Vidya Vox

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 and immigrated with her family to the United States of America at the age of eight. Her music is a mix of Classical rappers , electronic dance music, 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][3]

Vidya Vox
Vidya's Mad Dreams album shoot
Personal information
BornVidya Iyer
(1990-09-26) September 26, 1990
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India[1][2]
NationalityAmerican[1]
Occupation
  • Musician
  • actress
  • YouTuber
  • vlogger
  • dancer
Websitewww.vidyavox.com
YouTube information
Also known asVidya Vox
Channel
Years active2015 – present
Genre
Subscribers7.23 million
(January 21, 2021)
Total views906.6 million
(January 21, 2021)
NetworkStudio71
Associated actsShankar Tucker, Arjun
100,000 subscribers 2015
1,000,000 subscribers 2016

Personal life

Vidya Iyer was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India and was raised in Virginia in the United States. 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.[4][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 friend 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7][8][9]

Discography

Albums
  • 2017: Kuthu Fire
  • 2019: Mad Dreams

References
  1. "About". Vidya Vox. December 9, 2015. Archived from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  2. 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. "Be Free (Pallivaalu Bhadravattakam) ft. Vandana Iyer". Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  4. Vidya Vox proud to be Indian in America, IANS, November 22, 2017.
  5. "The mashup star". The Hindu. August 21, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  6. "Singer Vidya Vox on Blending two Musical Worlds: East and West". India.com. January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  7. "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.
  8. "Vidya and Shankar Tucker gives Kerala's favourite boat song 'Kuttanadan Punjayile' a classic twist". India Today. January 14, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  9. "Stylish makeover for Malayalam folk song". Deccan Chronicle. January 17, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2015.

Further reading
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