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Voice of an Angeles: Meet the 19-year-old Jaipur singer wowing LA
What does it take to live your dream before you’ve turned 20? Jaipur singer Cherry, now performing in LA, spills the tea
At 19, every kid dreams of fame. They’re typically doing it while lying in bed, music playing on Spotify. In the case of 19-year-old Cherry, she IS the music playing on Spotify. Her pop ballads in English and Hindi have gone viral . Her deep, haunting voice is drawing listeners in LA, where she moved just about a year ago. She has just wrapped up a three-city tour of India and is readying for the release of a Bengali song, for Bejoy Nambiar’s series Kaala on Disney+ Hotstar.
How she got there is the stuff of dreams too. Cherry, aka Daatri Dadhich, has no background in music, no famous family, no connections. She spent her life in Rajasthan, in Salasar Balaji, a temple town “so small and so religious, that no one would ever think of becoming a music star”, and Jaipur, three hours away. She did, however, find music early, and held on to it with all her might.
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Growing up in Rajasthan, Cherry says she was exposed to the “same nine English songs” that topped mainstream charts and were accessible to everyone else. She tuned into film music, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and One Direction. It was exciting enough for her to seek out Metallica, Louis Armstrong, Lady Gaga, AR Rahman, Salim-Suleiman and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy later. By age nine, she was putting on little performances for her family at home. “I was a bold kid, who wasn’t afraid to try new things,” says Cherry. By 11, she was working her way up from singing at birthday parties to PTA meetings.
It took a virus for her to viral. Cherry was 17 when Covid-19 pushed the world, and India, indoors. She spent the time recording videos of herself singing Adele and Ella Fitzgerald covers and uploading them on Instagram. One cover, of the Eagles’ Hotel California, went viral overnight in December 2020. Appreciation poured in from around the world, and from Indian music producer, Nucleya.
Other videos got discovered. Things snowballed. By mid 2021, Ayushmann Khurrana and Nambiar were logging in to hear her belt out La Vie En Rose and Tu Hi Re. “It was a big deal and a huge learning experience,” says Cherry, who knew she had to up her game now that big names were in the audience.
Cherry moved to the US in August last year to pursue a degree in English (“To help with songwriting”) and chose LA because it’s the entertainment hub of the world. “Just like everyone who dreams of being a part of Bollywood moves to Mumbai, I dreamt of coming to LA. It’s the highest level of competition you’ll ever find,” she says.
College keeps her busy. But she also performs at music hubs such as Republic of Pie and Hotel Café. “Initially, I was confused about how the audience here would react as I was used to having a following in Jaipur,” she admits. But LA has been “super wild, unreal, crazy, and also peaceful,” she’s found. She’s managed to network with local music communities and slowly make new audiences familiar with her voice. “It feels like I was made for this. Like I was born to sing.”
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It helps tremendously that her family is part of her journey. Her stage name comes from her mum, who thought she looked like the little red fruit as a kid. “I identify with it more than my actual me,” she says. Her dad, a priest, her homemaker mum and her sister have championed her musical interests and cheer her on at each show in India.
They backed her when at 18, Cherry released her single, Sawaal, which asks questions about life. Run, a single that came out in January addresses the urge to let go. She mixed, produced and composed it herself, picking up her skills online.
The new gigs and new audiences have only shown her how much is still left to be done. “People say I have made it. But I don’t believe it,” she says. “It stops me from trying to aim for more. I’ve spent 10 years singing, but I feel like I’ve only just begun. There’s no guarantee of success or financial stability for someone trying to make it music. I am in a phase where I just really believe in what I’m doing.” says.
She also wants her music to be a safe space for those who listen to it. “I want it to be like a best friend to people, maybe bring some change in their lives, and just make people happy,” she explains. And unusually for someone hustling in LA, Cherry also plans to plans to move back to India eventually. “The goal is to tour the world from India,” she says. Her family and OG fan base is in Jaipur. And to someone who’s living her dream at 19, borders are irrelevant, anyway.
