When this 15-year-old girl decided to create a YouTube channel and upload a cover of one of her favourite songs, she never expected it to go viral and become an internet sensation. Shraddha Sharma, with her ethereally mesmerising vocals and simple guitar work, kicked up a storm in the April of 2011 when she uploaded ‘Main Tenu Samjhawan Ki’ from the movie Virsa and has since uploaded more videos of her singing, that have amassed more than two million views in all, making her channel – Shraddharockin – one of the highest subscribed channel in India.
In her debut album Raastey , launched recently, the now 18-year-old songster brings all her best work onto the table and presents an eight-track Hindi offering of her journey so far. Treading on a fresh path on her soundscape, Shraddha ropes in the experts for this assorted collection of covers and originals. Featuring Apache Indian, Ankur Tewari, Lesle Lewis, Rahul Ram and Ashish Manchanda collaborating on the album, the teenager delivers a seamless wonder trip through her fantastical singing along with meandering lyrics that transcend boundaries of Indi pop and rock blended with melodic riffs and enterprising dance music.
With Ankur Tewari penning the lyrics for most of the songs, Shraddha kicks off the record with ‘Raastey’, an easy meandering melodic song that sets the vibe for the rest of the album. Her intensely emotional voice will not fail to grip you in soothing evocative anticipation of more to come from the Dehradun girl who lives in Mumbai now. ‘Jump’ follows in dance anthem fashion and introduces a peppier pop-techno and EDM feel to the record. While the enchanting voice continues to keep you hooked, the middle section is bound to get you on your feet and move to the groove.
An easy favourite is the breezy summer swing ‘Main Aur Tu’ that evokes a narrative around two people walking together making small talk that become big stories. The mellow Indi pop groove is catchy and may warrant another listen just to put the smile back on your face.
The popular covers ‘Yeh Vaada Raha’ and ‘Jaane Do Na’ composed by R.D. Burman are hardly a recount of the original sound. Shraddha is at her best in these covers bringing out her original forte of adding glitz and honesty in her music with her voice. Her captivating voice exudes a vocal maturity and the Indian Classical trained vocalist in her brings out a flair and glamour that barely anyone her age can match to the reworked songs.
Clearly the benchmark in the album ‘Sapne’ is Shraddha at her best. The simple song is all about dreams and hopes and brings out the most honest work by the artiste. This centrepiece guitar-led narrative is her story – a small town girl making it big in the city – and will carry you along as she asks you to dream along and make those dreams come true.
What stands out in the assortment is the heavy ‘Saara Jahaan’ with blazing guitar riffs and rock-riddled rhythms. Proving she can cover any genre, Shraddha easily dons a new avatar in the glam rock composition that vamps a glitzy head-banging vibe that builds up to a screeching final section bringing out the wild child in her.
Album closer again veers off to a more Indi EDM mix, no surprise since reggae DJ Apache Indian and Hindi pop-rock singer Ankur Tewari pitch in for good measure. The trio let loose a plethora of intensely crazy grooves and sync a simple four-line chorus to a range of transforming sounds that lead to a flourishing finish.
Behind all the cover of glamour and sound, Raastey is one girl’s honest gift to the world with a voice that can tug some serious heart strings. With straightforward and heartfelt emotions in every song, the album invites you along on her journey and expresses a desire to share her story with you as you plug and play along. Give it a listen. You are bound to follow this young star’s rise for a long time.
