Premiere Talent

Premiere Singer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heartfelt Pop with Classical Vibe
 

Sonia Rao is constantly on the road, bringing her multi-instrumental talents - she grew up studying violin, piano, guitar, and flute - into the world of alternative pop. The Indian-American artist's songs have been featured on more than 35 shows including MTV’s Jersey Shore, ABC’s The Vineyard, and Keeping Up With the Kardashians. 
 

Sonia Rao, the Los Angeles based indie pop singer/songwriter who’s received praise from CeeLo Green and Christina Aguilera on the purity and soulfulness of her voice. She didn’t grow up with dreams of becoming a pop star nor a TV star, and unlike many of her peers, she didn’t go to college to pursue music. As the daughter of Indian American immigrants, Sonia was classically trained on violin at age five and piano at age seven, but encouraged to seek a career outside of music. She went to UC Berkeley to study Psychology and didn’t write a single song until after graduating.
 

Sonia’s college boyfriend unexpectedly passed away and to process his death she found herself writing song after song. “Music was my catharsis; it helped me to process everything that happened and express the heaviness I was feeling,” she says. “I never talked to anyone about his death because I felt like there was nothing to say. But in writing these songs, I realized I did have something to say about it, as well as to him, and to myself.” These songs would later become her debut full-length album, Calm Her, released independently in 2011.

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Noteworthy

• Featured on The Voice Season 1

• Songs featured on more than 35 TV shows

  • MTV's Jersey Shore​

  • ABC's The Vineyard

  • E! Keeping Up With the Kardashians

• Spoken at TedX​

• Florence and the Machine, Ingrid Michaelson, and Sara Bareilles are her influences to her upcoming album.