Roveena (@roveenamusic) is a multi-award winning Canadian recording artist with over 1 million digital streams and 12+ million views on YouTube collaborations. Her music has received great reviews from media outlets like CBC Radio (@cbcradio) and Glow Magazine. In 2018, she co-wrote the hit song "Fearless" which was featured during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Her musical breakthrough happened after she relucantly posted a video of herself singing "At Last" on YouTube which caught the eyes of CityTV's (@city_tv) producers and landed a guest spot to perform on the show. The planned one minute segment turned into 8 minutes, which helped spark Roveena's career.
She joins Ara on this week’s episode of The Tamil Creator to discuss losing her father shortly after deciding to pursue music full-time, having her song “Fearless” spotlighted in the Winter Olympics, her admiration for Celine Dion (@celinedion), how music makes a lasting impact even once an artist has passed away, and much more.
"The Tamil Creator" is a podcast started by me (Ara Ehamparam). As someone who is extremely inquisitive by nature, I created the podcast to chat with, spotlight, and learn about brilliance among creators in the Tamil community - and among creators in general from all over the world.
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Timestamps
00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Roveena
01:21 - Being forced into guitar lessons, naturally having an instinct for music, falling into singing by accident
03:54 - Pushing your kids into pursuing something they may not necessarily want
06:08 - Dealing with losing her confidence and initially choosing the corporate world over her creative passions
12:13 - How fear dictated Roveena’s decision to stay in her corporate job for so long before she chose to chase her dreams
13:41 - Having her song “Fearless” used in the Winter Olympics
18:07 - Rovenna’s love-hate relationship with social media, and using it as a vehicle to promote yourself and your work
19:44 - Her most interesting collaboration opportunities as a result of social media
20:51 - Her dream collaboration; Celine Dion
24:29 - Talent in the South Asian community that Roveena is high on
29:32 - Following your instincts and learning to say “no”
31:32 - How can people make money in the music world; touring, writing your own material and owning 100% of your masters
39:05 - Roveena’s biggest learning lessons in the music industry
42:20 - Turning people who shun you into people who support you
46:26 - Why fuels Roveena’s ambition; her dream to hold a Grammy
47:55 - The longstanding impact of creative arts even once an artist leaves this Earth
49:43 - What Roveena is insecure about; hating being on camera
51:45 - Hobbies and interests outside of work; running with her Portugese Water Dog, weightlifting
55:35 - Advice for her 16-year-old self
56:25 - Who Roveena admires in the global Tamil community and non-Tamil community
1:06:51 - Rovend performs a snippet of “Fearless”
1:08:25 - Creator Confessions
1:14:21 - The Wrap Up
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