That was almost a decade ago. Since then, every effort has been to match the record set by Made in India in the music industry. The closest anybody could get was bhangra pop star, Daler Mehndi with Na-Na Na-Na Na-Re...But then that was a film song and album sales were just about half of Made in India.

Alisha herself has given up trying to repeat Made in India. "You cannot get an ace every time," she reasons. "Could Michael Jackson repeat Thriller? None of his following albums made that big a success. So I am not competing with Made in India. My aim is now to do better than that. And Alisha is a far better product since music has made a lot of progress since then."

Her objective has also been to get over the ‘baby doll" image that has stuck to her since the time she had tried to emulate Madonna in the album of like name.As she points out, it was actually Chowta’s idea to "break the image" with a more mature and measured voice, befitting her standing in the industry.

"He got me to sing the songs at a lower range, which I had never done before," she explains. "And the way he presented the texture of my voice is also different. His sounds don’t sound ordinary. He also made me realise that gimmicks or techno sounds are not necessary to elevate a song. A simple song without frills can sound as good."

But then, in the music video, Alisha is seen wearing a hat reminiscent of Madonna’s Music? "Hey, just because I am wearing a cowboy hat, doesn’t mean I am aping Madonna," she retorts. "The video was shot in Las Vegas and there everyone wears a cowboy hat. It is symbolic of the city. But that is not to say I’ve never been influenced by Madonna.She is a pop icon. A singer like her will never be born.She is undeniably the greatest. But saying that my music or singing is like her is not fair."

She maintains that Alisha is an effort to re-invent herself and towards that end, she is satisfied. "The album’s got an international appeal a global sound," she reiterates. "It also has Alisha’s style and attidue at its best.I named it after me, because I wanted to convey the growth of Alisha as a singer. I am constantly revamping myself, which is very important for a pop artist to keep listeners’ interest alive."

Does this ‘revamping’ also mean outgrowing being a playback singer, considering that she had produced several chartbusters like Kaate nahin kat te (Mr India) and Ruk Ruk Ruk (Vijaypath)? The late Kishore Kumar was also very appreciative of her voice.

"I can’t be the voice of another artist," she says, mildly irritated. "Pop is my niche. With playback,I cannot be my own face, Icannot be Alisha. Once in a while it is okay-like I sang Jumbalika for Takshak or Raundhe Hain for Pyar Tune Kya Kiya. But I am too much of a solo artiste. I have an identity of my own now. I have become too much of an individual." — MF