How can anyone forget the charming, charismatic, talented…and yes, super-cute, contestant, Anoop Desai from Season 8 of American Idol?

I will bluntly say that he was my favorite contestant on the show. Not because he was of South Asian origin, but because he had the passion for music. You could see it on his eyes and hear it in his voice when he stood on that stage.

It was the loss of his close friend, Eve Carson, which pushed him to audition for Idol. On March 5^th, 2009, during the broadcast of the Wild Card round, Desai gave a shout out to his alma mater and mentioned Eve, as it was the first anniversary of her death.

Because of Anoop, Idol has their first-time ever, Top 13 contestants. From there he went onto being in the Top 6, singing his way into the hearts of millions across the nation, and countless fans across the world.

Desai was accepted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During his senior year of high school, he auditioned for and was accepted into the UNC Clef Hangers, the male a’capella group, which was founded in 1977. During his junior year at UNC he was the group’s Music Director and the group’s President during his senior year. Today he is the President Emeritus of the Clef Hangers.

It goes without a doubt to say that singing is in Anoop’s blood. This year I had the pleasure of being introduced to Anoop through a family friend and it was awesome. I picked up the phone and he was like, “Hey, this is Anoop!” Never had I met someone so humble, down-to-Earth, and sweet! With some time in between promoting his debut album, All Is Fair, I had the chance to…

Sureet Sandhu aka the face behind Digital Desi Productions is one of most respected names in the South Asian urban music scene. Ever since he started off his mixtapes titled “Renegades,” he’s crossed into international borders and has worked with some of the finest names in the US and UK.

Sureet was the first South Asian producer from the US to be recognized by the BBC Asian Network over in London with his track “Let Go,” featuring Sir Aah. Since then, Sureet has become a steady name over on the BBC radio, having been play-listed by some of the top hosts such as Adil Ray, Bobby Friction, and Nihal.

Sureet is a man known to be creative and he shows that not only in his different production style, but also through the projects he releases. Recently Sureet produced UK-based MC Seminar’s debut EP titled, “Digital War,” which can be found on iTunes. I had the chance to sit down with Sureet and gave him sixty seconds to tell us all we need to know!

Sureet Sandhu is a familiar name to the South Asian music industry in the US. He’s the first Desi producer from the US to be recognized by the BBC Asian Network for his production styles and collabos with US-based artists. He’s known for his monstrous mixtape series, “Renegades: Desi Hip-Hop Revolution.” He’s no stranger when it comes to huge collaborations and crazy projects! Recently Sureet teamed up with UK-based rapper Seminar – fresh new British Asian artist…rapper, songwriter, and producer, all rolled into one! Hailing from Slough, and is quite simply a BREATHE OF FRESH AIR. He’s ready to take the industry by storm by the release of his DEBUT project DIGITAL WAR the EP produced by Sureet Sandhu of Digital Desi Productions. Co-production also includes J-Doug and Seminar himself.

I’m quite excited to say that I’m the first who had the chance to chat with both Sureet and Seminar before the release of this highly anticipated EP! Jokes aside, these two are serious when it comes to music! They’ve put in months towards production, writing, and recording, and finally have a finished product to take over the Desi music scene with! Seminar has been writing since he was 12 years old, winning many writing and poetry competitions in and around the Berkshire area and also having a Children’s Book written by him published! He never really took or even thought about rapping or producing until he started at the university in 2002 – this is where he started playing around in the studio facility at his university and then began to write his own lyrics whilst rapping over mainstream beats. To his surprise and people around him, he was actually good. From there, the rest is history!

Like I said, I had the chance to talk to these two and people, this is…

A few months ago, we brought you face-to-face with our very own “sangeet ki rani,” Sheena Melwani! She’s become an international icon because of her powerful voice, and a little help of the Internet as well! She’s close to reaching 7 MILLION views on her YouTube page and is still singing and putting out one amazing video after the other!

We recently caught up with Sheena after she performed in Boston during Fashion Week and it went a little something like this…

She’s got an amazing voice, gorgeous looks and the dedication to work harder than anyone else in the music scene. Simply put, she’s a perfectionist! She fruitfully allows her career to continuously reach new heights and takes great pride in knowing her fans will always be a source of support for her. Her bio states that she, “…is a unique beauty with supreme undeniable talents. She moves between the worlds of music, acting, modeling and dance with the absolute greatest of ease….While she can easily opt to get by with her stunning God-given looks alone, she prefers sticking to a tremendous work ethic to accomplish goals and allow her talents to fully shine.”

There’s no need to search because it’s quite simple to see that I’m taking about none other than then the girl with one of the most sensual voices on the mic – Thara.

I can sit here all day and talk about this amazing singer, but I know you’d rather hear it from the Diva herself! I recently had the chance to interview Thara for a Bravura Artist exclusive, and it went a something like this…

By: Tirusha Dave

It’s very rare that we come across artists from our community who are talented enough to land a deal with a mainstream American record label. Nonetheless, two artists – Nivla and Parag Oberoi – stood proud, and against the odds, showcasing their fusion of Hip-Hop and Punjabi lyrics – captivating not just the Desi listener, but even the American ears!

Many were surprised when they turned on the Fox 5 morning news one day in January and saw Soul Tap Records recording artist Nivla rapping, “My Gujaratis, Punjabis, and all my Sindhis turn it out right…fellow Malayalees reppin’ hard for the South side… parties, we rockin’ ‘em, me and Parag and ‘em, Soul Tap run sh-t ain’t no stoppin’ ‘em“, followed by P. Oberoi’s sultry Punjabi vocals, “Ho ni mein jhoot boleya, koi na, ni mein kuffer toleya, koi na kaadi vi dil todeya, koi na, bai koi na.”

Question: Who are Nivla and P. Oberoi and what’s the hype behind these two boys?