Biography

Sona Mohapatra is an artist, singer and a performer who has defied the Bollywood route to popularity with her melodious voice and electrifying style. She is trained in Hindustani classical vocal music, but her first love is folk music and folk stylings of her country. Sona aspires to bridge ancient to contemporary with her music; and apart from releasing her own albums and singles, she has collaborated on songs with international music stalwarts and bands like David Bowie, INXS and many international DJs. Sona's latest Bollywood hits include Ambarsariya, Jiya Lage Na, Bedardi Raja, Dil Aaj Kal, Naina, Ishq Karenge and her Coke Studio performances are amongst the most watched in the Indian edition with her rendition of Rangabati and Ameer Khusrau's 'Piya Se Naina' crossing two million views in the first fortnight itself. Her performances – 'Rupaiya', 'Ghar Yaad Ata Hai' and 'Bekhauf Azad' on the TV show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ – on which she was also the executive producer of the musical project, made Sona Mohapatra a household name and a youth icon. Sona is not only known as an artist but also as a social commentator who has a serious digital footprint with over 1.4 million followers on Facebook alone. 2014 was the year of over 80 concerts and performances across the globe, including mega collaboration with BBC Philharmonic, 100-piece orchestra. This three-hour concert was transmitted LIVE across 12 global networks in London in September 2014. In India, her shows have recorded turnouts of 28,000 in Bangalore, 45,000 in Jalandhar, and over one lakh people in Patna in the last three months of 2015 alone. She has also headlined famous venues like the Lincoln Centre in New York and the International Jodhpur RIFF Festival at Mehrangarh amongst many others in the past. Sona Mohapatra has featured in all the 'top influencers' lists of various magazines like Femina, Elle and Vogue, and has been awarded the Loreal Femina Winner in the ‘performing arts and music’ category, in 2012. Sona calls her style 'Desi-Cool' and she seeks out the cutting edge in Indian art.