Search for any pop song on YouTube and you will see hundreds and thousands of different covers of the same song. While a lot of them fail to match the standard of the original, some of them stand out of the debris. Vidya Iyer’s covers belong to the second category. Blending two different worlds comes naturally to Vidya, whose YouTube channel today has almost 1.5 million subscribers.
Excerpts from the interview:
How did you manage to stay close to your roots in a different land?
Music has to be one of the ways I left connected with India. As a child and and through high school, I learnt Carnatic music along with my sister. I used to also listen to songs by Ilaiyaraaja, A.R. Rahman and even watch Indian movies.
Did you imagine growing up to be a singer?
Not at all, very far from it, in fact. I never thought being a musician would be something I could make a career out of. It wasn’t until my collaboration with Shankar Tucker (my partner on the channel) during college that I saw this as a possibility.
How do you choose which two songs to fuse?
I start with a song that I like. For example, Tum Hi Ho was requested; and it fit well with Bieber’s Let Me Love You. It’s like a puzzle. A lot of times, it doesn’t work, but all the ones that I love are the ones you see online!
How do you approach your music? Give us an insight into the behind-the-scenes of a music video.
I usually start with a song that I like, that’s popular on the charts or something that has been requested. Then Shankar and I go through what song we can mash it up with or see if we only want to do a plain cover. He then makes a rough track to which I record my vocals. Once he finishes up the mix and the production, we go out and shoot it.
Would you say you are open to criticism from your listeners or are you averse to it?
I take everything with a grain of salt, because what one person likes, the next person won’t. You can’t please everyone. It’s very important to me to stay true to who I am as a musician and the songs that I love. And to stay undiluted, I need to put on some blinders and keep chugging ahead.
What are your plans for your near future?
I’m currently working on my EP and it’s set to release this spring. I also hope to go on tour this year in India and the US.
