NextGen Spotlight: Saloni

Your new single, ‘Rani,’ has just dropped. It’s about fighting for what you want and resisting anyone that stands in your path. What challenges have you faced and overcome on your artistic journey?

The theme behind this song is something that has resonated throughout my journey as an artist. I’m ever so thankful for the support I’ve had from family, mentors and friends but of course there’s always still challenges. Whether that’s discouragement from my peers or an internal mental battle. It’s still a learning process but I feel like I’m gradually overcoming such negativity by focusing on what gives me the most happiness and that is just singing! Rani depicts that it’s everyone’s turn to ignore that negativity and take ownership of their dreams and goals. 

The single represents a bold new direction for you, both musically and personally. Can you tell us about the creative process behind the song and how it reflects the stage you’re at in your career, where you’re taking control and embracing your 'Queen' energy?

This single was definitely a statement track, it’s bold, it’s fierce and it gave bad b energy haha. This track was the beginning of a new era in a way, it’s the title track of my first EP with a Western Asian sounding and so it reflects me making a statement in the industry that I’m here for real; embracing that queen energy.

This track is definitely out of my comfort zone considering it’s a very Hip-Hop beat and I usually go with sweet R&B/Bollywood beats but I knew it was a statement piece and hence went for it. I loved working with Farooq Got Audio, REVEAL and Guree to get the melodies of this track and put forward meaningful lyrics. The South Asian scene is only now being more and more recognised by the global music industry and so there’s a line in the song saying “the south side girl on a breakthrough now” highlighting that the South Asian scene is on the rise and everyone is going to hear it! So it’s an anthem for all South Asians and I hope many relate to it.

Can you share the vision behind the music video?

As soon as I heard the beat I knew it was a very bad b vibe so before even thinking of melodies or lyrics I called the track 'Rani' which translates to Queen in Hindi, purely based of the energy I got from the instrumental! And so I immediately knew the music video had to reflect that and so I had a vision of the regal theme with the throne and crown. But we also had to share that it’s a bad b theme and hence the fierce dogs and G wagon in the mix too.

Your music combines pop, R&B and Bollywood, and you’ve sung in over 10 languages! How do you approach fusing such diverse musical influences and languages in your songs?

Being brought up in the UK but also having a strong South Asian heritage with my parents being originally from India meant that I was naturally exposed to various genres and languages. At home I’d listen to Bollywood, Tollywood and Indian Classical music but when I went to school I’d listen to the Top 50 Pop tracks. I realised that my true identity was a mix of all these genres and that’s how I bring it into my music. Staying true to my identity through my music feels the most apt.

Similarly, with languages, South Asia has an uncountable number of languages but knowing one or two languages from each part of South Asia has meant that I could briefly grasp other languages from that area. For example, my mother tongue is Telugu which is from the South of India so I was able to grasp a bit of Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. And then I knew Hindi from watching so many Bollywood movies and soap operas so I was able to catch the more North Indian languages such as Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi etc. I then checked my pronunciation with family friends who spoke these different languages fluently to make sure I wasn’t just singing in gibberish aha. And this all helped me grasp 10 different South Asian languages which I incorporated into my covers and hope to soon bring these all into my original music.

How has this mix of influences shaped your artistic journey, and what does it mean for you to express your identity through this unique musical blend?

My artistic journey has been quite varied. I initially start off releasing music in purely English with a pop genre and kept my Asian identity quite hidden in my original music. But leaving my school surroundings made me realise how much I love my heritage and that my true identity is not just British or Indian but actually a mix of the two and that’s why I create music in different languages but on more westernised genres such as Pop, R&B and Hip-Hop. I feel proud to represent this identity within my music and I hope it encourages others like me to embrace both their cultures.

Lastly, we’re more than halfway through 2024 now, what have been some of your biggest highlights so far?

My biggest highlight this year was performing at Wembley Arena! I am still awestruck by that moment, it was the best 7 minutes of my life performing to such an amazing crowd. Another highlight is performing at BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend and also collaborating with artists I’ve seen as my inspiration such as H Dhami. I’m so excited for what the rest of the year has in store and I’m ever so grateful for everyone that’s supported me this far, especially my followers! Couldn’t do this all without you so thank you ❤️ I’d also like to say a huge thank you to Youth Music for believing in me and funding me for this project, we couldn’t have made such a sick release without the support! 

Connect with Saloni:

Instagram: @saloni_music

TikTok: @saloni_music

Find out more about the Youth Music NextGen Fund here.

The NextGen Fund has been made possible thanks to generous support from TikTok, Dr. Marten's Foundation and players of People's Postcode Lottery. We are also grateful for our vital support from the National Lottery via Arts Council England.