Shai on Receiving Feedback from Sir Paul McCartney, Releasing New Single ‘Tum Na Mere Ho’

While growing up, Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Shayaan Oshidar aka Shai was brought up in a household that encouraged the arts and music. Shai’s mother holds a degree in Indian classical music and her father would play world music tracks while at home. “There was always a lot of rhythm, a lot of music in the house, and everyone’s creative in my family,” says Shai. The singer’s taste in music also developed when she began listening to rock outfit Mayday Parade, pop-rock band One Republic, pop singer Britney Spears as well as old Hindi music.  

In 2014, Shai moved to the U.K. to study at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), where she pursued songwriting and performing. While on Merseyside, the artist was one of seven students to be given the opportunity to work with the Beatles’ Sir Paul McCartney. Shai recalls that moment and says, “I was pretty nervous, but it was a very intense experience. It was 20 minutes, and it was just one on one with my writing partner at the time. So, it’s both of us because we had written a song together and basically, we had to show it to him [McCartney] and then he gave us his feedback and we worked on it together. So that was a pretty unreal experience.” After finishing at LIPA, Shai stayed back in the U.K. where she contributed as a songwriter for other artists.  

Upon returning to Mumbai in 2021, she began releasing her own material as she wanted to start telling her own story through her music, with singles such as “Read Your Mind,” “Jaane Doon,” “All Dressed Up” and “Hide Her from Me” already out, the artist’s latest offering is the Hinglish U.K. garage-induced song “Tum Na Mere Ho.”  

Shai penned the new song only a few months ago, inspired by a previous relationship wherein she found out that her former partner was unfaithful to her. “‘Tum Na Mere Ho’ is basically almost about picturing it, and when you picture something like that, it really breaks you inside,” she says. Sonically, the artist delivers a heartfelt vocal performance over polished production by A.$.A.D.  

The singer is also keen on growing this sonic space that she’s creating in India, tying in her Indian culture with her U.K. inspiration. “That mix is very unique,” she says.  

With a music video for “Tum Na Mere Ho” to follow, Shai also plans to consistently release music this year with more singles soon. There are even a few collaborations on the cards too. While music is a constant for her, Shai is also delving into the acting space with work on OTT platforms. “I’ve been working on my dancing and acting skills; you keep learning,” Shai says, adding, “The next step after releasing a few more singles and creating a little hype is definitely to perform live.”  

Watch the music video for “Tum Na Mere Ho” below and stream the song on other platforms.