When you listen to Adios, it’s hard not to feel something stir deep inside. The track by singer-songwriter Vamsi Kalakuntla doesn’t sound like just another pop release; it feels lived-in, raw, and strikingly personal. And that’s exactly how he intended it to be. “Adios came from a place of frustration and belief. I wasn’t thinking about love or heartbreak — I was thinking about all the times I failed, got counted out, and still showed up. It’s about burning the old version of myself and trusting that belief alone can rebuild everything. It’s not a goodbye, it’s a declaration that I’m here to stay,” he says.
For Vamsi, the inspiration came from one of the hardest moments of his life; he recalls, “Losing my mother in 2019 changed everything. That pain shifted how I see life, music, and myself. There’s a silence that never goes away, but it also gave me a reason to chase something bigger, to turn pain into power. Every song since then is me talking to her in some way.”
The emotional honesty in his music pairs seamlessly with a sound that feels both local and global. He blends Telugu lyrics with Jersey Club and UK Bass, creating a refreshing sonic space where cultures meet rather than clash. “I don’t force it. I grew up between Hyderabad and Dallas — Telugu is who I am, global sound is how I think. When I blend both, it’s not fusion, it’s identity. The basslines might hit like London, but the emotion still cries in Telugu. That contrast is the new wave,” he explains.
Vamsi wants Adios to mark more than just a personal chapter; he wants it to shift the way people see Telugu pop itself. “For too long, Telugu pop has been boxed in either film or forgotten. I want to break that. Adios is me saying our stories, our language, deserve a global soundscape. I want Telugu kids anywhere in the world to hear this and feel, ‘Yeah, that’s us. That’s our voice in 2025’,” he narrates.
That fusion of roots and reach defines him. “Hyderabad gave me soul. Dallas gave me vision. Back home, I learned emotion and melody; here, I learned structure, hustle, and culture. My music is that intersection of South Indian emotion over Western production. That’s where I live artistically,” he shares.
Music, for Vamsi, was never a career choice; it was something that found him early on. “It’s always felt like a calling, not a decision. Growing up, every time I tuned into cassettes or the radio, something inside me just lit up. That rush of unexplainable excitement felt spiritual. I’d get lost for hours with an old Sony cassette player, rewinding the same songs again and again, imagining how they were made. I didn’t know it back then, but those moments were shaping everything I’d become. Music wasn’t a choice, but it chose me,” he recalls.
The journey, though, hasn’t been easy. “The mental game. Everyone talks about algorithms, budgets, and labels, but the hardest part is waking up every day believing in yourself when no one’s clapping. I’ve been scammed, ignored, and rejected, but that pain built my discipline. You can’t fake hunger,” he says honestly.
When creative blocks strike, he doesn’t push against them. “I don’t fight it. I live life until the block breaks itself. Sometimes you need silence to reload your truth. I’ll travel, DJ, watch people, and the moment I stop chasing the song, it finds me again. Creation isn’t forced; it’s felt,” he smiles.
As for what’s next, his eyes light up. “2025 is a takeover. I’m working on a string of global collabs with producers who’ve shaped the sound of today, from LA to Paris. I want to bring Telugu to arenas, not playlists. Think Drake-level narrative, Kanye-level vision, but rooted in Telugu emotion. That’s the mission,” he grins and notes.