Tell us about yourself!
I’m Hasitha Guhan and I’m 18 years old! I’m an aspiring Pop artist from Northern Virginia! I’ll be moving to LA soon to go to school at UCLA! I went to Riverside High School in Leesburg, VA, and I’m looking to be a successful musician and be the first to do many things as a South Asian!
When did you start singing? What inspired you to continue learning?
I started singing around the age of 6 or 7. I learned through my mom because she is a Carnatic music teacher. I would hear her sing all the time and I would join her classes sometimes. I learned the basics of Carnatic music, such as Geethams and Bhajans. I really enjoyed it, but when I hit middle school, I started seeing people audition for the musical. My dad actually forced me to audition, but through doing that, I learned Western Music from a different teacher. What really made me want to take singing seriously was in 8th grade; I got the lead role in the Mary Poppins Musical. It was a huge role and it gave me a lot of confidence to continue my musical journey! In high school, I moved away from theater and focused more on singing and songwriting.
What inspired you to start your TikTok account?
Honestly, the pandemic was the reason I started it. I didn’t really have much to do, and I noticed many people posting videos of them singing on the app. I thought, “why not give it a shot?” It was discouraging at first because I posted 40-50 videos and nothing took off. But, everything slowly took off and it was really cool to see people interact with me. It felt good to know that people liked my voice and my songs! TikTok has a lot of love, but it comes with hate. It’s made me a stronger person, and to ignore the people on the internet who say bad things.
If you’re doing what you love, you don’t need to pay attention to negative people.
What was your experience like being one of the few young South Asian artists to release a song?
It was pretty good. Honestly, releasing my first songs a few weeks ago taught me a lot. Not even as a musician, but I learned a lot from the business aspect. I had to learn to be my own boss, manager, and PR Team. Obviously, I wasn’t perfect, but I’m proud of what I did! I think there needs to be more South Asian representation in music in general. Even though my song may not be popular, I am happy it’s out into the world. I’m trying to get more recognition for South Asian. Right now, I’m doing music because I love it, and hopefully soon enough, I can make a change for South Asians.
How has the underrepresentation of South Asian singers in mainstream media affected you? Has it ever discouraged you?
Honestly, yeah it’s really discouraged me. There have been no South Asians to reach the level of success that Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga have yet. That’s been really discouraging but at the same time it gives me more motivation to do it. It’s gonna be harder to get there than the average person but when it happens, it’ll be more worth it because I'll become the first to do so many things. I want to keep going and see where this will take me. You just have to do what you love and see where it takes you.
Success doesn’t define you but you are successful if you’re doing what you love.
Who is a South Asian musician that you look up to or has influenced your career? (or that you just like)
M.I.A is a pretty big motivator for me. She’s done some really big things like being nominated for the Grammys and performing at the Grammys with legends like Jay Z and Kanye West. She’s also performed at the Superbowl with Madonna and Nicki Minaj. Those are really cool accomplishments. I personally don’t listen to all of her songs, but I know her popular songs like Paper Planes and Bad Girls. I think she’s a super inspirational person. Mindy Kaling is also another inspiration to me. I know she’s not a musician, but she’s also done a lot for the community. Additionally, two artists that I just love are Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. Lady Gaga just has such an inspirational story. She’s gone through so much to get where she is now and she didn’t let anything stop her, which is something I can relate to. I also just love Ariana Grande and her songs and I think she’s very talented. I get a lot of inspiration from her.
Are there any TikTokers that you look up to or are inspired by?
I’ve tried to limit my time on social media because it can be draining. It’s a place where you post videos to appreciate you and the idea of it all is kind of exhausting. If I had to pick someone, one person that I admire is Paravi (@pxrxvi). She also goes to UCLA. She’s really talented and she’s also South Asian and I love her content.
Have you experienced any gender discrimination in the music industry. If not, how do you think we can change gender roles in South Asia?
I haven’t experienced much of the music industry because I’m pretty new. However, I’ve done a lot of musical theatre and experienced racism. I feel that because I’m Indian, I faced a lot of discrimination while auditioning for several roles. I wasn’t given an ingenue type of role because I don’t fit the standard of “white beauty.” Even though I knew I could do a better job than my white counterparts, they still got the role. The director made it feel like they would be a better fit even though I sang and acted the part much better than them. Especially in high school, that took away a lot of my roles. I always get the crazy person. I’ve auditioned for the love interest before and I never got it because those roles were made for white people. I believe I was robbed of the opportunity because I didn’t give off the “white beauty” type of vibe. So I haven’t experienced gender discrimination but I definitely have experienced racial discrimination. There have been many people that have undermined me because I wasn’t white. You don’t see many South Asians doing music so I think it’s a hard idea for some people to digest. And I can say that some people definitely didn’t digest it well.
In terms of gender discrimination, I think we need to give South Asian women more representation in TV shows and musicals.
Give South Asian women a role of power and beauty.
South Asians are always given the role of a nerd. Make a South Asian woman into a role of beauty. I think that’s so important because a lot of people just stereotype us as nerdy, hairy, etc. And that's just so bad. Having a main pop singer who’s South Asian is so important because usually female singers are deemed beautiful and a lot of people have crushes on them and admire them. This would help people change their opinion into a more positive light.
A big shout out to Hasitha for aspiring to be the change that the South Asian Community needs! Make sure to check out her Social Media pages, and don't forget to stream her new song, Closure!