Bookmakers are beginning to take an interest in the artistic progress of 20 year-old Hertfordshire songstress, Shakila K.. They’re currently offering odds - of, admittedly, 100 to one - that Shakila K.’s latest song will make it into the BBC Radio Charts this year.
Shakila K. is releasing her second song since becoming a student at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP), in London. Called ‘Electricity’, the song is produced by fellow ICMP students, Milxnake and LVCAS.
Coincidentally, Dua Lipa, with Silk City duo Mark Ronson and Diplo, have collaborated to create a different song with the same name.
“I had no idea anyone else would be creating a song called ‘Electricity’ at the same time as me,” said Shakila. “When I heard the name of the track and the collaboration between Dua Lipa and Silk City I could hardly believe my ears!”
Shakila added, “A while ago I did a cover of Dua Lipa’s song, ‘Hotter Than Hell’, and uploaded it to YouTube. I didn’t think anything would happen, but I got an email from The Fader magazine wanting to use some footage from my video.
“I thought that was cool, even though they said they’d only use a small clip. Who’d have thought that, a year later, Dua Lipa and I would be releasing a song with the same title?
“I’ve worked hard to create this track - and I’ve had great support from Milxnake and Lucas Green. I really love the result of our collaboration.”
“When I heard the very first version of Shakila’s ‘Electricity’ I had a feeling that it had the potential to be Number 1,” said Karim Ullah, Shakila’s father and manager. “Everything about it is great – and should prove to be popular with the public.
“I haven’t heard Dua Lipa and Silk City’s song of the same name but I expect it’ll be exceptionally good too,” he added. “Nonetheless, I’m confident that Shakila’s track will also do very well.”
The ICMP - Shakila’s, Milxnake’s and Lucas’ college - has been developing and delivering music education and training to students of contemporary music for over 30 years. The college claims that, within six months of graduating, over 90% of its graduates are in employment or further education; around two-thirds are engaged in music-related jobs or study; and the average salary of ICMP graduates is almost 12% above that for arts graduates.
