Vidya Vox

Last updated

Vidya Vox
Vidya Vox 2016 (cropped).png
Personal information
Born
Vidya Iyer

(1990-09-26) September 26, 1990 (age 34)
NationalityAmerican [1]
Occupations
  • Musician
  • actress
  • YouTuber
  • vlogger
  • dancer
Website www.vidyavox.com
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2015–present
Genres
Subscribers7.63 million [3]
Views1.25 billion [3]
Network Studio71
Associated acts Shankar Tucker, Arjun
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers2015
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg1,000,000 subscribers2016

Last updated: August 10, 2025

Vidya Iyer (born September 26, 1990), better known by her stage name Vidya Vox, is an American YouTuber and singer. [2] She was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India and immigrated with her family to the United States at the age of eight. According to NBC News, her music is a mix of "Western pop, electronic dance music, Bollywood hits, and Indian classical music." [2] Since beginning her channel in April 2015, her videos have received over 906 million views, and her channel has accumulated over 7 million subscribers. [2] [4]

Contents

Personal life

Iyer was born in a Tamil Iyer family in Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India and was raised in Virginia in the United States. [5] Her family is from Palakkad, Kerala, and her mother and grandmother grew up in Kerala. [6] She speaks Tamil at home. She learned Carnatic music from the age of 5 and enjoyed listening to English music. She stated to having an identity crisis, being bullied for being Indian, and hiding her culture while growing up, but has stated she "now feels proud" of her culture. [5]

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]

She collaborated on music with her sister, Vandana Iyer, and her boyfriend, Shankar Tucker, whom she met in college. [2] She participates in bhangra and hip hop dance. [2]

Career

Vidya Vox regularly sings in a band organized by Tucker, along with percussionist Jomy George. [7] [8] 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 performed at Festivals Des Artes on Réunion; for INK Women; in Suriname; in Dubai; and at the Meru Concert Series in the Netherlands. [9]

Her most popular mashup was "Closer / Kabira", a mash up of "Closer" by the Chainsmokers and "Kabira" from the Bollywood film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani 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. [10] She released "Kuttanadan Punjayile", a Kerala boat song, as a fusion along with an English song written by 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 herself. [11] [12] [13]

Discography

Original Score

YearAlbumSongCredited asCo-singer(s)Notes
ComposerLyricistProducer
2017Kuthu Fire"Kuthu Fire"Red x.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgCo-written, composed and produced by Shankar Tucker
"Diamonds"Green check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgArjun
Co-written by Arjun Coomarsamy
"Be Free" (Pallivaalu Bhadravattakam)Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgVandana IyerVideography and Editing by Shankar Tucker
"Home"Red x.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgCo-written, composed, directed and produced by Shankar Tucker
"Show Me Your Light"Green check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svg
"Tamil Born Killa"Red x.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svg
Additionally written by Akshaya Tucker
2018MinnaleGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgPartnered with Global Desi
Kaadhal ThozhiRed x.svgRed x.svgRed x.svgTamil lyrics by Madhan Karky
Co-written, composed, directed and produced by Shankar Tucker
Fly AwayRed x.svgRed x.svgRed x.svgMaatiBaani
Gujarati lyrics by MaatiBaani
2019Mad Dreams"Appadi Poodu Di"Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgProduced by Shrutibox Music
"Mad Dreams"Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgCo-written by Shankar Tucker, Casey Breves and Sam Tsui
"Butterfly"Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
"Lose the Night"Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgProduced by Shrutibox Music
"Look at the Lights"Green check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgCo-written by Shankar Tucker, Mindy Jones
Make a MoveGreen check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgCo-written and Produced by Shankar Tucker
Additionally written by Casey Breves and Sam Tsui
2020Faded LoveGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgCo-written and performed by Devenderpal Singh
ThalaiviGreen check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgCo-written and Produced by Shankar Tucker
Lost in the SummerGreen check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svg
2021NachleGreen check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgTrichia Grace-Ann Rebello & Shrey JadavProduced by Adil S Aziz
Melt In My TouchGreen check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgCo-written and Produced by Shankar Tucker
2022VanakkamGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
Moonlight (Pera Sollu)Green check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svg Shankar Tucker Co-written and Produced by Shankar Tucker
Dream Catcher | Tu Paas AanaGreen check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgShashwat Singh
Additionally written by Shashwat Singh
2023Shubha Mangalyam | Made in the StarsGreen check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgAdditionally written by Seetha Jayakumar (Malayalam), Neeraj Pandey (Hindi)
Co-written and Produced by Shankar Tucker
2024Sundari"Stardust"Green check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgProduced by Shankar Tucker
Tamil lyrics by Madhan Karky
"Sundari"Green check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svg
Co-written and produced by Shankar Tucker
"Ini Ninte Lokam (Go Off)"Green check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgCo-written by Ambrose Tucker and Seetha Jayaraman
Produced by Shankar Tucker
"Dangerous"Green check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgNikhita Gandhi
"Champagne Roses"Green check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svg
Co-written by Ambrose Tucker
"Yazhiha"Green check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgCo-written by Rohith Jayaraman, Ambrose Tucker and Madhan Karky
Produced by Shankar Tucker

As singer

YearSongComposerCo-singer(s)LanguageNotes
2024Kaakarattan G. V. Prakash Kumar Rajalakshmi SenthilganesanTamil [14]
One More TimeG. V. Prakash KumarG. V. Prakash KumarTeluguDebut in feature films

References

  1. 1 2 "About". Vidya Vox. December 9, 2015. Archived from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Luhar, Monica (November 17, 2017). "As a kid, Vidya Vox hid her Indian roots. Now, her music merges India and the U.S." NBC News. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "About Vidya Vox". YouTube.
  4. "Be Free (Pallivaalu Bhadravattakam) ft. Vandana Iyer". YouTube . January 9, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Vidya Vox proud to be Indian in America". IANS . November 22, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  6. Jaames, Merin Maria (January 17, 2016). "Stylish makeover for Malayalam folk song". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved November 6, 2022.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. Sreenivasan, Deepthi (July 14, 2016). "Black or brown, Jomy George is a maestro". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  8. Khan, Farah (April 28, 2016). "Vidya Vox Returns to Her Roots With Latest 'Jodhaa Akbar'-Adele Mashup". India.com. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  9. "The mashup star". The Hindu. August 21, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  10. "Singer Vidya Vox on Blending two Musical Worlds: East and West". India.com. January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  11. "The Famous Kerala Boat Song 'Kuttanadan Punjayile' Just Got A New Twist And It Sounds Awesome". The Huffington Post. January 13, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  12. "Vidya and Shankar Tucker gives Kerala's favourite boat song 'Kuttanadan Punjayile' a classic twist". India Today. January 14, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  13. "Stylish makeover for Malayalam folk song". Deccan Chronicle. January 17, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  14. Vijaykumar, Vaishali (March 26, 2024). "Rooted in culture,global in appeal". Indian Express . Retrieved September 10, 2024.

Further reading