Aaradhna
| Aaradhna | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Aaradhna Jayantilal Patel |
| Born | December 20, 1983 |
| Origin | Porirua, Wellington, New Zealand |
| Genres | Rhythm and blues, soul, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Dawn Raid Entertainment, Republic Records |
| Associated acts |
Savage Adeaze, Che Fu, Pieter T, David Dallas, P-Money, Young Sid |
Aaradhna Jayantilal Patel (born December 20, 1983), better known by her stage name Aaradhna, is a New Zealand-born musical recording artist signed under the music label Dawn Raid Entertainment. She made her musical debut in 2004 featuring on the single "Getting Stronger" with the group Adeaze which peaked at number one on the official New Zealand Singles Chart.
Biography
Early years
Aaradhna is a New Zealander of Samoan and Indian descent.[1] Her father Jayanti Patel is an Indian from Navsari, Southern Gujarat નવસારી village and her mother Sia'a Patel is Samoan from Papa Uta village (Mother Lagi Taofinu'u), Auala village (Father Mulimai Moe) & Falealupo village (Step Father Pio Taofinu'u). Aaradhna is the eldest of five. She first showed singing aspirations at the young age of 11, singing along with her mother to traditional Samoan and country songs. She would try to imitate the songs she heard in Bollywood movies that she and her father watched and also went to festivals that her father performed at.[2] Aaradhna began writing her own music at the age of 11; she entered her first talent quest at the age of 13 making it into the finals. She joined the school choir at Porirua College had got kicked out for rebelling, but went on to form a five piece girl group called "Lovera".[2]
Career
Her debut album I Love You, entered the top 20 RIANZ and has various songs featured on feature films including the top 5 single "They Don't Know" featuring New Zealand hip-hop star Savage on Sione's Wedding and had also had another feature on the movie It's a Free World with her original song "Faith". Aaradhna released a club-inspired song alongside Australian producer, DJ & artist Paul Mac[3] in late 2006 titled Love Declaration. The song features on Mac's album Panic Room. In Australia the single reached #31 on the local charts.
2008–present
Her album Sweet Soul Music, a throw-back to the soul classics including The Jackson 5 cover "I Want You Back" was released on iTunes and various music stores in New Zealand on 14 February 2008 coinciding with Valentine's Day.
In 2011 she began working on her third studio album under Dawn Raid Entertainment. She released the single "Wake Up" in August 2012, and the album Treble & Reverb was later released in November.
Patel's fourth studio album titled Brown Girl was released in July 2016. The album explored her own experience of casual racism in New Zealand.[1] The album debuted at number one in New Zealand and also cracked the albums chart of Switzerland.[4] In November 2016, the performer gave away her hip-hop award at the 2016 New Zealand Music Awards, believing that she had "been placed in this category, because I'm brown". She opined that "you can't give a singer an award for Best Hip Hop artist".[1]
Discography
| Aaradhna discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 4 |
| Music videos | 7 |
| Singles | 3 |
| Soundtrack albums | 6 |
| Featured singles | 9 |
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [5] |
AUS [6] | |||
| 2006 | I Love You
|
13 | — | |
| 2008 | Sweet Soul Music
|
17 | — | |
| 2012 | Treble & Reverb
|
14 | — | |
| 2016 | Brown Girl
|
1 [8] | 73 | |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [9] | |||
| 2006 | "Down Time" | 3 | I Love You |
| "I Love You Too" | 5 | ||
| 2012 | "Wake Up" | 12 | Treble & Reverb |
| "Lorena Bobbitt" | — | ||
| 2013 | "Great Man" | — | |
| 2016 | "Brown Girl" | —[upper-alpha 1] | Brown Girl |
Featured singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [9] | ||||
| 2004 | "Getting Stronger" (Adeaze featuring Aaradhna) | 1 | Platinum | Always and for Real |
| 2005 | "They Don't Know" (Savage featuring Aaradhna) | 2 | Gold | Moonshine |
| "Love Declaration" (Paul Mac featuring Aaradhna) | — | — | Panic Room | |
| 2006 | "Spin1" (Che Fu featuring Aaradhna) | 20 | — | Hi-Score - The Best Of Che Fu |
| 2009 | "Turn It Around" (David Dallas featuring Aaradhna) | — | — | Something Awesome |
| "With You in My Bed" (Isaac Aesili featuring Aaradhna and Buff1) | — | — | Eye See | |
| "Music (Makes the World Go Around)" (Frisko featuring Aaradhna) | 15 | — | Non-album single | |
| 2010 | "Say Yeah" (P-Money featuring David Dallas and Aaradhna) | — | — | Everything |
| 2011 | "Like You" (Monsta featuring Aaradhna) | — | — | Pacific Coast Highway |
Compilation appearances
Aaradhna has appeared on various compilations and soundtracks since 2004 in New Zealand and Australia. The following is a list of these albums that have featured her music.
- (2004) - Now That's What I Call Music 16 (EMI) - "Getting Stronger" (with Adeaze)
- (2005) - Now That's What I Call Music 19 (EMI) - "They Don't Know" (with Savage)
- (2005) - The R&B Collection III (Sony BMG) - "Getting Stronger" (with Adeaze)
- (2006) - Sione's Wedding (Dawn Raid Entertainment) - "Forever" (with Kevin Soul), "Knowing You", & "They Don't Know" (with Savage)
- (2006) - Now That's What I Call Music 21 (EMI) - "Down Time"
- (2008) - It's a Free World...(soundtrack) (Universal Music) & (Dawn Raid Entertainment) - "Faith"
Notes
- ↑ "Brown Girl" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 3 on the NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart.[10]
References
- 1 2 3 "VNZMAs 2016: Aaradhna gives away her Tui after winning 'in a brown category'". Stuff.co.nz. November 2016.
- 1 2 "Next Up Aaradhna". This is Real Music. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
- ↑ "Aaradhna". NZgirl. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
- ↑ AARADHNA - BROWN GIRL (ALBUM)- Charts.org.nz
- ↑ "Aaradhna in New Zealand charts". Hung Medien. charts.org.nz. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
- ↑ "CHART WATCH #379". auspOp. 30 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ↑ "Latest Gold / Platinum Albums". RadioScope. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- 1 2 Steffen Hung. "New Zealand charts portal". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
- ↑ "NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.