OutStation's five members discuss building an identity beyond BTS comparisons.
Instagram auditions attracted thousands before 12 finalists entered Goa's boot camp.
The band reveals its mixtape plans and exclusive NFC-linked secret songs.
'We Want To Be For India What BTS Is For Korea': OutStation On Building India's Boy Band Identity
The five-member Gen Z pop group, backed by Grammy-nominated producer Savan Kotecha, opens up about finding their collective sound, India's pop music scene and life behind the scenes
Summary
India's boy band scene is getting a new generation of performers, and OutStation wants to lead it. Backed by Grammy-nominated producer-songwriter Savan Kotecha's Visva Label, the five-member group brings together young musicians from different parts of the country, each with distinct musical influences and personalities. The band comprises Bhuvan Shetty, Hemang Singh, Shayan Pattem, Kurien Sebastian and Mashaal Shaikh.
With their debut single Tum Se, OutStation has begun carving out a space in India's pop music landscape. Having also performed at Akon's Mumbai concert and appeared on India's Got Latent, the group has started attracting attention beyond its music. However, the journey from individual artists to a functioning boy band has involved more than just learning choreography and performing together.
In an exclusive interview with Outlook India, all five members of OutStation, Bhuvan Shetty (22), Hemang Singh (20), Shayan Pattem (17), Kurien Sebastian (19) and Mashaal Shaikh (21), discuss their musical influences, comparisons with BTS and One Direction, their experience on India's Got Latent and what they hope to bring to India's pop music scene.
Edited excerpts from the conversation…
How did the five of you first meet?
There was an audition call on Instagram, and we all submitted our auditions. Thousands of people auditioned, out of which 12 were selected and sent to Goa for a boot camp.
There was a grading system where we had weekly classes, evaluations and showcases. Our teachers assessed how much we improved over time, and the five of us were eventually selected based on our grades.
The boot camp involved fitness sessions in the morning, two to three hours of dance, performance classes and vocal lessons. At the end of every week, we also had showcases. One of them was called 'Silly Dilly', where we had to be the silliest versions of ourselves and were judged on how much we could embarrass ourselves. It was quite challenging, but it was a great experience.
You all come from different parts of India, with different musical influences and personalities. Having spent so much time together, what is one thing you have picked up from another member that has changed you as a musician or as a person?
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A lot of us have picked up things from one another. Bhuvan has helped with the Hindustani vocal side of things, and we have even watched tutorials together. One of the members is also the classical music expert in the group, so others have picked up classical singing techniques from him. Mashaal is particularly good with instruments, even ones he has never formally played, and that has helped others develop a better understanding of different instruments.
We have also picked up each other's language habits. Shayan started saying "Hey, hey" all the time, and now some of us say it too. We have also started saying "bro" quite a lot.
Your different musical tastes are often described as one of OutStation's strengths. But disagreements are inevitable. When all five of you have different ideas about what a song should sound like, how do you decide which version wins?
We mostly end up deciding what works for the song rather than what someone personally likes. Usually, most of us have the same opinion about something, so we go with the majority or whatever works best for the song.
If all five of us have completely different opinions about a song, it probably means that the song is not right for us. When there are disagreements between two members, we try to reach an understanding and figure out what direction we should take.
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You recently appeared on India's Got Latent. How was that experience, and did life change after the episode came out?
It was our first time on a reality show, and we were all really nervous before going on stage. We were supposed to get roasted, which was something we had never experienced before. Even after getting off stage, we were wondering whether we had said something wrong or messed up. When the episode finally came out, we were relieved because we had thought we had performed really badly. But when we watched it, we realised we weren't that bad after all.
It was a lot of fun. We also gained a lot of followers after the episode was released. Recently, we went on a trek and even found someone who recognised us from Latent. The show has helped us reach people beyond our music, including places where music might not have such a big presence. It definitely gave us a lot of visibility.
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People often compare you to BTS and One Direction. Does that excite you or frustrate you when you are trying to establish an identity of your own?
It is quite natural because our format is similar to theirs. We are a boy band, and they are boy bands too. We are grateful for the comparisons because it is nice to be recognised in that space. We don't want to be a complete copy of BTS. We want to be something that represents India, in the same way that BTS represents Korea.
They are a big inspiration, and it would be different if people called us a copy of them. But being compared to them simply because we are a boy band is something we appreciate.
India has enormous musical diversity, but the mainstream industry has historically revolved around Bollywood and playback singers. Do you think OutStation is filling a gap in the market or trying to change how young Indians think about pop music?
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That was kind of the point of forming the band: to fill that gap and create a space for teenagers. We want to create a safe space for people our age because this kind of boy band culture has existed in the West for years, but it hasn't really been present in India in the same way.
We are also trying to adapt our sound to the Indian market. We keep evolving with every release. If you remember Tum Se, the next two songs are going to be completely different from it.
Boy bands are often presented through a very polished media image. What is the least glamorous part of building OutStation that people watching you on stage would never realise?
It involves countless sacrifices. There is training, sacrificing sleep when we have a show, giving up good food and missing the comfort of being at home with our families. That is probably the biggest sacrifice.
The least glamorous part is also what our house looks like. It is usually really dirty, and we walk around in our boxers all the time. Nobody probably wants to imagine that side of things. We are just a bunch of guys living together. When we are on stage, we wear designer clothes, but when we get back home, it is a completely different picture.
You were selected from thousands of applicants and then expected to function as one unit. How much of becoming OutStation has involved unlearning your instincts as individual artists and learning to work as a group?
We were basically put together, but we did have a boot camp where we got to build relationships. It lasted a month, and there were 12 people there, so we had time to develop friendships. After that, we moved here and started living together. We do everything together, so becoming a group has happened gradually and quite naturally.
What can audiences expect from OutStation next?
We are working on a mixtape and also have something interesting planned involving NFC technology. It is essentially a vinyl-shaped item with a chip inside. When someone taps it with their phone, it opens a link containing exclusive songs. These songs will not be available anywhere else. We think it's really cool, and we hope people will be excited about it.
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