The lockdown seems to have turned into a boon of sorts for singer Aishwarya Suresh. The 23-year-old finally got all the time in the world to work on her first single.
She affectionately refers to the song – I’ll Wait For You – as her ‘lockdown baby’, given that the whole thing was written and produced during the lockdown.
“I got a lot of time for myself to use it for my single, which I have always been procrastinating,” she says.
The song was out on different music platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music on September 2, with the video going live on her YouTube channel on September 9. Every artiste needs a muse and Suresh found hers in two birds. During the lockdown, her partner and she often found a common sight on the terrace, that of two birds on a tree. “No matter what the weather condition was, the two would sit together. I drew a parallel to the relationship my partner and I shared. And that was the trigger for I’ll Wait For You,” she says with a smile.
Suresh is a well-known name in the city’s music scene, most popularly known for her appearance in the English reality show The Stage II, which made her a household name. Until now, however, she has been primarily doing covers of songs.
“I stayed in my comfort zone by doing a lot of covers, but hardly ventured into originals, since I struggle as a writer,” says Suresh, who is still known for her cover of Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presely, which has around 3,500 views on YouTube. She also adds, “I have been in the music scene for 4-5 years now and I am just glad people who like me have been patient enough to trust me that my music is more than just my covers,” adds Suresh.
One look at her Instagram page and you soon realise that Suresh, who has a following of over 64,000, is a different person on her social media feeds. “People usually put the best version of themselves on Instagram. I wanted to do the total opposite. I didn’t mind people seeing the goofy side of me. I am just glad that people still love me for being silly,” laughs Suresh, who has also collaborated with Jordindian, a city-based sketch comedy group, for many of their comic skits.
The Thailand-born-and-raised Suresh came to Bengaluru in 2015, before she took part in The Stage in 2016. “Funnily, my appearance on The Stage was my first time being on a stage. I turned 18 during my time on the show. Initially I didn’t want to take it up but I am glad I did because it allowed me to give up my inhibitions,” adds Suresh, who loves indie/folk music, with artistes like Lucy Rose, Bellie Marten and Alt-J figuring among her favourites.