The virtual stage: How young musicians have found their audience on social media

“Your phone is your stage,” chimes in 24-year-old Shalini Dubey, who goes by the handle @theshalinidubey on Instagram, as she recounts her journey of being a singer who has found her audience online. Shalini lives in Ramgarh, a quiet town 47 km away from Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand. Her journey as a social media sensation began innocently enough, sparked by a casual moment while cooking in June last year.

As she hummed the tune of Pasoori, the quirky track originally sung by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill in Coke Studios Pakistan, her sister Shreya (22), who also sings, urged her to share this intimate and candid video with the world. Shalini reminisces, “The response for a few days was normal, like other posts. However, after 21 days, it became viral.” The post, on her YouTube channel, has got 34 million views. On Instagram, it has garnered over 23 million views and 3.3 million likes.

Millions of likes on her posts were never something Shalini had envisioned even though she had hoped — ever since she joined social media in 2017 — that someday one of her posts would become viral and her talent would be recognised by the wider world. “I had never imagined that my posts would hit millions of likes,” she confesses, with a touch of humility. “However, I am not a random girl who became viral and famous,” she underlines, adding that behind the sudden surge of recognition lies two decades of dedicated learning and an environment steeped in musical tradition. A Bachelor of Arts from the Central University of Jharkhand and a Masters’ degree holder from the University of Delhi (both in Hindustani vocal), Shalini’s musical education was anchored and enriched by her father, Pt Vishwanath Dubey, a trained classical musician, after her mother Dipika Shrivastava noticed ṭhat her young daughter had it in her to become a singer.

At seven, Shalini was overheard singing Satyam Shivam Sundaram, the melodious Shankar-Jaikishan number from the Hindi film of the same name, while she was bathing. “My mom felt that I could sing and she urged my father to start teaching me. But I never got formal training from him. I would just sit with him and play around while he would be teaching others,” says Shalini, who also has a Prabhakar degree (a six-year course) in Hindustani vocals from Prayag Sangeet Samiti Prayagraj. With her father as her guru, Shalini has honed her skills in dhamar, khayal, folk, thumri, and bhajan. Her style encompasses techniques like meend, gamak, and murki, harmoniously accompanied by instruments like the tabla, harmonium, sarangi, flute, drum, keyboard, guitar, banjo, and octapad. While she is drawn toward the allure of Bollywood melodies, her base remains classical. “It is a foundation I have never abandoned; it has always been a part of me,” notes Shalini, who plans to work independently instead of pursuing a career as a playback singer.

Like Shalini, there are scores of young musicians who have found their audience, and numerous opportunities, through social media, leveraging these platforms to create a promising future, and traversing the journey from obscurity to stardom. Shruti Dhasmana (@shrutidhasmana), who hails from Uttarakhand, is one of them. “The aim is to become good at what you do. And social media plays a huge role in letting you achieve this in terms of connecting you with people if you have not found your audience,” Dhasmana, who has won many awards and was recently handpicked by AR Rahman for NEXA Music, tells The Federal. On Instagram, she is in touch with Cameroon-born American multi-instrumentalist and singer Richard Bona, who happens to have inspired her as a singer. “He is among the best musicians of the world and to be able to stay connected with him has been possible due to social media. It has changed how we put out our music,” says Dhasmana, who performed at the first Indian edition of Lollapalooza — a mash-up of several musical genres like pop, rock, hip-hop, indie, Electronic Dance Music (EDM), techno, and a clutch of new Indian sounds — which was held in Mumbai earlier this year.

Previously, she performed at festivals like Horn OK Please and Sunburn. “Performing at festivals like these gives you a grand audience comprising different kinds of people. You can feel the energy. You realise that this is what you have been preparing for. It connects you to the world: You are basically spreading your music and your brand. They help you go global,” she says.

If Dhasmana had made it to big festivals, the catalyst was Instagram, which opened doors that once seemed impenetrable. “NEXA happened to me because of Instagram. Someone from the NEXA team reached out to me. That is how powerful social media is,” Dhasmana recounts. The opportunity to work with AR Rahman, someone she holds in high regard, was a transformative moment. “I always wanted to work with him, and social media made it possible,” she exclaims. The experience has not only marked a significant milestone in her career, but also altered her perspective on music. Dhasmana revels in diverse genres, from the harmonies of gospel to the rhythms of Western music. Her roots in Uttarakhand have added a Pahadi (Garhwali) flavour to her performances, with her love for languages like Bengali, Hindi and Nepali shining through her songs. Her upcoming album, a labour of love, will encapsulate the gamut of human emotions, from the highs to the lows. “Both in Hindi and English, it will delve into a lot of emotions —from the Covid period to this date. It will talk about everything that we have gone through. As humans, we are living the same lives, only in different timelines,” she reveals.

The story of Sameer Walizada (@sameerwz), who came to India from Afghanistan a few years ago, is somewhat similar. Having arrived here to follow his dream, it was on social media that he found his foothold. Walizada’s journey as a professional playback singer and live performer traces back to high school, where his passion for singing ignited a flame. “I have been passionate about singing since high school,” Sameer recalls. He started by sharing videos of his singing on Facebook, and the appreciative feedback he received encouraged him to continue. “I always wanted to be a singer, and social media definitely gave me an excellent boost in my career,” he admits. “The love, appreciation, and respect you earn from social media platforms always motivate you to keep going for it,” adds Walizada, whose remakes of songs on YouTube led him to create his own original compositions like Chaahe Nazer Bachaa and Dil Ki Baaton Ko, which have got millions of views on his handle.

The pre-existing fan base that he had acquired on social media encouraged him to improve on his shows and attempt new songs and new setlists. “I always have a notebook in which I write lyrics which suddenly come to my head. So, while jamming with my team, we start to build something out of those lyrics and create songs. I always want to surprise my audience with something new. That is how these beautiful songs get created,” he says. Walizada acknowledges the impact of social media’s reach. “Social media gives oceans of opportunities to new artists,” affirms the singer whose remake of the song Tere Bin from the movie Bas Ek Pal (2006) gained him many followers. “But it’s a double-edged sword. The more you present, the more expectations are there,” he observes.

Another success story that owes a lot to social media is that of singer Shraddha Sharma, who hails from Dehradun (Uttarakhand). Her musical voyage commenced when she uploaded a cover video on YouTube. At the age of 15, she shared her rendition of the song Main Tenu Samjhawan Ki from the movie Virsa (2010). This eventually set her on the path to becoming one of India’s first YouTube sensations. Her talent caught the attention of Universal, leading to an album deal, and a YouTube partnership with Culture Machine. Her debut album, titled Raastey, is a reflection of her eclectic taste that blends genres like pop, R&B, rock, and dance. Unveiled at the inaugural YouTube Fan Fest in Mumbai in 2019, the album features lyrics by Ankur Tewari, with messages about life and the paths that lie ahead.

While many of her contemporaries have gone for the glitz and glamour of playback singing, Shalini Dubey is happy doing what she is doing. “Many girls, due to family and marriage pressures, have found inspiration in my journey,” she shares. “They write to me saying that I have shown them that it’s not that you cannot achieve anything while sitting at home. I keep getting messages from many girls who say that they had the same dream, but it was sacrificed at the altar of marriage and domesticity,” she says. The weight of becoming a source of inspiration has been both humbling and empowering for Shalini. “These letters inspire me. I have rekindled their adhoori khwahish (unfulfilled wish),” she signs off.