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Vidya Vox

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Vidya Iyer
Personal information
Born
Vidya Iyer

(1990-09-26) September 26, 1990 (age 33)
Chennai, Tamilnadu, India[1][2]
NationalityAmerican[1]
EducationGeorge Washington University
Occupations
  • Musician
  • Actress
  • Youtuber
  • Vlogger
  • Dancer
Websitewww.vidyavox.com
YouTube information
Also known asVidyaVox
Channel
Years active2015–present
Genres
Subscribers6.1 million[3]
(September 9, 2019)
Total views676.2 million[3]
(September 9, 2019)
NetworkStudio71
100,000 subscribers2015
1,000,000 subscribers2016

Vidya Iyer, better known by her stage name Vidya Vox, is an American YouTuber and singer.[2] She was born in Chennai and immigrated with her family to the USA at the age of eight. Her music is a mix of Western pop, electronic dance music, and Indian classical music.[2] Since beginning her channel in April 2015, her videos have received over 641 million views, and her channel has accumulated over 6 million subscribers. Her mash-up of Major Lazer's Lean On with a Punjabi folk song has 38 million views and "Be Free (Pallivaalu Bhadravattakam)" has 160 Million views on YouTube as of July 2019.[2][4]

Personal life

Vidya Iyer was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India and was raised in Virginia in the United States. She spoke Tamil at home, learned Carnatic music from the age of 5, and also enjoyed listening to English music. She confessed to having an identity crisis, being bullied for being Indian, and hiding her culture while growing up, but has stated she "now feels proud" of her culture.[5][2] She was inspired by her grandmother to pursue Indian classical music. She became confident of her Indian roots in college, joined the Indian Student Association, and joined Indian folk dance teams. She studied psychology and biomedical sciences at George Washington University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences. She moved to India for two years to learn music.[2]

She with her sister Vandana Iyer and her boyfriend Shankar Tucker whom she met in college collaborated for creating music.[2] In 2017 she promoted her music, rehearsing bhangra and hip-hop dance.[2]

Career

Vidya Iyer regularly sings in a band organized by Shankar Tucker. She has performed in various locations around the world, including the White House, National Centre for the Performing Arts (India), and Webster Hall. She has also performed at Festivals Des Artes in Reunion Island, INK Women, Suriname, Dubai and the Meru Concert Series in the Netherlands.[6]

Her most popular mashup was "Closer / Kabira", which clocked in over 55 million views in 7 months. One of her mashups is "Lean On" and "Jind Mahi", for which she had a collaboration with several other musicians, including Ricky Jatt, Raashi Kulkarni, and Roginder "Violinder" Momi.[7] She released "Kuttanadan Punjayile", a famous Kerala boat song, as a fusion along with an English song written by Shankar Tucker and herself, which was shot in Kerala with Mohiniyattam performed by Sreenidhi and Sreedevi. In 2016, she released her EP, Kuthu Fire, which was produced by Shankar Tucker, and co-written by Shankar Tucker and Vidya Iyer.[8][9][10]

Discography

Albums

  • 2017: Kuthu Fire
  • 2019: Mad Dreams

Songs

References

  1. ^ a b "About". Vidya Vox. December 9, 2015. Archived from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Now, her music merges India and the United States: Vidya Vox's "Kuthu Fire" extended play features influences from both her Indian and American identities, NBC News, November 17, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "About VidyaVox". YouTube.
  4. ^ "Be Free (Pallivaalu Bhadravattakam) ft. Vandana Iyer". Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  5. ^ Vidya Vox proud to be Indian in America, IANS, November 22, 2017.
  6. ^ "The mashup star". The Hindu. August 21, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  7. ^ "Singer Vidya Vox on Blending two Musical Worlds: East and West". India.com. January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  8. ^ "The Famous Kerala Boat Song 'Kuttanadan Punjayile' Just Got A New Twist And It Sounds Awesome". The Huffington Post. January 13, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  9. ^ "Vidya and Shankar Tucker gives Kerala's favorite boat song 'Kuttanadan Punjayile' a classic twist". India Today. January 14, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  10. ^ "Stylish makeover for Malayalam folk song". Deccan Chronicle. January 17, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  11. ^ "YouTube star Vidya Vox on the time she hated going to classical music lessons".
  12. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bzDiJ3l3W4
  13. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nreaBI7wWY
  14. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKi4CSvMGS0
  15. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prpFIbl2ZQo
  16. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XazKtLJP7Ds
  17. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ_A_Q24-hU

Further reading

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vidya_Vox&oldid=915862289"