Rhea Raj | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rhea Sri Rajagopalan [1] April 5, 2000 [2] Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Education | NYU Tisch |
| Occupations |
|
| Relatives | Lara Raj (sister) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2016–present [4] |
| Labels | |
| Website | rhearaj |
Rhea Sri Rajagopalan (born April 5, 2000), known professionally as Rhea Raj, is an American singer and songwriter. She released her first EP, Hunter, in 2024, followed by her EP, COMMOTION, in 2025. In September 2026, Rhea announced that she signed a joint venture deal between Republic Records and Hybe UMG. [5]
Raj was born on April 5, 2000, in Stamford, Connecticut, in the United States, to Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil immigrants, Kavita and Srivastan Rajagopalan. [6] [7] She grew up in Dallas, Texas. [8] Her mother ran a Bharatnatyam dance school and her father worked in digital marketing. [6] At two years old, she began learning classical Indian dance. [9] She began singing when she was 10 years old, and began writing songs and producing on Logic Pro when she was 11 years old. [10] [11] She has a younger sister, Lara Raj (of Katseye), who is also a singer. [12]
Raj appeared in the fifteenth season of American Idol in 2016. She progressed from the audition stage but failed to pass the Hollywood Week round. [4] [13]
In 2018, Raj started college at New York University Tisch School of the Arts' Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music where she met Jacob Kasher Hindlin. [14] She later signed with Hindlin's publishing company, Livelihood Music Company, for representation as a writer and producer. [15] [11]
In 2020, she was selected by BMI to receive the Abe Olman Scholarship Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. [16]
In 2023, Raj was selected as the Spotify x Gold House Artist of the Year. [17]
In 2024, Raj released her debut studio album, Hunter, [18] [3] and a stripped down version, Hunter (Tamed edition). [19] In 2025, Raj released her follow-up EP, Commotion. [20] Its lead single "Haute Couture" with Aliyah's Interlude received a Fortnite emote. She performed "Haute Couture" alongside Aliyah's Interlude at Lollapalooza in 2025. [6] Later that year, Raj went on her first headlining tour to promote the EP. [21]
In January 2026, Raj became the first artist signed to 5 Junction Management, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group led by DesiHits founder Anjula Acharia. [22]
In September 2026, she joined Hybe UMG and Republic Records, this being the first joint-venture deal between the two. [5]
Rhea attended the 2026 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show where her unreleased single "DREAMGIRL" made its global debut during the Pink Halftime segment. [23]
| Year | Artist | Album | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Knock2 and Rhea Raj | ||
| 2025 | Rhea Raj and Aliyah's Interlude | "Haute Couture" | |
| 2025 | Maroon 5 featuring Lisa | Love Is Like | "Priceless" |