How do you think the way you were raised by your parents played a part in you developing a love for music?
From what I can remember, I’ve always had an interest and passionate love for music. My mom was also a singer when she was younger. That had a pretty big influence on the development of my own love for music. My mom always wanted me to be a singer but she has never forced me to do anything that I wasn’t interested in doing. Even though my mom was the one who mainly helped me learn and practice new songs, the rest of my family were always very present in my musical career, and still are. My dad was always there for help and support whenever I needed it. My sister also has a very big impact on my musical career. Whenever I learn a new song, she is always there to help me find all the mistakes that I made in the song and help me correct those mistakes. In the end, everyone in my family has contributed to my strong interest in music.
You were a Top 20 VijayTV Super Singer Jr. 7 Contestant. Tell us more about this experience in terms of the auditioning process and participating in the contest.
The audition for Super Singer was a great experience in itself. When I heard the news that I was selected in the top 20 for Super Singer Jr. 7, I was super excited and proud considering the fact that thousands of people auditioned. Super Singer was very different from any other competition I’d participated in before. I quickly realised that I had to put in much more hard work if I wanted to do well. Even though all the competitors were competing against each other, everyone was super encouraging and supportive. In addition to making a lot of friends in my time in Chennai, I also had the chance to meet four legends, who were the judges. Super Singer, altogether, was truly a wonderful experience.
Who would be a music artist that would be your dream collaboration in the future?
There are many music artists with whom it would be a dream to collaborate with, but A. R. Rahman Sir is the one who always comes to mind first, and is definitely at the top of my list. I have always wanted to sing in his music since I discovered who he was.
Is music something you want to pursue professionally or do you have any other aspirations in terms of a career?
Music is definitely something that I’ve always been passionate about and I definitely want to continue music and pursue it as a professional career, but music isn’t the only thing that I want to pursue in life. Another thing that I would love to pursue is basketball, as it is one of my favourite hobbies and my favourite sports.
You had the opportunity to sing the song “It’s My Kinda Day” which has almost 1 million views on the “Sony Music South” YouTube channel. How did you get this opportunity?
Singing in a movie is the dream of many singers, and the fact that I’ve accomplished that makes me super proud. Not only was recording the song different from all the cover songs I had done, it was also a super fun and engaging experience. I got the opportunity to sing in this movie from Stalin Master. He recommended me to the director of the movie, Saravanan Sir.
What was the experience like creating the song + video with the team?
Recording a song for a movie is much different than any other recording I’d done before, and I quickly realised that. Since this is still a bit new for me, it was harder than I thought. The music director, Nivas K Prasanna Anna, made it much easier to record the song. No matter what time it was in Chennai, he was always there to help and support me while I was recording this song. We recorded this song in Sutharshan Mama’s studio and sent it over to Nivas Anna, the music director in Chennai.
How do you balance your homework with your singing (ie. practice, performances, etc.)?
Balancing school life, personal life, and singing is one of the hardest challenges as an artist. Something that helps me manage everything, is making a to-do list and making routines. My parents help me to manage all of my classes’ homework, which makes it much easier to balance. They always help me manage my priorities. Without my family’s help, I definitely wouldn’t be able to balance all these things and I am very thankful for them.
What’s been a failure (or “learning lesson”) you’ve experienced in the last year and what did you learn from it?
A lesson that I definitely learned recently was from the time I sang in Super Singer. I say this because, sadly, due to COVID-19, the competition was cancelled early. This really upset me, as I was so excited for my Super Singer journey and experience. However, when we arrived back in Canada, I realized that even though I was only there for a couple of rounds, I really learned a lot of techniques, gained experience and these are things I could never lose. There will always be more opportunities, I learned that I should keep my head up and never lose hope.
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
Five years from now, I really want to pursue music as a professional career and perform in many concerts. I want to travel around the world and play songs with my guitar. I also want to gain more experience singing in cinema music and build my career as a playback singer. But to do this, I know that I have to keep putting in hard work and trying my best.
What role has your family & friends played in the choices that you’ve made in your life so far?
My family and friends always give me a huge amount of love and support. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Even on all my social media posts, my friends and family are always commenting and encouraging me. This makes me want to create more covers and perform more songs. They’ve definitely given me the encouragement to pursue this career and I wouldn’t be where I am today without all my family, friends, and supporters.
What has been your favourite song to perform so far?
Out of all the songs I’ve ever performed, my favourite one, by far, has to be Enna Solla Pogirai. I really like this song because of the high-ranging portions that it has. I feel as though this song suits my voice really well.
What is your favourite book(s) you’ve read recently and why?
I’ve read many books, but my favourite book series has to be Harry Potter. I re-read all the books every year, and right now I’m on the 5th book. I like the sense of fantasy and mystery of the series.
