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Bollywood singer Akasa Singh talks current music trends

The singer performed in Dubai this weekend

This won't be the first time Bollywood singer Akasa Singh will be celebrating India's grand festival of Diwali away from home. About six to seven years before, when Akasa was still in college, she had joined a performing band and they were stationed at a hotel away from home. A despairing Akasa called the reception for some matchsticks to light 'diyas' only to be reminded that it is not allowed in the hotel rooms.

Fast forward to 2022, Akasa is away once again during Diwali season, this time in Dubai where she's part of a grand Diwali Mela to mark the festival of lights with the audiences.

"This year I am not sad at all," Akasa tells City Times on her visit to the Khaleej Times office ahead of her concert on Saturday, October 22 at Dubai Sports City’s The Square @ISD. "I've brought home here with me."

Akasa just doesn't feel she's away from home this time around because she was so "kicked" about the concert as well as celebrating Diwali doing what she loves beyond everything.

And Akasa, as a people's person, felt she (and the band) may have over prepared since they couldn't have guessed the upcoming audience behaviour. "We didn't know if they (audience) only wanted to dance or to sit and enjoy the show," she said. "So my band and I prepped for pretty much everything."

At Akasa's concerts, she says, everyone has to go all out and be crazy. That's pretty much what the Naagin singer expected of the crowd on Saturday.

In 2016, Akasa came into the limelight with her breakthough song Kheech Meri Photo from the film Sanam Teri Kasam. Since then, she has been a part of many soundtrack albums and has released many singles, with the most prominent ones being Naagin, Thug Ranjhaa, and Shringaar, her latest release with Astha Gill and Raftaar as co-singers.

Apart from the music work, the singer was also seen on popular Indian reality TV show Bigg Boss as a contestant on the show's 15th edition.

Growing up, Akasa didn't have any major formal training in music. Instead, it is something she feels has been passed down by her father, who's also a singer (Akasa shared an Instagram video with her father in which the two are seen singing together). Her brother Asa Singh, also a singer, performs with Akasa on tours. Her mother, meanwhile, was a Kathak dancer.

"So it has all been in the family," she said. "Growing up, I always saw my father as a rock star, mesmerizing the audiences and making them dance. For me, from very early on, that has been normal. So maybe that is why I was like, 'this is what I want to do.'"

Being a singer is all about discovering your inner confidence and when asked about hers, Akasa said, "I feel like I still am. I am maybe someone who, throughout my life, is going to be a student because I am never satisfied with anything about me. I am very self analytical. So it is very difficult for me to be confident on the inside."

"But, on the other hand, I am very confident on the outside. I feel like it is a very subjective thing, for me it is constantly doing something like making music or performing. For me, that is the gratification I get from the audience or myself. That pretty much gives me the confidence every day."

Akasa also feels it is a constant struggle, to believe in herself. But she stays close to things that make her happy and give her the gratification she needs.

Speaking about the current music trends in Bollywood, the singer said independent singles is where things are at the moment. Citing the song Chaand Baaliyan, she said, "Today, you may not hear a very big Bollywood song going viral, but you may hear someone who just put out a YouTube cover."

And Akasa, who has a couple of Bollywood numbers to her name, is more inclined towards the independent pop music scene.

"It is great," she said. "Audiences are more perceptive toward newer music, so it is the perfect time for artists to not wait for their big Bollywood break and just put out some quality music which audiences are listening. It doesn't matter if you have a very big video, or if you have millions of views. If your content is good, it is going out there."