Unlike the character in her debut single, who is looking back over a relationship that has finished, Wembley singer Hemina Shah is only looking forward to a very bright future.

Aa Bhi Ja, which means ‘come to me’ in Urdu, is a sad love song about missing your lover and longing for them to come back, and is the first single from British Gujurati Hemina, who is the older sister of popular singer Avina Shah.

“For my first song I wanted something really soulful and deep,” says Hemina about the track, which has a Bollywood rock ballad feel, “something from the heart that people can really connect with.”

And it seems that it’s having the desired effect, with the song getting airplay on many of the big Asian radio stations across the country, including BBC Asian Network, for which Hemina has also been interviewed, and with listeners phoning in to request the song as well.

“I’m very surprised, myself,” laughs Hemina, who grew up in Barnet and Elstree with sister Avina in a very musical household, listening to her dad’s Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle records. “But people requesting it is a good sign – it’s got a very catchy chorus which people seem to have stuck in their heads, so that’s a great thing!”

Hemina released Aa Bhi Ja herself, as an independent artiste, at the end of March and it is the first track from her forthcoming debut album, which remains as yet untitled.

Hemina has been in the studio working on the album, a mixture of Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu songs, with acclaimed Pakistani producers Zain Khan and Sonu Khan solidly for the past year.

“It’s a real mix of styles,” says Hemina of the album, which she has almost finished recording, “some are slow, some are fast, some are happy, some are sad, I’ve got some upbeat Bollywood tracks, some R’n’B songs, some dancey Punjabi songs and some unplugged ones, with just me and a piano.”

The album is a long-held dream for Hemina, who married and had a family at quite a young age and now, in her 30s, she is able to concentrate on developing her musical career, which began when she was just a child, singing and playing the harmonium and keyboard at community events and private parties.

As an adult, she has been singing cover songs at private functions and public events across the UK as well as in Europe and Africa as a singer-for-hire with an entertainment company, Eastern Illusion based in Elstree, and she hopes to be signed to a record label very soon.

“I knew growing up that music was what I wanted to do,” says Hemina, “and now I’m getting to do it.

“It’s an exciting time and I’m really looking forward to sharing the rest of my music.”

  • Aa Bhi Ja is available now on iTunes