Candid interview with US-based YouTube star Vidya Vox

Vidya Vox

Vidya Vox

"As an American immigrant who was born in India, growing up was always a bit of an identity struggle. I'd be eating dosa, singing bhajans and speaking Tamil at home, but when I went to school, I'd be eating pizza, and listening to Destiny's Child and Shakira," says Vidya Iyer, a singer popular for seamlessly fusing Indian and Western tunes.

Iyer, better known by her stage name, Vidya Vox, released her first mash-up on YouTube in April 2015 and has gained over 1.8 million subscribers since. "I'd always wonder how I could bring the two worlds together. And music has been my outlet in so many ways, so mash-ups just seemed natural to me."

The India connect
Iyer counts Adele, Beyonce, Coldplay, AR Rahman and Shankar Mahadevan among her many influences, and her music, which she creates with the help of composer Shankar Tucker, stands almost as a tribute to the artistes she most admires. Her recent mash-up of The Chainsmokers' hit Closer and Kabira from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani featuring singer-songwriter Casey Breves, garnered over two million views in a single day, and continues to be her most popular upload till date.

In performance

Although raised in Virginia, Iyer visits India often, including Chennai, where she spent the first few years of her life, and Mumbai, where she lived for four years. The young singer frequently collaborates with other YouTube artistes to create covers of popular songs, and even ended up shooting a mash-up of Chaiyya Chaiyya/ Don't Stop on a visit to Mumbai in 2015.

Speaking of the experience, Iyer says, "It was crazy! We did the entire thing in one day. Shankar made the track the night before and I recorded my bits on it.

The next morning, Sam (Tsui) recorded his part and we went out immediately around Mumbai and shot the entire day. It was fun, and they got to see Mumbai while we were at it."

Dealing with fame
Fame, for Iyer, did not come overnight, and getting started was a mix of fear and excitement. "Exciting because the world is at your fingertips - you can share your craft with everyone in one click. And scary because you never know how it will be received."

Commenters on YouTube are known to be relentless, after all, with many leaving behind caustic opinions. Iyer prefers not to read comments at all.

"I read a few of them as soon as I release videos to make sure everything is working correctly and then don't look at them after, though it's tempting. Music is subjective, so not everyone will love what I do. And that's 100 per cent okay. Even if there are 1,000 nice comments, I always get upset with that one hate comment, and that can ruin my day."

What she does love, however, is performing live. "At my shows, I always try to incorporate one song that is reflective of local culture and add my own twist to it," says the singer, who can speak Tamil, and a bit of Hindi. She has sung in most major Indian languages, although she doesn't understand them. "For each language, I have a coach to train me through the pronunciation. I give it a lot of importance, because it adds to the beauty of the song," she shares.

Iyer now wants to add more originals to her repertoire. She has just released her first single, titled Kuthu Fire, from her EP. "It's different from what I usually do. My original music is a mix of Dance and Pop, inspired by Indian Folk songs," she says, adding that she was nervous to release it as it was out of her comfort zone. "But experimentation is so important. Nothing is worse for an artiste than complacency."