Vidya Vox
Personal information
Born
Vidya Iyer

(1990-09-26) September 26, 1990
Madras, Tamil Nadu, India[1][2]
NationalityAmerican[1]
Occupations
  • Musician
  • actress
  • YouTuber
  • vlogger
  • dancer
Websitewww.vidyavox.com
YouTube information
Also known asVidya Vox
Channel
Years active2015 – present
Genres
Subscribers7.63 million[3]
Total views1.16 billion[3]
NetworkStudio71
Associated actsShankar Tucker, Arjun
100,000 subscribers2015
1,000,000 subscribers2016
Last updated: Dec 11, 2023

Vidya Iyer (born September 26, 1990), better known by her stage name Vidya Vox, is an American YouTuber and singer.[2] She was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India and immigrated with her family to the United States of America at the age of eight. According to NBC News, her music is a mix of "Western pop, electronic dance music, Bollywood hits, and Indian classical music."[2] Since beginning her channel in April 2015, her videos have received over 906 million views, and her channel has accumulated over 7 million subscribers.[2][4]

Personal life

Iyer was born in a Tamil family in Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India and was raised in Virginia in the United States.[5] Her family is from Palakkad, Kerala, and her mother and grandmother grew up in Kerala.[6] She speaks 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]

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 collaborated on music with her sister, Vandana Iyer, and her boyfriend, Shankar Tucker, whom she met in college.[2] She also participates in bhangra and hip hop dance.[2]

Career

Vidya Iyer regularly sings in a band organized by Tucker, along with percussionist Jomy George.[7][8] 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 on Réunion; for INK Women; in Suriname; in Dubai, UAE; and at the Meru Concert Series in the Netherlands.[9]

Her most popular mashup was "Closer / Kabira", a mash up of Closer by Chainsmokers and Kabira from the Bollywood film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani 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.[10] She released "Kuttanadan Punjayile", a famous Kerala boat song, as a fusion along with an English song written by 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 herself.[11][12][13]

Discography

Albums

  • 2017: Kuthu Fire
  • 2017: Diamonds
  • 2019: Mad Dreams
  • 2020: Thalaivi

References

  1. 1 2 "About". Vidya Vox. December 9, 2015. Archived from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Luhar, Monica (November 17, 2017). "As a kid, Vidya Vox hid her Indian roots. Now, her music merges India and the U.S." NBC News. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "About VidyaVox". YouTube.
  4. ↑ "Be Free (Pallivaalu Bhadravattakam) ft. Vandana Iyer". YouTube. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Vidya Vox proud to be Indian in America". IANS. November 22, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  6. ↑ Jaames, Merin Maria (January 17, 2016). "Stylish makeover for Malayalam folk song". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  7. ↑ Sreenivasan, Deepthi (July 14, 2016). "Black or brown, Jomy George is a maestro". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  8. ↑ Khan, Farah (April 28, 2016). "Vidya Vox Returns to Her Roots With Latest 'Jodhaa Akbar'-Adele Mashup". India.com. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  9. ↑ "The mashup star". The Hindu. August 21, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Singer Vidya Vox on Blending two Musical Worlds: East and West". India.com. January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ "Vidya and Shankar Tucker gives Kerala's favourite boat song 'Kuttanadan Punjayile' a classic twist". India Today. January 14, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Stylish makeover for Malayalam folk song". Deccan Chronicle. January 17, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2015.

Further reading

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