Today we’d like to introduce you to Suvi Suresh.
Conquering the world is the dream of all aspiring pop stars. Suvi Suresh beat the odds to become an enduring name in India and has since had her eyes set on a U.S. audience. With her new EP, Game Changer, she is primed to do so.
Hailing from India (raised in Tamil Nadu), a country with a population of 1.3 billion known for it’s thriving entertainment industry, Suvi launched to prominence as part of the pop band S5. The group members beat 6,000 other contestants to join the ensemble and break out as the country’s first group to step beyond the sound of the national scene, making music catered for an international market. Thanks to the hit single “Malare” and film By The People (in which they starred and performed all the songs) they toured throughout India, the United Arab Emirates to the UK establishing a fanbase that supports her to this day. Upon the disbandment of S5, Suvi transitioned into the world of Bollywood. She began collaborating with top industry leaders including A.R. Rahman (of Slum Dog Millionaire fame) and Mani Ratnam earning features on blockbuster films such as Aadhavan, Ghajini, Highway, and her performance on the theme to Dam 999 was shortlisted for an Oscar nomination.
Suvi could have stayed in India building on her success behind the scenes as a playback singer, but her ambitions began and stayed with the dream of being on the stage performing her own hits. This passion drew her to the United States where starting from the ground up was not going to be easy, yet it was a necessity in order to sharpen her skills as a songwriter and performer in the tradition of her idols Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Ms. Lauryn Hill. Years of late nights in the studio and sacrifice on the Los Angeles club circuit have honed a stage confidence and musical style unique to her, blending where she’s been with who she is now; a style embraced on her regular trips back to India and the UAE but primed to resonate with the mainstream in the West.
2018 has offered major gains in realizing the dream with the release of the single and video for “Wonder Woman” (recorded in both English and Tamil) earning tens of thousands of streams within days. MTV featured her as artist of the week with a song placement on The Challenge, one of their longest running successful shows. Most recently, the New York-based magazine, Respect, did a feature piece highlighting Suvi as an artist to watch.
Suvi’s upcoming EP, Game Changer, is a cultural amalgam that doesn’t surrender to limitation and embraces the idea that identity is the way to connect with a global audience in the social media age. Heavy hip hop drums and Indian strings command attention on the title track as Suvi makes a statement, announcing her arrival and aspirations to take on the industry. The song also features guest vocals by Lex Lu who was recently featured on the hit U.S. show The Four with Sean “Diddy” Combs. Slick, bass heavy R&B help “Bling It Back” and “On & On” provide an edgy sexiness with a slow tempo ideal for showcasing her unique Eastern influenced vocal riffs and inflections. The EP turns up with “Killa Kali” as Suvi shows off her rap skills proving she can hang with Cardi B to M.I.A. Game Changer gives us a taste of what we’ve been missing in contemporary urban music and strives for more, creating a unique brand that crosses borders to positively impact and inspire the broader community. It is poised to do just as the title suggests, Change the Game.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would be lying if I said the road is smooth. The way I see it, being an artist is a process of growth and no growth comes without struggles. If you ain’t struggling then you ain’t growing. That being said, I’ve been drilling holes on granite and climbing the Everest to get my Music career on the road to success and I am 100% with it.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
My music is an amalgamation of all sounds I grew up listening to. It’s a blend of songwriting which involves melodies from South Asian scales and beats and rhythms that are inspired from artists I grew up listening to in the West. I can sing in 3 Indian languages including Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam and when I blend them with English, it truly sets the sound apart from anything that’s out there and that I think is my niche. My goal is to put South Asian artists on the world map.
Just recently, I got signed to a Los Angeles and UK based label called Blossom Records. I am the first South Asian/Indian artist to be signed on to the label and both the label and I are super excited to release my upcoming EP Game Changer and it’s several avatars.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Listening to my song Wonder Woman on MTV’s primetime show The Challenge, being someone who never had hook or crook ways to get into the industry 10,000 miles away from home, to me goes to show that anything is possible. The song also won me the John Lennon Songwriting contest which was also very humbling.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.SuviMusic.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/suvimusic
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/suvimusic
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/suvimusic
Image Credit:
Hrdwrker, Matt Doheny
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