Everybody Dance Now

Savan Kotecha went from wanting to be in a boy band to penning some of the last decade’s biggest dance and pop hits

- Anjali Kumar

When Savan Kotecha, 41, was in high school, he dreamt of being in a boy band. It was the ’90s after all, and groups like New Kids on the Block were at their peak. But after a well-meaning record producer told him to focus on songwriting instead by telling him, ‘There is no way a girl from Wisconsin is going to put an Indian guy’s poster on her wall,’ [“at the time he was right”], Kotecha found his talents lay elsewhere. “I realised I didn’t want to be the one on the dance floor; I wanted to be the one making the music to make [everyone] dance.”

And that’s exactly what he did. Over the years, Kotecha has received eight BMI awards, 18 ASCAP Awards, while his songs have earned 17 Grammy nominations and have sold more than 375 million copies. Not bad for an Indian kid from Texas.