 In my 11th episode of our series Rising Stars, this is the fight against the emerging talent of the music industry and today on this very special episode, we have with us a budding artist and rising star, Shenan Kedrida, you are coming to her today. Annie, thank you so much for having me. Can you share with us your journey to the music industry starting from your debut? How you wanted to come in this industry? How it all happened? I always wanted to be in music since I was raised in that environment, knowing that my dad is a huge Bollywood singer. So I think that was something that I kind of grew up into and I decided to kind of step into it as a profession and I told my dad and he was really happy about it, very supportive, but he was like, this is like your battle and your struggle, so you need to do it by yourself. So yeah, that being said, I kind of did my debut in 2018 with Pooh Bear. And that was a great hit with the song A Long Time. A lot of people really loved it and I think that was kind of like an encouragement for me to keep going and I was like, okay, yeah, people are kind of liking my voice and my style. So yeah. That was great. So what inspired you to pursue your career in singing and I think basically in singing and acting? Who was your biggest inspiration? Your dad, I must say, was singing and I'm happy, yeah. I think like, yeah, for sure. Like you said, in singing, my dad has been my first go and inspiration for sure. And later on, I was definitely influenced by the legends out here such as Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion. So those all were my musical inspirations. And then in terms of acting, I have seen amazing, amazing actors on screen and I think they have influenced me and definitely inspired me to get into acting such as Irfan Khan sir, Anupam Kher sir, Govinda sir, and out here in the West we have of course Mou Street, Johnny Dapp. I think these amazing artists have definitely been an influence in my acting journey. So yeah. Yeah. So how do you stay informed and adapted to the ever changing landscape of the music business, particularly with the rise of digital platforms and streaming services? How do you stay connected with that? I am not much of a social media freak. I try to keep things a little private, especially these days when everybody wants you to kind of like step out of your comfort zone and just kind of like be a bit more engaged with your audience and let them know what you're up to and stuff. So I kind of have to find a right balance between things that I want to share with my people and things that I just want to kind of keep it to myself. Having said, I love to kind of just, you know, I make sure that whatever is that I'm putting out there has a certain message. If not, it's still like a good positive vibe that I'm kind of sending across. And yeah, I mean, you know, I hardly post, but when I do, I'm really glad that my fans are like so, you know, patient enough to like, you know, wait for me to kind of keep working and keep sending sharing stuff with them. So for example, I have a new single coming out on March 8th, which is like your tomorrow and my tomorrow. Yeah. Exactly. So, um, yeah, it's all excited, exciting out here. And they asked me tomorrow, tell us about this more. Yeah, it's called Jimmy Jimmy. I'm sure you've heard the iconic, you know, disco song by the, you know, by the King of Disco, Mr. Bopilari. So I had an amazing opportunity and experience to meet him during his birthday celebration right before his demise. And we had a lovely chat together and he blessed me and he was like, you know, I'm going to definitely do a song with you. Unfortunately, we lost him too soon. And that was, you know, that was something that I kind of wanted to that I was craving for, you know, to work with him. And eventually, you know, his son, Bappa, he kind of like, you know, brought me on to this really cool reprised version of Jimmy Jimmy. And I was like, yes, I definitely want to give a little tribute to Buffy Uncle. And yeah. And so we made this, you know, we kept the authentic core to, you know, to the original song, but we just added a little bit of, you know, specs of the modern touch and feel. And even the visuals itself, like we kind of like went back in time, you know, you can see like the disco balls or a lot of glitters and everything. So it's a true 80s style song, of course, and the visuals. So yeah. So recently, you got an award also, if I'm not wrong. Yes, I did. I won the W.E.A. award for. Our feeling. The feeling was absolutely unexpected because to be able to win, you know, for your native song in a, you know, in a different land, in a different country that are that are not really fluent to like listening to, you know, Hindi songs or and stuff. So so, yeah, that was very unexpected. And I was super surprised by it. But at the same time, I was very, you know, thankful and appreciative of the of the panel, you know, who acknowledged the song and they really liked it. So I think kind of, you know, gave real life, made me realize that that, you know, music again has no language, has no boundary, you know, everybody from every parts of the world can really enjoy music. So, yeah. Yeah, definitely, definitely, you're very right on that. So how do you approach like the projects, whether it's a music called collaborations or enacting those, what do you see specifically from that? For when it comes to like music, collaborations and just the creativity part of it, I make sure that, again, like I said, you know, to have a certain impact on on the people on the society, community. And if not, then just, you know, giving them something good because I think we are all sort of in a, you know, running in a lifestyle where we're just crazy. It's it's crazy out there, you know, and it's so serious and everything. So just kind of give them a good vibes and happiness and inspiration to whatever is it that they're dreaming of, you know, to continue you know, following their dreams and stuff. And then when it comes to acting, just sort of, you know, I'm still learning. I kind of recently transitioned myself into acting. So I'm exploring myself as an actress as well, learning a lot of things, you know, watching tons and tons of movies and doing like workshops and stuff. So so, yeah, I, you know, for me, like acting has always kind of been there. It's, you know, it's like the twin sister of music, you could say. So so, yeah, I think it's just about like the matter of, you know, patience and obviously a lot of learning to do. Same with music. I mean, you know, these things are like, you know, there's so many things that you still have to keep learning and trying out and experimenting. So so, yeah. Yeah, definitely, you're right. And I must say in today's time, if you put your song out there on social media, it's going to go viral as an independent artist also. Now that you don't need any music labels to promote your song. What's your take on that? I agree with that completely. I'm an independent artist. I've always been. I've had a few, you know, like labels reach out to me in the past, but I think I was a bit too young to get into those, you know, skeptical contracts. They're kind of seemed really sketchy. And obviously, you know, like industry people have always said that labels, you know, kind of show you or do you wrong and have seen a lot of sort of examples throughout with different artists. So I think it's it's a safer sort of route to be independent, but at the same time, it's a lot more. Yeah, it's a lot more challenging because everything is now on you. So right from like the marketing to the strategy to like the creativity. Now, you're not just like a creative part. You're also need to put on your, you know, business hat on because you then need to kind of like think about what's next and how you're going to like, you know, put your song out or whatever is it that you're working. So yeah, but I'm so glad to see that, you know, people and the audience and even like, you know, the entertainment business is slowly opening up to, you know, independent artists like myself and they're acknowledging their talents and stuff. So so yeah, you never know, like what the future holds. Maybe like we won't probably won't have any labels. Definitely, definitely. It's it's a very future for independent artists, I must say. How how are you bringing the dollar of legacy from our family and from your artist, you know, first to it. I would say what all you learn from him. The birthday. I have learned so much from him. You know, I have also kind of like you said, you know, my upbringing. So I would definitely love to give a shout out to my mom, you know, give them both of my parents the credit for it. They have always taught me to, you know, again, be down to earth and be kind to one another, have empathy towards, you know, especially towards animals since, you know, they they're a voiceless species and I think we as human beings are it's our duty and responsibility to to take care of those voiceless animals and everything. And and just like the values and, you know, just ethics and morals that you need to kind of like keep in check with yourself in order to, you know, move on in your life and and just have a good, satisfied life. And from my dad, I've learned a lot on the business end as well, such as, you know, don't let the success kind of take over you and just, you know, breathe in when you when you feel like you're starting to, you know, get those attitude and come in and stuff. So yeah, it's always fun to kind of like chat with him and, you know, know about like his, you know, his days and his struggles and how he kind of like over, you know, came all those things. So so yeah, it's really cool. Yeah, definitely. So what's your take on Bollywood music? Bollywood music? Are you planning to, you know, work with some of the Bollywood artists out there? Well, I have worked with a couple of great great, you know, music producers in Bollywood, such as HR. And I've also worked with Sean Sir, so Lou Sir. We did a great collaborations on this like very beautiful, you know, hybrid kind of song. And so yeah, and also kind of gave my voice to a couple of like web series as well. I recently did a Bollywood movie called Sheldzendagi, which so I was one of the, you know, leads in it and we had Sanjay Mishra and all the songs were sung by me. So so yeah, I did a little bit of, you know, here and there. And I think I'm just sort of again, exploring myself and looking for great opportunities. I would love to collaborate with as many artists as I possibly can, because there's always something that you learn from each other. And, you know, you get to step into their genre, and they get to step into yours. And it's just, you know, the whole sort of vibe of collaborating has always fascinated me. So I'm looking forward to, you know, seeing what's there for me in Bollywood. So what's your favorite Bollywood song and what's your favorite song that you have sung? Can you listen to the two lines on that? I have, I mean, you know, I got to mention my dad's song. I really love that song. It's called Jebkoipat Bigar Jet. And I think it's everybody's song through song. So so yeah. All right. Here you go. Something like this. Thank you. That was so sweet. You sang it so well. I love it. Thank you. Looking forward, what are your aspirations for your career in the entertainment business and what are your projects aligned with? Tell us about them. Um, I have a couple of projects lined up. Like I said, I have this amazing single coming out on March 8th. I have a podcast on Ruckus Avenue Radio, which is associated with iHeartRadio. So that's where I play the part of being a host. And I, you know, I'm always there on weekly basis talking about like the top 15 countdown. And I'm also doing a bit of acting. I am recently, you know, I'm currently filming for a TV show out here in U.S. And there are a couple of songs lined up in Bollywood as well. So so yeah, I'm very hopeful for the future. And I think my my goal would just to be, you know, to be inspired, inspiring to other people out there who, you know, who have a dream and to to keep continue to follow their dreams and everything. And just to be, you know, satisfied with everything that I'm doing with all the content that I'm producing and putting it out there. So so yeah, I hope that, you know, the future is bright for me. Definitely, it is very bright for you. So when you sign this song, I can tell you my, you know, word that was amazing. And so what you can expect from your big business in that same 24 in terms of what comments you would like to get on that. Sorry, can you say that again? What what we can expect from 24 new big businesses in that? Oh, you can expect, I mean, a lot. You know, there's I, I think like my journey is full of like surprises and ups and downs. So I never really keep expectations. And I don't think any artist does or should. Because it's just that, you know, it's just a yeah, it's a it's a it's a place where, you know, you usually get like the least expected things happens with you. And you just got to be optimistic about it and be open to create be open to be able to like navigate from one place to another, be open for different opportunities and stuff. So that's what I'm currently in, you know, I'm just kind of like exploring different avenues and routes. And yeah, I hope I mean, it's just the beginning of 2024, but you never know, it's like the months are going so fast. I'm like, Oh my God, we're already in March. It's crazy. So so yeah, sometimes it's like, you know, you're on a time crunch and you're running out of time. And then other times it's just like, take it slow, you know, breathe and just kind of like map things out. So you're following it on time. Yeah, very all the best to you for your future. And with our pleasure to have you on us on our show. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much. I had a lovely time chatting with you. You're too great. Thank you. Thank you.