Georgia native Shilpa Narayan has never shied away from a challenge. Daily balancing of her full-time job and her music has not deterred this 25-year-old songstress from pursuing her passion and bearing her soul in her music. Shilpa’s debut album Stand Alone depicts her personal struggle with romantic relationships as well as the inner turmoil of identifying her true self. Now working on her 2nd album, with the release of her 1st single “Renegade”, Shilpa is ready to take on the music scene at full speed.
In just a short three-year period, Shilpa has progressed quickly on her road to self-discovery through pursuing her true passion: music. While studying business and marketing at Georgia Tech, Shilpa picked up the guitar in her spare time and taught herself to strum chords to accompany herself singing cover songs by Rihanna, Beyonce, and various other R&B artists she revered. She began posting videos of herself singing on YouTube, and gradually, her views and associated videos reached 1 million hits.
After moving to New York City to work as an analyst, Shilpa continued to quietly practice her music and post more videos on YouTube. She competed and won an open mic contest at Don Hills, which landed her a small management deal who then introduced her to various producers and musicians in NYC. Soon thereafter, she was performing in front of 1000+ crowds during Fashion Week 2010 as well as opening for hip hop artists Waka Flocka and Wale. These events compelled Shilpa to write her own music and a year later she released her debut album Stand Alone in May 2012. In October 2013, she performed in front of 120,000 people during the Diwali Times Square Show. 2 months later she partnered with MySpace to release her 1st video for “Renegade”, filmed in the Mohave Desert. Her music has already generated buzz on AOL Music, Vibe Magazine (Named Artist to Watch), thisis50.com, ChannelOne News, ArtistDirect, as well as praise from The Voice producer and host Carson Daly, who handpicked Shilpa’s submission to be sent directly to the show’s producers for consideration.
Even with her initial success, Shilpa realizes she still has a long road ahead. “I don’t think I knew going in, how difficult it would be and how eye-opening of an experience it would be,” recalls Shilpa about her first experiences with the music industry. “It really forces you to grow up and also become comfortable with who you are and the life decisions you make. This album reflects a lot about that inner struggle I’ve had, and I’m hoping others will relate to it.”