Starting out with viral YouTube covers, Jonita Gandhi has gone on to become a trending sensation when it comes to Indian playback singing. Her multi-lingual proficiency has allowed her to helm several songs in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada, and Punjabi films. More recently, she has also ventured in the space of OTT platforms as she also sang songs for projects like Amazon Prime’s Bandish Bandits and Netflix’s Feels Like Ishq.
Along with hits like Main Tumhara, The Breakup Song, Kahaan Hoon Main, Gandhi represents a new age of Indian singers who can shift between playback and non-film formats. For instance, her recent release Chal Koi Na finds her debut in the Punjabi independent music space. Here are a few artists that you might dig if you like Jonita Gandhi.
The crooner behind Pareshaan has also sung for Marathi, Tamil, and Bengali films. However, recently, she is also transitioning towards non-film songs such as Here Is Beautiful, the high-profile collaboration with industry legend Sunidhi Chauhan. The track is a part of Kholgade’s new album 2x.
Aanchal Shrivastava is a popular name when it comes to the folk and indie scene of the country. Some essential recent tracks include Chalat Musafir and Chithi Khat aur Tum, along with the acclaimed rendition of Din Shagna Da that plays during a crucial same-sex marriage scene in Amazon Prime’s Four More Shots Please.
When it comes to Indian vocalists who acquired fame through YouTube, Shirley Setia is a recurring name. Her covers won her millions of subscribers and collaborations with YouTube artists from all over the world. Since then, Setia has sung Bollywood songs as well as major international collaborations such as a cover of A Whole New World (for 2019’s Aladin) with pianist Kurt Hugo Schneider and BIBA with Pritam and Marshmello.
Be it with her covers or originals, Pallavi Ishpuniyani carries a certain freshness and diversity to her discography. Just compare her first two singles Night Out and Sehreyan Wala. While the former was a club-friendly peppy number, the latter was a rendition of a popular Punjabi wedding song.
Early this year, Jonita Gandhi lent her voice to three tracks for the soundtrack of the musical series Bandish Bandits. Gandhi’s co-collaborator on Sajan Bin, Shivam Mahadevan, also shone in the album with the aforementioned collaboration as well as Chedkhaniyaan, a joint effort with Pratibha Singh Baghel.
6) Lisa Mishra
When Lisa Mishra started building some buzz from her YouTube channel, she lent vocals on Chance The Rapper’s All We Got (when she was just 13). In 2018, she uploaded a mashup of Tareefan (from Veere De Wedding) and Justin Bieber’s Let Me Love You. The cover caught the attention of actress Sonam Kapoor and Mishra even got a chance to record an official reprise of Tareefan for the film. Since then, she has been signed under Universal Music.
7) Sanam Puri
The brainchild behind the Hindi pop band Sanam, Sanam Puri is known for his covers of classic Bollywood songs as well as his originals. He emulates pop energy as well as a balanced mellowness, depending upon the sound. Some of Sanam’s best works include collaborations with Jonita Gandhi, Teri Aankhon Se and Pinjra (Coke Studio).
Sona Mohapotra has evoked tones of rock, folk, and pop in her Bollywood discography that includes Bedardi Raja from Delhi Belly and Ambarsariya from Fukrey. Outside film, she has released two solo albums, performed the folk song Rangabati for Coke Studio, and even remixed English songs like Just Dance by David Bowie and Afterglow by INXS.
9) Akash Gandhi
Indian-origin American composer Aakash Gandhi was one of Jonita Gandhi’s earliest collaborators through his YouTube channel 88 Keys To Euphoria. Aakash himself helms musical arrangements involving piano and other world instruments and his initial work on the channel featured ‘hidden musical talents’ like Jonita and flutist Sahil Khan.
10) Vidya Vox
Another one of famed Youtube cover singers, Vidya Vox was born in Chennai but migrated to America at the age of eight. Just like her upbringing, she began to blend the Indian with the Western in her music with viral YouTube covers like Closer/Kabira and Lean On/Jind Mahi.
