Vardaan Arora

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Vardaan Arora
Born (1992-04-22) 22 April 1992 (age 32)
New Delhi, India
Nationality Indian
Alma mater The British School, New Delhi
NYU Tisch School of the Arts
Occupation(s)Musician, actor

Vardaan Arora (born 22 April 1992) is an Indian recording artist, songwriter, and actor based in New York. [1]

Contents

Early life

Vardaan Arora was born in New Delhi, India. [2] After attending The British School in New Delhi, he went on to study theatre at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. [3]

Career

Vardaan Arora's introduction to the pop music scene happened with his debut single, "Feel Good Song", in 2016. The song, written by Arora himself, charted on Spotify's Viral 50. [4] In 2018, following the release of his single What If, Arora was named one of Billboard's 12 LGBTQ Musicians to Discover During Pride Month alongside up and coming openly queer acts such as Jesse Saint John, Zolita, REYNA, and others. [5] Arora most recently released singles "January" and "thirty under thirty" in 2019. He co-penned the tracks with songwriter Natalia Lalwani, who is also originally from India. [6] [7] [8]

As an actor, Vardaan Arora was to appear on Netflix's psychological thriller Gypsy , starring Naomi Watts. [3] [9]

Arora has been an outspoken advocate for the LGBT community, [10] and has also been open about his struggles with obsessive–compulsive disorder [1] in order to gather more awareness about mental health issues.[ citation needed ]

In 2019, Arora was cast in the film Wrong Turn . [11]

In August 2020, Arora released his debut EP, Heartbreak On The Dance Floor. Arora told Billboard, "I think I went into this industry pretty blindly, and because of that, I was still figuring out who I was as an artist for those four years...I'm aiming to make a big impact — I want to make a statement with this." [12] Billboard wrote, "It's clear that Arora succeeded: the pure synth-pop he delivers on Heartbreak is some of his best yet, all packaged within the cohesive confines of a well-defined '80s aesthetic." [12] The music video for the title track was featured in Rolling Stone who wrote, "Arora explores confidence, anxiety, sexiness, self-doubt and aims to portray that all these emotions can co-exist. Diving into glimmering pop that swivels every now and then, Arora has a handle on catchy pop that still places the most importance on emotive melodies." [13]

Discography

Extended plays

TitleDetails
Heartbreak on the Dance Floor [14]
  • Released: 21 August 2020
  • Label: Independent
  • Format: Digital Download

Singles

TitleYearAlbum
"BOLO BOLO (Now or Never)"2023Non-album singles
"Never Believed In Love"2023
"CMBYN" (by Luke Markinson)2023Feature on a non-album single
"addicted to sad"2023Non-album singles
"It's Ok If You Forget Me"2023
"Diamond Tears"2022
"damn (can you let me live)"2022
"SOLO DISCO" (featuring Kit Major)2022
"sunday scaries"2021
"obsessive"2021
"I Don't Wanna Know" (featuring MRSHLL)2020Heartbreak on the Dance Floor
"Imposter Syndrome" [15] 2020Heartbreak on the Dance Floor
"Rare" [16] 2020Heartbreak on the Dance Floor
"Drama" (featuring nicopop) [17] 2020Non-album singles
"Famous"2019
"thirty under thirty"2019
"january" [18] 2019
"Dance Like You" [19] 2018
"What If"2018
"Like A Polaroid"2017
"Poison"2017
"Just Like That"2016
"Feel Good Song" [20] 2016

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References

  1. 1 2 "Meet Vardaan Arora, The India-Born Singer Calling for Queer South Asian Representation in Music". Billboard. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  2. "Vardaan Arora strikes a pose in 'Like a Polaroid' music video". AXS. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Vardaan Arora Talks Queer, Brown Representation and Staying Unapologetic". www.intomore.com. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  4. "Vardaan Arora on His Infectious Pop Music & Growing Up Gay and Indian". www.pride.com. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  5. "12 Musicians to Discover During LGBTQ Pride Month". Billboard. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  6. "Vardaan Arora Ditches Anxiety, Embraces Love On Upbeat New Song 'January': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  7. "Listen to Vardaan Arora's reflective synthpop single thirty under thirty". Gay Times. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  8. "Vardaan Arora drops new single "january"". veylex. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  9. Gypsy , retrieved 16 August 2019
  10. "Vardaan Arora on growing up gay in India and how it's influenced him as an artist". Gay Times. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  11. Wrong Turn , retrieved 9 September 2019
  12. 1 2 "Vardaan Arora Breaks Down His Debut EP 'Heartbreak On the Dance Floor' Track-By-Track". Billboard. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  13. "Vardaan Arora Goes to Prom All Alone in 'Heartbreak On The Dance Floor' Video -". 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  14. HEARTBREAK ON THE DANCE FLOOR , retrieved 26 October 2020
  15. "Vardaan Arora launches new EP with infectious dance banger Imposter Syndrome". GAY TIMES. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  16. "Vardaan Arora unveils 80s-inspired cover of Rare by Selena Gomez". GAY TIMES. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  17. "Vardaan Arora & Nicopop Are Ready for a Messy Valentine's Day Full of 'Drama': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  18. "Vardaan Arora Ditches Anxiety, Embraces Love On Upbeat New Song 'January': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  19. "Vardaan Arora on growing up gay in India and how it's influenced him as an artist". GAY TIMES. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  20. "Vardaan Arora is celebrating a confident new chapter with his triumphant debut EP". GAY TIMES. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.