Tia's talk: Jonita Gandhi - Nightingale of Toronto

Where were you born and raised?

Technically born in New Delhi, but practically Canada since my family migrated here when I was 9 months old. Raised in the Greater Toronto Area!

Tia's Talk

How do you think the environment you were in and your surroundings shaped for what you do now?

My environment growing up has been incredibly diverse. I grew up in a musical family which really sparked my interest in pursuing singing. It’s all thanks to my father for passing on the musical genes, and encouraging me to show it. My parents have been a huge source of support and I'm lucky in that way. Also, growing up in Canada I've been exposed to a lot of different cultures and styles of music. It has inspired me to try out different genres and learn from styles like Opera to R&B to Chutney/Soca to European folk. I love the multicultural environment that I have been exposed to since a young age and I think it has had a great influence on me and my music.

 

 What led you to realize that you wanted to be involved with music and wanted to be singers and musicians?

Watching Bollywood movies as a child, I initially wanted to be an actress, as I'm sure most of us did at some point in our lives! The glamour, the grandeur of the sets, the music and dance - I always knew I wanted to learn more about it. I actually started dancing as a child before I started singing. Then once I discovered my singing talent, I focused on it and decided I wanted to become a playback singer. I wanted to be the voice behind Aishwaria Rai and Rani Mukherjee, etc. Of course since then my dreams have evolved, but throughout my education singing has remained my undying passion. There is so much more to the world of music than playback singing and I strive to explore as much as I can and see where it takes me!

How do you think you are impacting the south asian community around the world with
your talent and art?

As an NRI, I hope my YouTube success has inspired others to realize that there are no bounds to expressing yourself these days. With the help of the internet, anything is possible. Being a hindi singer and not ever really having lived in India, I never would have thought that the likes of Sonu Nigam, Amitabh Bachhan, and Salim Merchant would ever hear my voice, but thanks to media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, my voice has reached people worldwide. I just keep doing what I love and working at it, and you honestly never know what can happen.

What are you currently working on? What do you have in mind for the near future?

Other than performing a whole lot, I am working on some collaborations and originals as well in the studio. I have a couple more covers in the works as well... but rest I guess I should leave as a surprise! 

StarBuzz, Toronto