This Talented Indo-Canadian Vocalist is in the Industry Spotlight
After fulfilling her most coveted wish of playback singing in Bollywood, Shweta Subram is exuberant and excited for her future endeavors. This young vocalist will be heard with her sweet sounding voice in the latest flick Hawaizaada, which was released on January 30th.
She recounts this as her biggest breakthrough to date even though this talented young singer has a lot on her plate already. Subram has worked with The Piano Guys and Shankar Takar on the hit video Khushnuma which has amassed 9.5 million views on YouTube. She attributes this collaboration as a result of ‘serendipity’ but it was essentially her work on Youtube that impressed The Piano Guys (an American musical group renowned for their remixes of popular and classical music).
“Social media has immensely transformed the music industry,” she says, recognizing that it allows many emerging artists to get noticed. “It filters out the nonsense as well. I strongly believe it works as a resume for artists. I’m a perfect example. My works on YouTube is what got The Piano Guys as well as Shankar Tucker interested in working with me. They liked what they heard and saw,” she says.
Subram’s recounts her experience working with the group as a “musical nirvana.” She loved their willingness to experiment with music and the fact that their song captured the essence of spirituality; something that is important to her. This was, without a doubt, the most impactful experience for her career-wise.
But who is this young vocalist and how did she land such big projects so quickly? Born and raised in Dubai, Subram moved to Ottawa when she was in high school. After graduating from Carleton University, with a major in Marketing and a Psychology minor, she is now on the road to pursue her music professionally. While its evident music is her primary passion, Subram is someone of multiple interests and her educational journey reflects that.
“The world of music came upon me by chance. I don’t think I knew what I wanted in life. I loved biology so the thought of becoming a microbiologist crossed my mind, but then I was also intrigued by the world of marketing, which explains my degree. Music started as a hobby, but it eventually became my passion and now my profession. Now, there’s no looking back!” recounts Subram.
Her first breakthrough came in 2011 when she secured herself the chance to perform at the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) with Bollywood maestros Salim and Sulaiman. She recounts the experience as being ‘surreal’; to be performing on the same stage that witnessed the likes of Shahrukh Khan, Sonu Nigam and Shankar Ehsaan Loy.
Growing up in Canada, Subram has been well acquainted with both Bollywood and Western music which explains her interest in fusion music and experimentation. Subram started training in Indian classical music from a young age as she believes it was essential in nurturing her vocals and musical ambitions. It is this very aspect of her work that comes naturally and sets her apart from the crowd.
“It’s amazing when you can fuse the best of both worlds! My fans love it. One of my tracks, ‘Piya’, is an urbanized world fusion track incorporating classical singing with drum-and-bass grooves. Khushnuma with The Piano Guys is also a beautiful evolution of Electronic Dance Music into Indian sounds,” she tells us.
With regards to feedback on her song ‘Dil-e-Nadan’ with Ayushmann Khurana for Hawaizaada, she is humbled. She has since then been receiving messages from people all across the globe, many of whom have said how a small part of the song has made a difference to their overall listening experience. She is also a fan of Khurana himself and hopes to do more projects with him in the future.
Subram is confident in her talent, yet she feels that the significance of persistence and hard work can never be undermined and this is what she attributes her success to. Despite all her professional success, she remains grounded and parts by saying, “It is nice to be important but important to be nice”.