Kalyani Gowri Shankar- A genius musician

INTRODUCTION

Kalyani Gowri Shankar is a superstar from Tamil Smule who has been suggested for a feature by our peers. Thanks especially to B. Gopalakrishnan who worked behind the scene interviewing her initially. The content from his video interviews is tremendously useful in making this interview written out. Also thanks to many other super special friends from Tamil Nadu who had been pillars of support to the selection process, especially, Sangeetha Rajesh, Shanthi Sreeram, Karthik Jayaraman, and many many other singers from Tamil Smule who had helped in the past to screen quality singers that appeared here.

Kalyani Gowri Shankar

Kalyani is a very strong presence on the Tamil Smule scene; a multi-talented artist who had an illustrious past with a lot achieved by being a winner of many reality shows on Tamil cable TV. Her heart as you read through will reveal a deep-rooted love for music and her constant commitment to passing that wealth of experience to a new generation. That is one of the major reasons for choosing her profile for a feature in this esteemed line of Smule profiles. Without delay here is a short interview of her that tells more about her music and interests. 

Her social media links

On Smule 

https://www.smule.com/kalyani_gshankar

On Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/kalyanigshankar88/

Music School Vidyarthi Centre

https://www.facebook.com/vidyarthicoe/

https://vidyarthicoe.com/meet-our-gurus.html

Please tell us about yourself

“I am Kalyani Gowri Shankar, an academically qualified and trained professional singer. I am also the co-founder of the Vidyarthi Centre of Excellence for Arts and Fine Arts. I have been singing since the age of ten. My passion for music made me pursue a master’s degree in music from the University of Madras. My current focus is on music education and looking beyond Smule for opportunities to sing and perform.”

Please take us through your early stages of childhood, schooling, and college. How music was a part of your growing up?

“I grew up in a household that always appreciated music. My father is an ardent fan of Sri. T. M. Soundararajan and the whole family loved listening to old Tamil classic songs. I must say my family environment made that inclination to start singing. I used to sing during family functions, gatherings, etc. It was my brother’s violin teacher who noted my singing talent while I accompanied singing my brother in his violin classes. She recommended to my parents to have me properly trained.”

“I studied in G. K. Shetty Hindu Vidyalaya, Chennai. My school played a major role in cultivating an interest in singing, as my mentors always encouraged arts such as music and dance. In fact, It was mandatory at my school to learn an art form and that gave me the opportunity to take up music and hone my skills. I remember learning plenty of songs and bhajans at school which is evergreen in my memory even today. At school festivals, I won numerous prizes in the singing competitions. I consider this as the biggest blessing in my life to have studied there.”

“Even outside of school, I had this constant drive to learn various forms of arts, which made me join Bharatanatyam, learn music instruments Keyboard, Veena and learn Hindustani vocals as well.” 

Kalyani (seen from far left) -on stage dance performances

About your family and how did you end up living in Singapore?

“I was born in Chennai and spent all my childhood in Chennai. My parents are Sri. T. R. Nagarajan and Smt. T. N. Ramadevi. I have an elder brother, Mr.T. R. N. Kuppuraj who is an entrepreneur. It is a marriage that brought me out of India to Singapore in 2013. My husband’s name is Gowri Shankar. We have a beautiful daughter together, Samhita. For a few years, I spent all my time thoroughly enjoying motherhood and caring for my kid. I started getting back to singing in 2017. I must say Smule has played a major role in bringing me back to my best of singing. Since then, I have been singing on Smule regularly and have a following of about 21k people till date.”

“Before marriage, I was juggling multiple hats – as a music teacher, I taught both vocal lessons and keyboard to kids. I also had many opportunities as a singer who recorded songs and also was seriously learning music and Bharatanatyam while I was studying. It had been a hectic ride, but I enjoyed every bit of those challenges of teaching and educating myself.”

“I have done several stage shows, concerts and also got the opportunity to work in movies, sing jingles, and work with many commercials. I have had the privilege of sharing the stage and performing with south India’s legends like Sri. T. M. Soundararajan, Malaysia Vasudevan, Deepan Chakravarthy, and many professional singers.”

Kalyani’s once in a lifetime opportunity to sing on stage with Tamil’s legendary musician TMS

I have also been a part of many reality shows such as Super Singer, Ragamalika, Paadava duet Paadalai, Rajageetham, etc., which were aired on India’s popular satellite channels such as Sun TV, Vijay TV, Raj TV, Podhigai, Kalaingar TV, etc. 

Kalyani says this had been a very memorable moment on reality shows where she could sing and get appreciated before Late S. P. B.

A rare opportunity to sing in front of P. Susheela madam

Tell us all about your training in various art forms?

I totally loved learning the theory part of the music. I was amazed to learn the science behind music and enjoyed learning aspects of sound such as “Physics of music”, “Acoustics”, “Western theory”, “Comparison between Hindustani and Classical ragas”. These are a few subjects I studied extensively.

As I mentioned above, my interest in music made me choose music as my career. I completed my Masters’s in music and came out as a University topper from the University of Madras. I want to pay respects to my gurus who imparted their valuable knowledge to me during my musical journey: Smt. K. R. Seethalakshmi, Smt. R. Abiramasundari, Smt. M. A. Bhagirathi. 

For my Carnatic Vocals: Smt. Lalitha Seetharaman, Smt. Leelavathi Gopalakrishnan and Sri. Srikanth Gopalakrishnan. I am still learning Carnatic vocals from Smt. R. Lakshmi Priya.

My gurus have always had a positive influence on me and my music. It was because of my guru, Smt. K. R. Seethalakshmi, I got a lot of opportunities to perform Carnatic kutcheries during the December Marghazi season shows which were aired on satellite channels.

For Hindustani Vocals: “My esteemed guru Sri. Sanjay Natkarni for my initial stages of learning a different style of India’s classical music. I am currently learning Hindustani music from Smt. Aswathy Nair. 

Learning Hindustani helped me sharpen my shruti knowledge. It gave me a lot of grip on my voice and taught me the nuances of handling very tough songs. My guru, Sri. Sanjay Natkarni used to fly down from Mumbai to Chennai to take classes for established playback singers like V. V. Prasanna. I was very fortunate to have learned Hindustani music from him.”

I must remember all my teachers for my Keyboard lessons: Mr. David

For my Veena learning: Smt. Hema Veeraraghavan and Dr. R. S. Jayalakshmi aka “Veenai” Jayalakshmi.

I always wanted to learn Veena right from my childhood. I had an inexplicable attraction to Veena to date. Fortunately for me, the area I lived in was surrounded by eminent music teachers and my Veena guru lived close to my house. 

Kalayani on a Veena on-stage performance

My guru, Smt. Hema Veeraraghavan used to conduct an annual event called “Nadhavarsha” where hundreds of students perform. I had the rare opportunity to learn and perform a pancharatna kriti in veena in that event. *

According to me, Veena is the queen of all instruments. Since Veena has frets, (see reference 2 below), it is easier to perfect your singing when you practice in veena. I practice a song in veena before I practice singing as it has always helped me learn faster.”

What are your impressions about the Smule experience?

“Smule is a wonderful platform for enthusiastic singers. Even for professional singers; It has provided an opportunity to hone my skills and sharpen my basics. I have seen Smule evolve with tons of improvements and new features that complement the singing experience. Personally to me, Smule gave me the opportunity to get back in touch with regular singing after a break in my singing career.” 

What do you like about it most and dislike about it if any?

“The unconditional love and support I receive from people are heartwarming. Smule has not only helped me connect with some lovely people, but it has also unearthed a lot of talent. I have been amazed to see the kind of potential people have and have literally seen average Singers become good Singers after their continuous stint in Smule. 

There’s nothing I can really point out as dislikes in Smule. I see it as a niche social media platform, specially curated for music enthusiasts in order to bring out the hidden talent in people. I think Smule is already doing that very well.”

What are your take on India’s pop music and the new trends?

I have listened to a fair bit of pop during my school days, but personally, I have not much inclination to it. Unlike other countries, pop music isn’t hugely popular in this part of the world, especially in South India, and maybe that is the reason why we do not have a big following. I started listening to pop these days only because of my five-year-old daughter who listens to Katy Perry. “

Comment on the importance of classical music in this era? Yes or no why?

“I feel Carnatic music plays a very significant role in the music industry in this era. Most of the songs are composed based on ragas. If you take the Tamil cine industry in particular, legendary music composers, starting from MKT, MSV, Illayaraja, Rahman and all the music directors have composed beautiful songs based on Carnatic ragas, right?

Carnatic music is well received by even a non-Carnatic listener through movie songs. Carnatic music, for sure, has evolved and transformed for the better and has stayed relevant to this era.”

What is music to you?

Music is life to me. It might sound simple, but I couldn’t find better words to describe the importance of music to me as I have been associated very closely with music right from my childhood. Art has followed me right through my life. More than what I contributed to music, music has been giving me so much. 

Very recently, I along with my husband started a new venture called “Vidyarthi Centre of Excellence for Arts and Fine Arts”. We started this initiative to enhance artistic excellence in students through a structured training model. You can read more about the school at www.vidyarthicoe.com

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Do you think lyrics are important? Yes or no why?

“Lyrics are very important. The beauty of a song lies in how well the tune and the lyrics gels together. I believe it is also important for a singer to understand the lyrics in order to produce the right emotion while singing. I have had the experience of working very closely with lyricists in recordings. I have recorded a song in four languages which means, I had to work with four lyricists to get my pronunciation right. A small change in the pronunciation could alter the entire meaning of the line.”

Where do you want to go from here in five years?

“With God’s grace, I was able to realize my dream of starting my own music and dance school in Vidyarthi, but the job is only half done. With the pandemic situation, we are in, we are currently operating online but eventually, we are planning to open up a physical school in Chennai. I want to see Vidyarthi grow into a world-class institution and the students shine in the music and dance world.”

With T.M.S.

List all your achievements

I have won many accolades in my journey of pursuing various art forms. Below are a few:

Co-founded “Vidyarthi Centre of Excellence for Arts and Fine Arts”, an institution to impart music and dance skills to music and dance enthusiasts. 

Have extensive teaching and training experience for over 10 years and instructed students in music theory, harmony, and composition with advanced teaching techniques. In her journey as a teacher, she has received numerous letters of recommendation and appreciation from students, parents, and music lovers.

Leads orchestra and choral groups in regular and special performances for several programs and concerts.

Was invited to conduct a workshop on “Tamil Folk Music” for Ang Mo Kio Primary School, Singapore.

Won numerous awards, certificates, and prizes in music competitions.

Title winner of “Oliyin Kural Vettai”, a music competition conducted by Oli 96.8 FM, Singapore.

Have won a state-level prize in the Mehndi competition conducted by Kilpauk Medical College in 2007.

Have published a book on Mehndi designs named “The Exotic Art of Mehndi” (ISBN : 978-81-925459-1-2) 

People who influenced my musical journey 

Special Mention to my Mom Mrs. Rama Devi, Father Mr. Nagarajan, brother Mr. Kuppu Raj who helped me during recordings and shoots. Thanks to my in-laws, husband Mr. Gowri Shankar for extending their support. Special mention to my cousin Sri. Aaryann helped me get back on track with singing when I was on a break after my marriage. 

Finally thanks to my friends Madhumitha, Nancy, Mamtha, Balaji Ramanujam, Surya Kamalakannan, Lakshmi Palanisamy, and BG for their wishes and support. Special mention to my cousin Sri Aaryann who played a major role in getting me back to mainstream singing. He is a multi-faceted artist who is a very talented singer, composer, and also actor. He encouraged me to work on many music covers with him and helped me get back on track with singing.

Kalyani won several titles, here is a shortlist

Rajageetham 2011 runner up

Won state-level prize in the mehndi competition. Have also published a book called “The exotic art of Mehndi” (ISBN: 978-81-925459-1-2)

 Kural vettai (voice hunt program on a Singapore FM radio channel called Oli) winner 

Other creative work:

Mehndi Artist and Freestyle drawing

Stages shared with celebrities: 

Have had the privilege and honor of sharing the stage with legendary celebrities and singing along with them. Some of the celebrities who I have sung along Shri. T.M. Soundararajan, Shri. Deepan Chakravarthi, Shri. Malaysia Vasudevan.

Music Cover Works

with B. Gopalakrishnan

With her daughter

Noted Smule Performances 

With BG

Few of her performances from the reality shows that she could gather for this feature. Please forgive the bad video quality. One get to see Ganga (play back singer ) Subhashini Hassan (Tamil Actor) in these following videos along Kalayani’s reality shows.

END NOTES

Kalyani is a dedicated teacher with a mission to carry her commitment to spreading her love of music and other forms of arts through her music school. When we came across her profile on Smule right from the very first feature on these pages we knew her excellent singing. This had been a long wait to have her feature to finish. But very glad we did this for her.

Kalyani is a talent that is undeniable and who accomplished so much in a very short span of life. What strikes most is her ability to juggle a career along with her life chores and yet do so much justice to anything she keeps a mind on. Sheer genius and talent are what define Kalayani among many profiles on Smule. We are glad to bring attention to her music and want to support her efforts. Here is a link to her school. Follow her on other social media platforms and do visit her music school page.

Vidhyarthi School of Music Emblem

References :

1. How did the Pancharatna kritis originate? https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/the-origin-of-pancharatna-kritis/article30576547.ece
2. A fret as in musical instrument is defined as follows- as defined in wiki:

A fret is a raised element on the neck of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On most modern western fretted instruments, frets are metal strips inserted into the fingerboard. On some historical instruments and non-European instruments, frets are made of pieces of string tied around the neck.

Frets divide the neck into fixed segments at intervals related to a musical framework. On instruments such as guitars, each fret represents one semitone in the standard western system, in which one octave is divided into twelve semitones. Fret is often used as a verb, meaning simply “to press down the string behind a fret”. Fretting often refers to the frets and/or their system of placement.

Mariah Belgrod- A Superstar on the Rise

Mariah Belgrod

Introduction

These features are written with a hope to bring to India readers, interviews with Smule users from mainland America, who started a career with the Smule app and how they all have used and are still using the Smule app for their career goals. This week we are bringing another young singer from North America. 

It is our pleasure to have Mariah Belgrod as a part of the India community blog when her new single Team Player is being released this weekend. Mariah has known the blog for a long time and had been waiting to find a good time to bring her music to entire India region readers. There is in fact no better time than this to get her music and views when Mariah is planning the rest of the year and next year to launch her career in a big way. 

Here we give all the links to her social media

Keep up with Mariah’s musical adventures here :

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD9kE2KVptzU0MBmxdDcgiA

INSTAGRAM | https://www.instagram.com/mariahbelgrod

FACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/belgrodmariah/

SMULE | https://www.smule.com/mariahbelgrod

SPOTIFY | https://open.spotify.com/artist/0fPFc4TL2WERYSQBUcZpQ8

MARIAH’S WEBSITE | www.mariahbelgrod.com

Please tell us a little about you as a musician 

My name is Mariah Belgrod, I am a twenty three year old pop-recording artist living in Seattle, WA. I am originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I aspire to use my platform to empower others, create great art, and spread mental health awareness. As someone who has managed anxiety and depression from a young age, it is important for me to show others that it is okay to be not okay. I strive to use my platform to be transparent with my followers about my challenges. Somedays, I really don’t want to get out of bed, to even have my breakfast – and I’ll let them know that. The social constructs being built, promote seeing everyone’s “perfect life”, and my life is anything but perfect (just like everyone else’s).

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All about your formal training in music

I was formally trained in singing in musical theatre from the age of seven. I had a lovely vocal instructor who taught me a ton of tips and trips to build a strong vocal foundation. I am not the best at learning music theory, so it has been a challenge for me to learn things on my own as I have gotten older. I have crafted my own way to do so and I think  it works well!

Now is the time to talk about your new single and let us hear it together and walk us through it

Team Player is an upbeat, empowering, and catchy anthem that was released on October 16, 2020. I wrote this song, with my now fiance, on a Skype call 3 years ago while we were doing a long distance relationship. We let the song sit for a little and never finished it, but had an opportunity to watch it blossom into its final form when we worked with Creation House Records in Minnesota. This studio’s President is another long-time Smule user, and it’s crazy how this song would have never come to have been without meeting different talented people on Smule! It is the first song I have had a strong hand in writing that I am releasing to the world, and I am so excited to define myself as a pop artist, and show others what I am made of in this industry!

With it’s catchy melody, fun guitar riff, and upbeat nature it surely is one my supporters won’t want to miss. It is the first song I have had a strong hand in writing and that way it is super special. I am so excited since it is a begining of me define myself as a pop artist, and show others what I am made of in this industry! I promise you will be tapping your feet and humming it after you listen!

Making of Team player

Team Player will also be accompanied by an OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO to be released on October 23rd, 2020. This video was in collaboration with Rogue Rider Productions, a talented videographer who also created and crafted my previous music video for the song, Lie to Me. We filmed the videos for the new song “Team Player” in various parts of Seattle, WA to be a visual representation of the fun and empowering feel of this song, and how it is more fun in a relationship when you are both being Team Players.”

Let us hear more about your early music 

As I told you earlier, I was born and raised in Lancaster, PA and had an early start to music through my work in musical theatre. I started in a musical when I was 7 years, at a theatre called the Fulton Opera House. This was so exciting and I found my home on the stage here. I also found a community of such open minded, loving, and talented people to inspire me at such a young age!

Talk about you growing up with music around you and how they all influenced you as an artist of such a strong agenda to become a professional musician.

I did not grow up in a musical household surprisingly. No one in my family is very musically inclined (sorry mom and dad)! I found my home and connection with others when I was pursuing musical theatre. There were so many talented, strong, and kind people. It really felt like a home away from home. Many of these talented performers (some of which have graced Broadway stages / tours) told me they saw potential in me as a 7 year old, and it inspired me to keep going. I feel so fortunate that I found something that I love so much at such a young age!

Talk us through when you decide to take music as a serious career? 

I had gone back and forth between wanting to be a musician and wanting to take a more traditional path for such a long time. I went through different obstacles with my depression, financial worries, etc. I reached a point in my life, when I was 20, where I felt like I had the support system I needed, I was comfortable, and everything just felt right.

Talk about how smule helped you to get there

Before using Smule, I had only sang as a hobby and felt I was leaning towards being an actress more than a singer. Once I downloaded Smule and started singing more, I learned a ton of new music and was inspired to create my own style in pop. I was already comfortable performing onstage in front of many, this was just “performing” in front of a camera for me! A way to let off steam and have fun. I met a wonderful community of singers, who encouraged me that this was an avenue worth pursuing, and I was doing something right!

As an artist of such professional stature what could help you to go big in the music world?

Being consistent is so important. Constantly wanting to be better and learn new things. Encouraging and supporting others – you cannot expect others to support you unless you are putting that energy out into the world!

What is your thought process when you look for inspiration to write your new songs?

I am definitely a spontaneous songwriter. I am very emotional and experience my emotions very strongly. It is easy for me to come up with content because I am constantly feeling things for myself and for others. I love to tell stories, not only mine, but listen to other people’s stories and out myself in their shoes.

Let me walk you through what I saw on apple music so far. In 2018 you came with Empty spaces which I think is probably best of you. And the lyrics are really strong and lot of good things about this song. Then in 2019 you did collaboratively I don’t care with Sarah Cleary and then you did Lie to me in 2019.

In lie to me again it is the mis-trust in a relation or not so sure what is going on in the partners mind, which troubles when being in relation. Please know that it is all what everyone goes through. But when we hear your thoughts beautifully expressed through a song your thoughts become an art. That is all about creativity. So where are you now with your artistry and creativity?

I am being reborn in my artistry and creativity. Music and songwriting used to be so intimidating to me because I felt as if every good song and the right words were already written. I felt overwhelmed that my contributions would not be good enough. Once I got over that obstacle, I learned that I have words to say and people relate to them, and it pushed me to continue. I feel like I am like a sponge absorbing things around me and constantly growing through my music, and inspired in new ways everyday. When singing lyrics to any song, it is important for me to put myself in the shoes of the story. To really feel whatever the songwriter intended. It just adds to the personability when that songwriter is YOU!

Maybe it will be helpful for you to talk about the creative part of music and how it may help you assess yourself in life, which is a great thing about being an artist 

I totally agree! Music helps you realize when some chapters are closed, and some are beginning. It is a way to process things you are going through and seeing how far you have to go.

Maybe not all songs you sang are not about you or your relations, still those are thoughts about what goes around and how you feel about all in life? Other than relations and love is there any other subject that matters to you?

I find myself often writing about the world and the things I wish I could change, the voices of the unheard, the sadness I feel – sometimes helplessness. I write about my anxiety and how I feel like, that it can control me sometimes. There is so much to write about beyond love and relationships – because those are important too!

How do you want to describe yourself in the field of music as a singer? What genre of music are you going to develop in your career?

I would love to continue to grow in the pop field. I plan to further establish myself by continuing to connect with other pop artists to write and create together. I also plan to consistently keep posting on all my social media outlets and be vocal with my fans. It is so important for me to feel like a community with my supporters – they are my friends! I feel I am very experimental. I can be moody, dreamy, upbeat, slow and solemn, it really just depends on my mood with what I am writing and what I am going through! I think that what makes this job so fun though, nothing is ever the same, and everything is fresh.

Do you ever feel lonely in this world?

It has been a hard balance for me. I love to be alone, but often feel lonely. To pursue my music career, I moved 3,000 miles away from my friends, family, and everything I have ever known. I entered a new city, scared and unsure, to build myself anew. I feel homesick and lonely quite often, and I have tried to strike a balance of time alone and time connected – both online and offline.

As an artist with a career ambition do you think you have responsibility to the society? If so, what is that responsibility like?

Most definitely. I feel a huge responsibility to society as an artist. This isn’t an expectation for every artist, it is a responsibility I place on myself. I strive to be transparent, open, and honest to my supporters. If I am having a difficult time with depression or anxiety, I want them to know that. So many people that others look up to go through challenging days, despite what the happy-go-lucky social media appearances may seem! A large part of my identity is to impact the world socially in a positive way, and I feel music is my way to do so.

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Social injustice in any field of career, what are your thoughts on that?

I think we should strongly work against social injustice in any career and strive to create healthy, equal opportunity environments for everyone to thrive and feel like they belong. As a woman in the music industry, I vouch strongly for other women to feel empowered and heard. I have had others try to take my voice away from me from when I was little in this industry to now, obstacle after obstacle, and it was the strong people who I could lean on that would not let that happen. I do not tolerate anything else or an environment where anyone is not comfortable.

What does music mean to you?

Music is EVERYTHING to me. Music speaks when words fail. Music connects those from different backgrounds and experience to have a common bond and feeling. Music is my therapy, I can find a song for any mood I am in and it helps me express myself.

Please let us know who are the musicians that influenced you and how they shaped your music?

Queen – Freddie Mercury was such a powerhouse performer and really knew how to work a stage. I aspire to be that confident and expressive on stage someday!

Anne Marie – her sass, her energy, her style, it is infectious and you always want to listen to more. She is also a strong and empowered woman who expresses that through her music.

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Here are some of her selected songs singing other contemporary artist’s songs.

ENDNOTES

Another success story from Smule for our readers. Knowing more about a singer through their music had been a pleasure ever since we started these features. The songs and subjects they choose to sing, influences they had during growing up, challenges in life, all have an effect on how an artist shapes their career. Knowing Mariah and her challenges was the most exciting part, where self realization and facing those challenges head on and that helped her become one of the most promising artist of our current time. Nothing could be easy if one were to give up without even giving it a good try. All respect to Mariah to come open with her personal life and tell all of us about her personal challenges. At the end of it, we are all so glad to see and hear that she is a rising superstar among the 2020 new pop artists. 

We take a moment to thank her for the time and interest in making this write up happen. Promise, we will stay with her in all of her future music endeavors. We end this session wishing all success in her career.

Talent Showcase Live Jams- Janaki Baala 10/04/2020

The live jam session of this week is with our featured artist Janaki Baala

Janaki Baala- A euphonious singing September 25, 2020

This is a new opportunity that Smule India community provide to do a live jam session for any singer who have been selected to appear here. The initiative for these sessions have to come from the featured artist. It is their choice, interest, and a lot of hard work organizing it. The blog team will provide necessary technical advice if needed for the artist. The previous featured artists are welcome to approach with a plan so we may be able to organize this for you.

Few important thoughts regarding the success factor of a Live Jam. These live jams are to be announced a week before it occurs and any singer who want to come on the live jam to showcase their singing is given a chance to sing with the featured artist. Each participant will only have one song to sing at the talent showcase.

Success of the show as far as group live jams are concerned since it is not visible to the general audience depends on how you post the Live Jam appearance in advance to your social media pages and invite all your friends and close to your live jam session. All they need is an access to a Smule ID.

There is a lot of work went behind the scenes. Thanks to Karthik Jayaraman for a never ending support in many ways to these efforts. Pradip Somasundaram Sir who had been a pillar of support to the efforts here is our pride. All participants on today’s Live Jam session and their enthusiasm is highly appreciated.

Here are best of Janaki Baala Live Jam sessions

END NOTES

These sessions are done to show case your talent. Do participate and show support to other singers. The Jam sessions are only an hour and half long and if you sing be courteous to stay on the jam so you get to listen to others. Thanks again for all the participants. See you all for a Jam in two week’s time.

Sarah Cleary- An artiste of distinction

Introduction

This feature is part of a series where we decided to bring the stories of accomplished singers and artists to our young singers on Smule who aspire to succeed in a music career. These life experiences of some young successful Smule featured Artists from the US and elsewhere are very insightful, how they all fought and are still fighting their careers in the very competitive music industry. The success for these singers as you going to see is self-made efforts and the opportunities that came their way are no different than presented in front of many of us. All that is, how one perceives and converts these to their benefit. 

Sarah Cleary

This week we are bringing the music of Smule featured artist of great success, Sarah Cleary. She is one of the most popular profiles on Smule with a self-made career at a very young age itself. The Smule India blog team takes a moment to recognize the true artist in Sarah. Sarah throughout the time we interacted with her came out very professional in presenting her music. She had a very clear and highly intellectual approach to many of the issues we asked her opinion about. 

This is a very special time in her career where her new song is out Bad Habit and Smule is promoting it as Sing with the Artist in the US and elsewhere. Here is the new song released yesterday.

The following is an exclusive interview done with Sarah. This takes us through a wonderful growth of artists; from a girl who loved The Phantom of The Opera songs and through schools and competitions and mentors who helped her reach places. Hope is that every aspiring young singer on Smule can take inspiration from these interviews. Read on.

Please tell us about yourself with a focus on your growing up and first interactions with music

“I’ve had a desire to be a singer for as long as I can remember. My first interactions with music were probably while watching The Phantom of The Opera, as a young girl and wanting to be just like Sara Brightman. I would sing songs from The Phantom all the time around the house and was always giving my friends and family little impromptu performances.” 

“I started to take singing more seriously when I tried out for a solo in music class at school around the age of ten. I wowed the class and ended up looking to join outside choirs and take singing lessons shortly after. Since then I have taken extensive lessons on vocal safety, breathing technique, posture ext. I now give lessons and teach students of my own. However, I’ve known since the beginning I wanted to make singing my career and still strive to. I started writing music at the age of twelve and continue to release original songs. Something that has become a huge part of getting them heard by the public, was my following on Smule. I joined Smule when I was fourteen and was able to make many videos of myself singing quite easily and share them. This was pivotal because it not only gave me confidence in my voice from the amazing feedback but it exposed me to so many amazing people who have helped me get closer to my goals and make beautiful friendships.”

Sarah Cleary

As young Sarah, who inspired you the most?

“Growing up, the music I listened to and loved was widespread. However, I found that the artists who inspired me the most when I was young were Freddy Mercury from Queen and Andrew Webber the composer of The Phantom of the Opera score. However, the supportive people in my life were most inspiring to me. My vocal coach Caren Jensen and my mother have always been my pillars; there to hold me up when I needed reassurance that I was on the right path.”

From your family, who all were your closest when you can talk about your artistic side?

“When it comes to my artistic side I’m an open book. I’m very lucky that my family and I are all very close. So when it comes to a project I’m working on I always love to hear their opinion whether it be harsh or uplifting. Their input is always important to me, not just in music but with any aspect of my life.” 

Please describe in a small paragraph like you growing up in America how you see the music landscape changed over your life (even it is very short yet). You may use singers through the years and go like that.

“My musical genre timeline is all over the place! I remember as early as age four and listening to classical music, singing to Britney Spears, visiting with my grandfather and listening to jazz, or going to my other grandfather’s house and listening to old country music. My older sister was listening to punk rock or Evanescence, and my parents would listen to bands like Queen or Foreigner. So I was getting a wide variety of input, but the funny thing was I loved all of it. I could enjoy the musicality in the different genres I was listening to, so I ended up listening to all of them on my own as well. When I joined choirs we would sing Classical and Being classically trained its always been a bigger part of my life. When I entered high school I started exploring music more and found a huge passion for the 70s-80s rock. Bands like Guns N’ Roses, Scorpions, AC DC, Styx, and so many others became big inspirations. Around that time I also became a big fan of Indie music, groups like The Glass Animals, Tame impala, Borns, Cage the Elephant, and Capital Cities were my favorites; and definitely influenced my writing style. Having graduated only a few years ago I find that I still don’t have a strict genre I listen to but lately I’ve loved listening to singers like Dean Martin, Etta James, and Frank Sinatra. 

Sarah Cleary

Are you a socially responsible artist? If so, what is your role as an artist?

“Am I Socially responsible? It has always been my goal to make people happy. I have never intentionally misled someone. I don’t see how you could be happy yourself or at peace inside if it’s not your intention to treat people well or make someone smile. I think that is what social responsibility is at the very core. Doing what you can to just be a good person. Honestly have never been to detention for behavior. I’ve never been in any serious trouble with my parents or even been pulled over or given an F on an assignment. So I’d say I’m a pretty responsible person. It’s not within my nature to be devious or get in trouble, and that’s something I am proud of. It’s something I think makes me a good role model. As an artist and as a human in general it is my goal to leave the world better than when I found it. Even if it was just making one person smile it still has an impact.” 

Black Americans and their contribution to American music are monumental. It is true as far as many other fields, like sports that America made an impression all across the world. Why are they treated so badly when it comes to things of equal treatment? 

“In history, we see men strive for power over other men. Wars, genocides, religions, Social classes, and slavery. Thinking about the Jewish in WWII, you can see them have all their rights taken away from them and then being treated worse and worse. The German people saw the Jews as being wealthy and because Germany was struggling from WWI, the people felt powerless and wanted to regain power in any way. Oftentimes bullies in schools have someone who picks on them whether it be an older brother or a strict parent, they feel the need to continue the cycle to regain the power they lost. Men who abuse women, oftentimes have some sort of a masculinity complex. A person in power will do whatever they can to keep it. So when women in America started getting rights certain men felt threatened. When Black slaves in America started getting rights the same type of people felt threatened. The people who had power now feel they are losing it. If you are not a secure person you have a higher chance of being a bully or being racist or sexist or homophobic because it makes you feel powerful. That’s what we are still dealing with today. It’s unfortunately the nature of humans. People who will do awful things to feel powerful.” 

Black culture and its influence on American pop music, your understanding or analysis.

“In America, music has been affected by many different immigrants and cultures as they all melt together. However, African American Culture has hugely impacted music to be what we hear on the radio today. Slave songs and Gospel are stepping stones to many different genres like soul and RnB. Black swing singing groups had music stolen from them and made popular by white groups. Black jazz groups started becoming more popular. Then came solo singers like Etta James and Nat King Cole. Tribal percussion correlates directly with rhythms you hear in rock n roll. And then we had groups like Jackson 5 who helped to open doors for other black musicals and groups alike. Rap music started to form and worked its way into Rock music giving you bands like Linkin Park, The Beastie Boys. It later merged with pop music and its influence is so prevalent on the radio right now. Pop today has been changed by rap immensely. You can find common rapping rhythms in Ariana Grande’s latest album or in Ed Sheeran’s music etc.”

Now is the time to ask about your music

How did you start with your music career? All the details, please.

“My music career started when I decided I wanted to be a singer at the age of four. People often say follow your dreams but this has never been a dream to me. I have always known that the potential of life is limitless and that I need to honor the time on earth by not wasting it with complacency. It’s a goal of mine to get to the end of my life with no real regrets. Not going for the career path that I want would definitely be a regret. So no matter how intimidating the music industry can be, it has never wavered my desire to follow my passion. I started with the goal to get into Berklee, my dream college. This meant I would need a scholarship, which meant I needed fantastic grades, lots of musical skill,s and certain accomplishments that made me stand out. So I made it happen. I ended up getting exactly what I set out to do and relentlessly worked for. I then decided that college wasn’t the right path for me. I felt that my career was already doing well enough to the point where I didn’t have 4 years to be in school. So I’ve taken online classes but have found I am just as effective in teaching myself than the knowledge I’d be learning in a music college. I’ve been traveling to LA and Nashville making connections and creating new music I am very proud of and can’t wait to see where my career takes me within the next few years.”

What makes you write your music lyrics?

“I have always loved creative writing. In school, it was one of my favorite topics, along with poetry. I once even wrote a thirty-page story for my sister when I was in elementary school. I’m definitely not gonna say it was any good though” Sarah laughed out loud. “Writing is something that just comes naturally to me and is one of my favorite parts of music-making. Taking the chords of a song and translating them into words, or taking words and conveying them into sounds. It’s something that satisfies my need for creativity.”

I know you can sing a variety of genres, starting from Classic to pop? Tell us how did you prepare yourself before you plunged into a music career seriously.

“Yes! I can sing almost any genre you throw at me, except maybe screamo. So although people may think I was just born talented, If you go back to my very first recording on Smule you can see…. that was not the case! Those videos are even 4 years into my training. I will say, I was only fourteen but music as a career choice for me was supported, but not fully realized until high school. In high school, especially the last two years of it, choir was everything to me! In my Senior year, I was a part of 5 choir classes! I was an “aid for Men’s choir”, women’s choir, Bellisima (which was an advanced women’s choir), and then in the schools’ concert choir and their specialty a Capella group. When the teacher left, he trusted me to teach the class! I was also a leader within my sections, so I would help teach voice parts their music. Our choir ended up winning! I was also a part of All state choirs which is where kids in schools around the state are in an audition to be in one single choir group for a large performance. It is very selective and a great honor to be in them. Every year I would get the solos which were something that looked good on my college resume! Once my voice developed more from training and just getting older music as a career became more of a reality to those myself and those around me.” 

Talk to us about your classical music training.

“I have never lost my voice and without my training, I definitely would never sound like I do today. I have tried out for a special choir at the age of ten and met my soon-to-be vocal coach Caren Jensen. She heard me and immediately saw my potential. Instead of putting me with my age group in the elementary level, she put me into the women’s choir because she knew I could handle it. I had no knowledge of sight-reading or singing in general but I caught on quickly and was able to sing with people women twice my age. I have learned so much! Then she offered to teach me privately. I learned fundamentals like posture, breathing, balance, resonance. Then we dove into more complex things as time went on. Now I focus on the body as a whole in tons of detail and how since everything is connected even the slightest thing like a tear in your fascia in your foot could have a way of affecting your vocal performance.”

You are an exceptionally beautiful girl. Did you try your hand in movies or will you try it?

“What a flattering question! I have done musicals and plays and love to act! It’s something that comes naturally to me. Expression of emotion in music is very important so I do practice acting quite often. It would be amazing to be in a film or TV show and is definitely something I am interested in in the future!”

Now about your earlier music, I think your major single I found is in the year 2017, “The one I want”. Please take us through your first break and how you go about finding an opportunity.

“Yes, my song The One I Want was the first real song I wrote. I had met a great producer, Abe Stewart, through a friend in LA. We became great friends and later produced many more songs together. This song has a special place in my heart because it was the first time I got to travel to further my career. It was the first time I got to feel like a true musician.” 

Your music and its lyrics are all about the human mind and states. Like sometimes you are in love like in ‘Fools Love’,‘The One I want, and in another song you talk about the magic happening in love, and about ‘Empty Words’ and ‘What You Get’ It seems like good and bad things happening to one’s life have a profound effect on what an artist experiences. Which is not very unusual. Instead of me analyzing these thoughts of you through songs please tell us about your songs. 

“So my song ‘Fools Love’ is about being in a toxic relationship but feeling like you are already so damaged that you can’t be affected by your partner’s bad attributes. So you dive into it fully knowing it’s wrong.” 

“My song ‘The One I Want’ is kinda all over the place, but the gist is that someone has had some hardships and feels a bit lost but this other person makes them feel complete and like they are where they belong.” 

“These songs are both about love but not all of my songs are. For example, my song ‘Escape’ is about being sheltered and not feeling like you are living fully because your decisions are all safe ones and you aren’t taking any chances. Also, my song ‘Painful’ is about finding how tough times and hardships make you stronger in the long run.” 

What defines you as an artist?

“I get asked this question a lot and it always stumps me. I know what defines me as a person. Things that are in my foundation like being trustworthy, truthful, kind, and grounded. When it comes to being an artist, I guess what defines me is my music, right? The things I write about and the overall message I send. I hope that message is just to simply enjoy life and hopefully people get a smile from my music or find it meaningful.”

What does your music mean to you?

Music is an expression of emotion itself. life would be meaningless if you couldn’t feel it. Music is the language of emotion without words. watching a movie with and without music is a great example. It enhances the emotions in the scene and does the same with any situation. If you go to a party and it’s silent and then you turn on the music suddenly everyone cheers up and is energized. If I were to make a metaphor, I’d say music is the color of an otherwise black and white photo. In the photo, you might be happy but once you add music it just enhances the photo and helps you see it in a more beautiful way. 

“Music is the color to an otherwise black and white photo” Sarah Cleary

Now let us talk about your song “Expectations”, tell me about your view on the bitter society and your take on the rules. Do you rebel sometimes? There is nothing wrong in it, you talked about it in your song, so do want to share your thoughts?

“This song was my inner rebel for sure. But,I would never be this blatant in person. Sarah laughed honestly. “That’s the great thing about music, you can act like you’re someone else sometimes. But this was around the time I was about to graduate and go to college and people do have certain expectations of you at this time and I felt other people were becoming very judgmental of each other’s career choices and college choices. So it was just what I felt like writing at the moment.” 

Your “painful” is probably the best lyrics i thought since it is mostly using imagery and strong symbolism. It looks like you really know how to tell what you want to say without saying it plainly, which is the artistic way. Tell us more about this song.

This song’s lyrics are definitely one of the favorites I’ve written. I felt very stressed at the point when I wrote it. I was working so hard on my career for so long without a substantial break and I was just thinking about how it will all pay off because nothing worthwhile is ever easy. so that’s what the song is about. knowing that in hard times you gain the most strength.

Let us walk through your museography as I understand.

In 2017 you wrote and sang “The One I Want” and .” Empty Words”, both are about love and broken relations. In 2018- “In love with yourself” You seem to be very quiet for this whole year

In 2019- You came back with many songs “I don’t care, Magical, Escape, Painful, What You Get, In the Air, Expectations, Sugar Rush ” It is a bit of turmoil of magical love and revenge. In 2020 – “Cry”, “Easier to Take” and “Stick With You” (all with Matthew Tuck). Heard all the above since that is what I could find on “Apple Music“. Sorry if I missed any good ones.

I think you have extensively spoken about relations through your songs. Life goes through meeting with people and falling in love, sometimes breaking up and moving on. What do you think you achieve through making an art form out of your own life experiences. because sometimes “What you get” is some kind of relief from a lot of pain, someone caused in one’s life. Another nice example is “Sugar rush”.The story not told in those lines makes the lyrics and music strong and a listener relates to the emotions you portray at deeper levels. As an artist does such a process of making music based on personal experience put you through a lot of emotional turmoil while forming the song?

“Honestly, most of my songs are not based on personal experiences. I’ve had very very little relationship experience in my life thus far. Mostly because I am married to my career and don’t have a whole lot of time for dates. But the songs that are based on personal experience are actually therapeutic to write about. It feels good to express any emotion I feel. As you are writing you are also organizing your own thoughts on the subject and laying them out in a way that helps to actualize and once they are written down they no longer fester inside your mind. 

In “Magical”, you write “Our love is a sorcery, and they say I’ve got the devil in me”. Wow, strong words, what is all this imagery about?

“So this song is all about a love that is magical. People who wield magic are called sorcerers and through history, they are believed to have connections with the devil. Also, any sort of sensual feeling was considered a sin or impure. So it’s just a play on words to say you have sensual feelings for someone while also connecting magic to it.” 

You are an Indie pop-style singer, yet mix a lot of different styles.(indie, pop, alternative, country, rock, classical). Tell us why you adopt this style? who influenced you, all about that

Growing up with so many genres to influence my love for music also affected how I sang. The more you sing a style the more you adopt it, like accents. 

You mentioned your own music production and have the equipment to produce music independently. You are so young and where did you learn all this?

“I am mostly self-taught! There is so much you can learn on youtube. But I also have taken a few online college production courses. Much you can just figure out on your own though. Most of my music composition comes from just feeling and hearing where the chords or melody should go rather than relying on music theory.”

Sarah

If there is a social issue that arises, as an artist will you take a strong public stand and speak?

“It definitely depends on what the subject is. I definitely am not afraid to be vocal and if I see an injustice am inclined to talk about it. While at the same time I am a private person I don’t feel it’s necessary for my fans and followers to know every stance I take on every topic.”

What do you think is going to be the future of musicians with respect to this Virus pandemic?

“Concerts are going to be hard to bring back without having many precautions. However, I personally feel my career has actually been affected beneficially. The amazing thing we are seeing with quarantine is everyone’s creativity online. Making more video projects and more live performances on social platforms. People are collaborating more and it is beautiful. Everyone is turning to music and art during this tough time for some light and it feels good to be able to create things that help to improve someone’s day during this time.”

Please talk about your contemporaries, friends, and Smule if you want 

Many of my good music friends are from Smule most of them I have collaborated with and posted on my Instagram. I am very lucky to have met them and that is the amazing thing about Smule that never fails to surprise me. People from all over the world who I likely would never get to meet are able to talk to me and sing together which is incredible. I am so grateful for that. 

Here is a list of songs that we may not have discussed here, Go to the below link

https://linktr.ee/_sarahcleary

END NOTES

When we finish writing about Sarah and her music one feeling that override our thoughts is the overwhelming talent that this singer is. Moreover is her great personality, poise, hard work, honesty in everything she responds to, make her an outstanding singer of our times, poised to be a great singing career in a very crowded music scene. We started this relationship with this musician and will continue as much we can support her as an artist. We wish her all the best of everything in her career forward. Do visit Sarah on her social media handles on Smule at the links below for more music.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Tjkscleary

https://www.instagram.com/_sarahcleary/?hl=en

Leave you all with this excellent thoughtful song Sarah says “Escape’ is about being sheltered and not feeling like you are living fully because your decisions are all safe ones and you aren’t taking any chances”. It kind of sums up why Sarah is a successful singer.