If you weren’t watching last night’s airing of the 2013 MTV Movie Awards, well, I applaud your life choices. If you found yourself taking a shot every time host Rebel Wilson made fun of a minority, well then you’re probably hung over too.
But for South Asians the highlight (or was it downside) of last night’s awards ceremony (Wilson’s “Indian” accent for a “Life of Pi” skit aside) was the performance of one Selena Gomez, age 20, who was “dressed like an Indian princess.” That’s dot, not feather.
Give Selena a break. She might still be coming down from James Franco’s contact high after filming “Spring Breakers” with him. Although I have heard rumors that after her ex Justin Bieber’s controversial Anne Frank guestbook entry , Gomez furiously searched for a population other than “Jews” to offend and settled on “Indians.”
For those of you who don’t regularly keep up with the teen-dominated pop culture landscape, Gomez released a new song last Sunday called “Come and Get It” which samples a song in an ambiguous foreign language. Perez Hilton calls it a “New-Age, Middle Eastern production and instrumentation” but it sounds South Asian to our untrained ears.
Our little hunch was confirmed tonight in the latter portion of tonight’s show when Gomez took to the stage with a red bindi prominently displayed on her forehead. She then proceeded to lip-sync her way across the stage with a bevy of backup dancers. In case you were curious about whether or not the actress and singer can actually sing you can watch the video below. As for me, I’ve decided to sidestep that question and distract you with 5 other facts gleaned from Gomez’s performance.
1. Turns out Selena Gomez is actually of Hispanic descent, and not South Asian. I know. It’s hard to tell. After all, the celeb rags are all calling her a “Bollywood Beauty” now. (What’s a little brown between two totally different cultures?) And of course, we shouldn’t presume anything. But as a certified South Asian I can authoritatively cite based on extensive Wikipedia research that Ms. Selena Marie Gomez is not desi. Or is she? (We find out on “High School Musical 4: Gabriella Goes to Mumbai,” trailer forthcoming.)
2. Rumors are that the Brad Paisley/LL Cool J “Accidental Racist” duet was inspired by rehearsals of Selena Gomez’s performance.
3. It’s not actually Selena Gomez’s fault for thinking she’s Indian. Madonna made her do it. Katy Perry made her do it. Gwen Stefani made her do it. Julia Roberts made her do it. Shakira made her do it. Oprah made her do it. Justin Bieber made her do it. Just kidding, they broke up soooooooo long ago. Pay attention.
4. What we saw last night on the MTV stage was real art. Appreciate. The chorus of “Come and Get It” contains some really catchy hooks. Mainly, “When you’re ready come and get it (x2)/Na nana (x3).”
Hmm, no. That’s not what I meant to emphasize. I meant to direct your attention to the verses.
First, the buildup. Ms. Gomez issues the ultimate romantic invitation, “You ain’tgotta worry it’s an open invitation/I’ll be sittin’ right here real patient.” Then, the coyness appears. “I’m not too shy to show I love you, I got no regrets.”And finally, she issues the ultimate romantic proposal, “I love you much too, much to hide you, this love ain’t finished yet.”
That’s just poetry right there. Shakespeare, eat your heart out.
5. Nobody seems to know conclusively if the background production is actually Indian-inspired or not. And it turns out that Selena doesn’t seem to know either! She told one gossip rag that her song had a “Middle Eastern” vibe. In another interview, she said it has a “tribal feel.” To add to the confusion, an MTV post about the teaser video for her song places her in a “sunny Indian garden.”
I’m confused. Is it Indian-inspired as the bindi would lead us to believe? Or is it Middle-Eastern? Or is it “tribal?”And if so, what tribe? What’s tribal music anyway? I have so many questions, Selena, so many questions. One wonders what your tutors (Gomez was homeschooled throughout her Disney career), taught you about geography. Either way, we’re sure to see more this summer as Gomez kicks off her tour.
Its indian! The male singer in the background is singing in Hindi, “I am alone..”
Anjana Varma do you know who sings the background music? i can’t find
Vocals were produced by Dreamlab :/
I don’t know why you think that Indian music should only be sung by Indians. Lots of singers mix and match – and perhaps, with a fifth or more of the world’s population, South Asia is a good market to compete in.( I take it you’re not Indian but Bangladeshi, Pakistani or Sri Lankan – otherwise you would’ve declared it loudly at the start of your rant.) If she makes 1 cent from each citizen of South Asia she’ll be doing pretty well!
Are you referring to the author of the article when you say “I take it you’re not Indian but Bangladeshi, Pakistani or Sri Lankan – otherwise you would’ve declared it loudly at the start of your rant.” Looking at her name, I am 100% certain she’s Indian. And where in the article does she say that only Indians should sing Indian music? The problem with Selena’s song and the use of Indian music in her songs is that she doesn’t even know it’s Indian. Like the author pointed out, Selena (and the media) has suggested the music is tribal or Middle Eastern or something else altogether. And it’s pretty clear she’s not trying to sell her music to South Asians. If she was doing that, she’d at least know exactly who in South Asia she has to sell it to. Indian music won’t attract Chinese audiences and vice versa. I can go on and on! But, I probably shouldn’t, as you’ll just look at it as another South Asian/Indian “rant”.
Oh BTW, I should have declared at loudly at the beginning of my “rant” that I am Indian, lest you think otherwise.
the beef is not that only indians should be able to sing indian music, but rather gomez referred to the beat being “middle eastern” and “tribal”. the beef is w/gomez’s ignorance. and i’m half Bengali.
true mr hannaway, i completely agree with u…. i dont know who’s this person who has written it…. dont know what he actually wants to tell…..
So anyone know the Male’s name that sings the Indian (hindi) vocals? Who composed the tabla beat?
I think middle eastern is universally known for Indian and every other culture close to India. IMHO. I’m punjabi by the way and know how to play the tabla (my favourite instrument) and I have heard my own parents use the term middle eastern. I can understand how its up to debate on terms of technicality, but I think Selena isn’t being ignorant, you guys don’t know what she meant. She said she has friends that love this vibe.. I have asian and white friends that go bonkers when a bhangra songs hits the speakers. So to all the haters and “proud” dhesi’s RELAXXXXXX.
I agree with what you state in your comment above, but I would like to clear up a misconception. Middle eastern is not universally known as Indian culture etc that term is South Asian. Middle eastern culture is an Arab culture e.g: camels, middle eastern music, falafel etc. It consists only of Arab countries from the Middle East (Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Morroccan, Algerian and Turkish cultures etc). I have nothing against any cultures but as a part Arab myself I wanted to clear this misconception. I also think Selena Gomez has not only been ignorant but she has mixed middle eastern beats with Indian vocals and costume thus confusing everyone including herself! Lol!
It’s Indian-inspired!The dance and bindi are indian and even the song had an Indian vibe to it.:)
I would know because I come from Singapore,and have many Indians as friends.:)
“That’s just poetry right there. Shakespeare, eat your heart out.”……Are you for real? The lyrics are commercial pop crap. Shallow is an understatement to this song and the only positive thing about the song is the Punjabi singer, which they don’t even give a lick of credit for.
….She was being sarcastic…
The Middle Eastern shit bothered me so much. That’s a tabla and she’s wearing a fucking bindi, educate yourself Perez Hilton!
Brilliant Article.
mr kishwar vikaas i dont know what ur article is
about…. why u ppl always try to pull other ppl down… it may be ur job…. but first made urself clear what u want to say…. its simply an awsome song/video…. with very soothing lyrics…… i hv heard it more than 100 times… and pls. really give her a break she’s just 20……!!!!!!!
I am an indian and I know what the male singer is singing in the chorus part… He sings – “Tere bina mai hu akela…” It means in Englsh that – Without you, I am alone.
She sounds great in this song … i’d be very happy if she comes to India to give a concert to her Indian fans like me!!! We are proud to be her selenators!! I love her a lot … The male vocals are Indians i guess and Selena can very well get into Indian music and she looks awesome with that bindi
Its going to sound like a cliché or not, but I really dont think anyboby knows anything about real music anymore. I will clear this up for you as a music expert. The backgeound music is played on a Tabla, the lyrics in the background are in Punjabi, the guys playing the tabla’s are wearing turbans only adorn by Sikhs, when I say that I mean the style of turban is specific to Sikhs, the Arabs from the Middle East wear a different style of turban which as a matter of fact is in the Middle Eastern part of the world and can never be mistaken for South Asia because they are 800 miles apart which is pretty much the the whole road length from John’o’Groats to Lands End and then some. Not to mention a different continent. The Vocals, sound like they have been sung by a Punjabi Urdu singer from the Pakistani Classical Singer genre as the voice is course and is suitable for qwwalis which is sometimes a sufi type classical religious kalam (devotional song to religious pillars) sometimes and sometimes about love. All in all, its all Indian/Pakistani but 100% Punjabi…. And if you dont know after 1947 partition of India with Pakistan the land at the border area was part of Punjab state and not is East Punjab which is in Indian and West Punjab which is now in Pakistan but still both side are called Punjab and the language is the same the people are the same jsut different religions. American people are so oblivious they dont know wtf is happening on their own front door never mind on another continent, plus Selena Gomez is not Indian in any way shape or form, the secret is in her name, hello Gomez as in Hispanic, alarm bells anyone. No amount of money can buy you common sense, but you might get a education on it. That was directed at Selena btw End of. p.s and wtf is Perz Hilton another dumb Americano, haha
I really enjoyed the author’s sarcastic take on Miss Gomez’s bad mash-up pretending to be a pop song with an ‘ethnic’ beat – her performance (if one can call a bad lip-sync a ‘performance’ at all) was yet another example of cultural (mis)appropriation by western interests. The fact that certain ignoramuses called the music ‘Middle Eastern’ only added to her stupidity!
Hey, the music industry could always promote a genuine Indian girl as an artiste – but naah, that would make too much sense. After all, the ‘music’ industry was NEVER about promoting GENUINE talent – it was about making money.