Kannada singer collaborates with Sonu Nigam

Sangeetha Rajeev's earlier 'Nee Hinga Nodayada' was a hit

Multilingual playback singer Sangeetha Rajeev recently collaborated with Sonu Nigam for her latest track ‘Neene Neene’ which recently hit one million views on YouTube. Her earlier independent Kannada single ‘Nee Hinga Nodayada’ is still making the rounds on social media.

Speaking to Showtime, Sangeetha says, “The independent music scene in Kannada is still growing and we have a long way to go. I hope more people come forward and make a difference because we have a lot to offer.”

The artiste was introduced to the industry by music composer Dharma Vish in 2010. She sang ‘Aane Pataaki’ for which she won the best playback singer award the same year. She has also lent her voice for Tollywood and Bollywood music industries.

Featuring Big Boss winner Shine Shetty in the video, collaborating with Sonu Nigam for an independent project was always a dream of hers. It’s his first collaboration with an independent Kannada musician.

She says, “After my release of ‘Nee Hinga Nodayada’, I thought I should release another song with a better collaboration. Sonu sir was in Dubai when I sent him a message. He was stuck there for lockdown. I didn’t expect him to say yes to me but he did and when he came back to Mumbai after two months, he recorded his bit and shared it with me.”

All the recordings were done virtually, “and Sonu sir took the song to a whole new level”.

Though Sangeetha was in Bengaluru through the initial years of her life, she moved to Mumbai when he father got a job posting there. She later went on to study in London but music was always a passion. She returned to take it up full time.

“My mom is a musician and when I told her that I want to pursue music, she was very supportive. I didn’t know if it’ll work out or how far I’ll be able to go but it all worked out well,” she says.

She feels the Kannada music audience has greeted her with open arms and she wants to continue making more music. “I’m planning to release another song next month. I haven’t decided if it’s going to be a collaboration or a solo one,” says Sangeetha.