Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy came up from the ranks of the non-film music scene, performing rock, blues, jazz, and pop before entering the film music industry. Shankar Mahadevan, a software engineer, worked on Oracle Version Six and studied Western, Hindustani and Carnatic classical music. He made his debut with the 1985 Marathi film Vahinichi Maya. A leading playback singer with Pukar, Sapnay and Biwi No.1 to his credit, he also composed "Breathless".
Ehsaan Noorani studied music at the Musicians' Institute in Los Angeles and worked with the like of Ronnie Desai, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji and Louis Banks. He composed Alien Desire, did several jingles and like Loy, was part of a blues-and-acid jazz band. Loy Mendonsa is trained in Western classical and also learned the rudiments of Indian classical music. He performed with several group bands, plays (Godspell, West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar) and composed jingles and signature tunes (Fauji, The World This Week).
Ehsaan was doing jingles and Loy was in Delhi before the union. Loy was writing for television then. The show Quiz Time was his first work and Siddharth Basu gave him his first break. Then he did Prannoy Roy's The World This Week. A few more shows came along and he also did theatre and Shahrukh Khan's Fauji. Loy had also worked as keyboardist with A. R. Rahman and Shankar had sung many famous tracks for him. In 1989, Ehsaan met Loy, who was working for Ranjit Barot, an ad film composer. From then on, they joined together and composed several ad jingles together. Later, Ehsaan and Loy met Shankar when he was roped in by Ranjit Barot to sing for the Pepsi ad directed by Mukul Anand. Since then, they started to compose for ads as a trio.
Each member of the trio brings his own talents and experiences to the group, combining the Carnatic and Hindustani vocal tradition (Shankar), Western rock (Ehsaan) and a deep understanding of fusion including a virtual mastery over the electronic synthesizer (Loy). They continue a tradition quite common in Bollywood music, that of partnerships between music composers contributing and pooling their individual strengths, often combining deep knowledge of Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian) classical music with technical expertise as composers and orchestral arrangers. Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy probably represent the first trio of composers to entertain Bollywood audiences themselves with their chart-topping music.
The eternal quest among Bollywood's music composers has been to create interest among younger audiences who tend to be inspired more by musical themes and influences from the West. Since a film's soundtrack is a very influential and critical component of commercial and critical success (required and achieved or sometimes squandered at the box office), this quest to "deliver a film" has always inspired composers to create tunes which combine the best of both traditional Indian music and popular Western or international influences. An overwhelming majority of Bollywood's most popular music has been composed based on classical Indian rāgas (in Sanskrit "raga" is literally "color" or "mood"). Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy have bridged that gap.
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy were the recipients of several awards, including three Filmfare awards (Bunty Aur Babli, Kal Ho Naa Ho, 2 States), three International Indian Film Academy Awards (Kal Ho Naa Ho, Bunty Aur Babli, My Name is Khan), three Star Screen awards (Dil Chahta Hai, Bunty Aur Babli, My Name Is Khan),one Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent and two MTV Immies Awards. In 2004, they received the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for the film Kal Ho Naa Ho. Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy won the Filmfare and IIFA awards 2015 for 2 states.
In 2010, they were honored with the Years of Excellence at the Jack Daniel's Annual Rock Awards at Hard Rock Café, Mumbai.
Señorita
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Donde has estado? (where hav u been)
He removido cielo y tierra y no te encontre (i movd heavn n erth n not find u)
Y IIegas hoy (but u arrivd 2day)
Tan de repente (so suddnly)
Y das sentido a toda mi vida con tu querer (n giv meanin 2 my life wid ur luv)
The lyrics to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's song Senorita are poetic and emotive, with a sense of longing and mystery to them. The opening line, "Quien eres tu?" which translates to "who are you?" is a question directed towards someone who has arrived unexpectedly. The singer then asks "Donde has estado?" or "where have you been?" which suggests that this person has been absent for some time and is only now returning.
The next line, "He removido cielo y tierra y no te encontre" which means "I moved heaven and earth and did not find you" conveys a sense of frustration and effort spent searching for this person. Yet despite this, the person has returned suddenly and is now bringing meaning and purpose to the singer's life through their love - "Y das sentido a toda mi vida con tu querer".
Overall, the lyrics to Senorita capture the powerful emotions of love, longing, and desire. The singer is expressing a sense of deep connection to this person who has returned after being gone for some time, and they are overwhelmed with joy and relief at their sudden reappearance.
Line by Line Meaning
Quien eres tu?
A question asking the identity of the person
Donde has estado?
A question asking where the person has been
He removido cielo y tierra y no te encontre
Expressing the effort made to find the person, but not succeeding
Y IIegas hoy
Acknowledging the person's arrival today
Tan de repente
Expressing the suddenness of the person's arrival
Y das sentido a toda mi vida con tu querer
Expressing how the person's love has given meaning to the other person's life
Contributed by Wyatt N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.