Vidya Iyer, better known by her stage name Vidya Vox, is an Indo-American YouTuber and singer.[2] She was born in Chennai and immigrated with her family to the USA at the age of eight years. Her music is a mix of Western pop, electronic dance music, and Indian classical music.[2] Since beginning her channel in April 2015, her videos have received over 450 million views, and her channel has accumulated over 4.7 million subscribers. Her mashup of Major Lazer's Lean On with a Punjabi folk song has 35 million views on YouTube[2] as of August 2018.

Contents 1 Personal life 2 Career 3 Discography 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links Personal life

Vidya Iyer was born in Chennai, India and was raised in Virginia in the United States. She spoke 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 now feels proud of her culture.[3][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]

Her sister is Vandana Iyer and her boyfriend is composer-director-musician Shankar Tucker, whom she met in college. All three collaborated in 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.[4]

Her most popular mashup was "Closer / Kabira", 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.[5] 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.[6][7][8]

Discography Sia - Big Girls Cry | Kabhi Jo Badal Barse (Mashup Cover) (23 April 2015) – no longer available under Vidya Vox's channel due to a copyright claim by Yash Raj Films[citation needed] Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do | Hosanna (Mashup Cover) (5 May 2015) Nico & Vinz Am I Wrong | Yeh Duriya (ft. Rohan Kymal) (Mashup Cover) (20 May 2015) Tiaan – Dive Deep | Tujhme Rab Dikhta Hai (Mashup Cover) (29 May 2015) – no longer available under Vidya Vox's channel due to a copyright claim by Yash Raj Films[citation needed] Ed Sheeran – I See Fire (Cover) (4 June 2015) Taylor Swift – Blank Space | Mental Manadhil (Mashup Cover) (13 June 2015) Sam Smith – Lay Me Down | Ennodu Nee Irundhaal (Mashup Cover) (24 June 2015) Major Lazer – Lean On | Jind Mahi (ft. Ricky Jatt, Raashi Kulkarni, Raginder Momi) (Mashup Cover) (5 July 2015) Come Alive (Original) | Hasi (Mashup Cover) (5 August 2015) Calvin Harris – How Deep Is Your Love | Balam Pichkari (Mashup Cover) (25 August 2015) John Legend – All Of Me | Main Hoon Hero Tera (Mashup Cover) (5 September 2015) Jack Ü – Where Are Ü Now Shankar Tucker (Mashup Cover) (28 September 2015) The Weeknd – Prisoner | Ang Laga De (Mashup Cover) (12 October 2015) Selena Gomez – Same Old Love | Mere Sapno Ki Rani (Mashup Cover) (30 October 2015) Justin Bieber – Sorry | Kandukondain Kandukondain (Mashup Cover) (7 December 2015) Kuttanadan Punjayile – Kerala Boat Song (English Remix) (12 January 2016) Taal Se Taal Mila (ft. Shankar Tucker and Jomy George) (Remix Cover) (12 February 2016) Rihanna – Work | Sakhiya Cheliya (Mashup Cover) (15 March 2016) Zayn – Like I Would | Sun Saathiya (Mashup Cover) (7 April 2016) Adele – When We Were Young | Jashn E Bahaara (Mashup Cover) (13 April 2016) Nicki Minaj – Truffle Butter | Ambarsariya (Mashup Cover) (25 May 2016) – no longer available under Vidya Vox's channel due to a copyright claim by T-Series[citation needed] Calvin Harris and Rihanna – This Is What You Came For (ft. Jomy George) (Tabla Remix Cover) (21 June 2016) Drake – One Dance | Gur Naalo Ishq Mitha Oye Hoye (Mashup Cover) (6 July 2016) – no longer available under Vidya Vox's channel due to a copyright claim by T-Series[citation needed] Cheap Thrills (ft. Shankar Tucker and Akshaya Tucker) (Cover) (26 July 2016) Cold Water (Cover) (12 August 2016) Let Me Love You | Tum Hi Ho (Mashup) (23 September 2016) – no longer available under Vidya Vox's channel due to a copyright claim by T-Series[citation needed] Sandcastles (Original) | Teri Khair Mangdi (ft. Devender Pal Singh) (Mashup Cover) (4 October 2016) Endless Summer Stars (Original) – Live in San Francisco (27 October 2016) The Chainsmokers – Closer | Kabira (ft. Casey Breves) (Vidya Vox Mashup Cover) (8 November 2016) – This video is no longer available under Vidya Vox's channel due to a copyright claim by T-Series[citation needed] Charlie Puth – We Don't Talk Anymore | Pani Da Rang (ft. Saili Oak) (Vidya Vox Mashup Cover) (2 December 2016) Be Free (Original) | Pallivaalu Bhadravattakam (ft. Vandana Iyer) (9 January 2017) Tove Lo – Cool Girl | Jiya Re (Vidya Vox Mashup Cover) (21 January 2017) – no longer available under Vidya Vox's channel due to a copyright claim by Yash Raj Films[citation needed] Kuthu Fire – Official Video | (Vidya Vox) (1 March 2017) The Chainsmokers & Coldplay – Something Just Like This | Channa Mereya (Vidya Vox Mashup Cover)(30 March 2017) Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You | Cheez Badi Hai (Mashup Cover)(27 May 2017) - no longer available under Vidya Vox's channel due to a copyright claim by T-Series[citation needed] Diamonds ft Arjun(Original) (8 July 2017) Kuthu Fire EP (August 18, 2017) Home (Official Video) (October 19, 2017) Show me your Light (Official lyric video) Minnale (Official Video) (29 March 2018) Tamil Born Killa (Official Video) (26 April 2018) References ^ a b "About". Vidya Vox. 9 December 2015. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-26.  ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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, 17 Nov 2017. ^ Vidya Vox proud to be Indian in America, IANS, 22 Nov 2017. ^ "The mashup star". The Hindu. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.  ^ "Singer Vidya Vox on Blending two Musical Worlds: East and West". India.com. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2015.  ^ "The Famous Kerala Boat Song 'Kuttanadan Punjayile' Just Got A New Twist And It Sounds Awesome". The Huffington Post. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2015.  ^ "Vidya and Shankar Tucker gives Kerala's favourite boat song 'Kuttanadan Punjayile' a classic twist". India Today. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2015.  ^ "Stylish makeover for Malayalam folk song". Deccan Chronicle. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2015.  Further reading "6 Best Indian/English Song Mashups by Singer Vidya". India.com.  "Blend it like Vidya!". The Times of India. 3 February 2016.  "YouTube Star Vidya Iyer On Bollywood Dreams, Failure And Racial Tension In The US". The Huffington Post. 16 March 2017.  "YouTube sensation, US-based fusion singer Vidya Iyer is headed to India". India Today. 9 March 2017.  External links Official website