Ravinder Ravi, a house painter who shot to fame as one of the top 10 finalists of "Indian Idol", had his day in the sun as his first music album "Jat Lutya Gaya" was released here.

Clad in a brown suit, the singer saw his debut album launched by actress-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt at a mega event in Le Meridian hotel Wednesday that was also attended by album producer Rajbir Singh and composer Jawahar Wattal.

"I have sung all kinds of songs in this album. It has Sufi, bhangra and romantic songs. I hope people would appreciate my album," he said. The songs are in Punjabi and Hindi.

Talking about his "Indian Idol" experience, during which audiences kept voting him in for the TV music contest despite the disapproval of judges, he said: "On 'Indian Idol' I got the maximum votes when I sang the songs of my range.

"But I am thankful to the Indian audience who showered their love on me and made me a singer. I am also grateful to Rajbir Singh and Jawahar Wattal who gave me an opportunity to work with them."

Praising the singer, Bhatt said: "He has a fabulous voice. He will definitely go places."

Asked if she would give Ravinder a chance in her upcoming film, she said: "I am soon going to launch a film but I can't give the details right now. People talk about change but they don't give opportunities to new talents. That's why I work with newcomers and give them a chance to showcase their talent."

The occasion also marked the launch of Rajbir Singh's new music company Arjun Music World - and Bhatt applauded the move.

"Rajbir and I had a talk about the state of affairs back in Mumbai and how difficult it is for us filmmakers to actually sell our music because of the monopoly of four or five music companies. We have to take the sole crumbs," she said.

"Rajbir said he is going to launch a music company. Before I knew it, he floated the company so I can't complain anymore about that and that's the primary reason I am here today."

Shot in Barcelona, the music video has eight tracks - four in Punjabi and four in Hindi - and features former Miss Norway Anna Lena Hansen dancing on Bhangra beats with model Aman Dhalliwal.

Talking to the media, Rajbir Singh said: "After Daler Mehndi's album, Jawahar (Wattal) has put his heart and soul into this album.

"We are not in a hurry to produce more and more albums. We might bring out six or seven albums every year. We will also go to Bollywood to get the music rights of a couple of films."

Wattal sounded confident about Ravinder Ravi: "Here is a singer who is a born natural and I would request all of you to bless him and I hope he becomes a hit. I have given many successful albums in the past and I hope this one becomes a hit too."