UAE: Teen sings in 120 languages for nearly 8 hours, breaks world record

Dubai - Suchetha Satish started the concert at noon and sang until 7.20pm

By SM Ayaz Zakir

Published: Sat 25 Sep 2021, 5:31 PM

Last updated: Sat 25 Sep 2021, 9:56 PM

Some teens might wish for an iPhone 13 for their birthdays, but 16-year-old Suchetha Satish attempted to break a Guinness World Record instead.

Two days after her 16th birthday, Suchetha set a world record by singing in the most languages during one concert and for the longest live concert by a teenager. She sang in 120 languages for 7 hours and 20 minutes straight at the Indian Consulate on August 19.

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A Grade 11 student at Indian High School, Dubai, Suchetha started the concert at noon and sang the last song at 7.20pm.

The programme was a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, an initiative by the Indian government to celebrate 75 years of its independence.

Suchetha, who started her musical journey when she was three, said she attempted to break the world record as a birthday gift to herself.

“It was a dream come true,” she said.

The Dubai-based student can sing in 132 languages. The first international language song she sang was in Japanese.

“I have been trained by many singing gurus, but presently, I am being trained under playback singer Asha Menon,” she said.

One of the songs she sang during her performance was the Arabic song ‘50 Glorious Years’ — a tribute to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The Hindi song, on the other hand, was written by Suchetha’s mother and composed by Monty Sharma.

Her biggest inspiration remain her parents, who recognised her ability to grasp languages at a young age and encouraged her to pursue her passion.

“I’m absolutely delighted and happy to see her hard work being recognised,” said Sucheta’s father, Dr TC Satish, a dermatologist at Unicare Medical Centre. “I have always told her, ‘If you put in the hard yards, success will follow.’”

Suchetha dedicated the award to Sheikh Mohammed, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the people of the UAE and Indians across the world. The Indian Consulate congratulated her on her win.

Prior to attempting the Guinness World Records, Suchetha won the 100 Global Child Prodigy Award for singing in 2020. She set another world record for singing in the most languages during one concert and the longest live singing concert by a child in 2018.

Back then, she sang in 102 languages for 6 hours and 15 minutes. She has also received the Sheikh Hamdan Award for Distinguished Academic Performance.

“The reason I am able to sing in so many languages and get appreciated for it is because we live in the UAE, which is a melting pot of cultures. We have friends from so many nationalities,” she said.

ayaz@khaleejtimes.com