martin and a collaboration with Shaggy and Gyptian. I’m also working on a Dutty Rock and Friends album that will have collaborations with me and Squash, Busy Signal, Buju Banton, Jesse Royal, Serani and Mavado. Most of these collaborations, it’s the first time I’m working with these artistes,” said Sean Paul.
He continued, “I’m all about unity in the music. Music is an ongoing process for me. I have a lot of music to put out and I just keep on working.”
According to Sean Paul, he has two albums left under his current deal with Island Records, one of which is scheduled for release next year. It will feature collaborations with Jada Kingdom and a three-the-hard-way collaboration with Gwen Stefani and Shenseea.
Sean Paul shot onto the musical radar in the early 1990s. He has to date released six studio albums. He has won a Grammy, five Music of Black Origin Awards (MOBO), an American Music Award, several American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Awards and an MTV Europe Award.
He has 19 songs that have been certified gold and several which have sold platinum.
Asked what has kept his music relevant for more than 25 years, he said, “I pay attention to the trends, style and flow of deejaying and the topics. You don’t really have to do everything that everyone else is doing as long as you kinda stay in the mix. Anything we like, we talk about in dancehall. Art reflects life. I reflect how I’m feeling, which is my life.”
He recently collaborated on the song Dream Girl (remix) with Ir Sais and Davido. He is featured on a remix of the song Hot by Pia Mia on a remix of the track Hot, which was released earlier this week. Collaborations with British recording artiste Tinie Temphah and singers Kelis and HER are to be released soon.
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