Listening to popstar Dhee‘s biggest hits, you’d see she’s right at home among the natural sounds of South Asia.
Her unique alto twang, mastery of Tamil, Telegu and Malayalam, as well as the themes of nature and grounding in her work would have made you think she grew up surrounded by the beautiful sights of Jaffna in Sri Lanka, where she was born.
But in fact, her childhood was filled with days roaming around the food court of Westfield Parramatta with her friends after a long day at school, munching on 50c soft serve cones.
READ MORE: Blake Lively reveals why she didn’t shy away from ‘raw’ role in It Ends with Us
The Sri-Lankan Tamil star, who is one of the most streamed artists in Australia and is a household name for millions around the world, has her roots in Western Sydney. But many in her home country of Australia wouldn’t have any idea of her star power.
Dhee – short for Dheekshita – ground herself as a playback singer in the South Indian music industry, kicking off her career at just 16. With the help of her mother Meenakshi Iyer, who is a Carnatic musician and teacher, and her stepfather, renowned South Indian music composer Santosh Narayanan, she has well and truly made her mark in the South Indian music scene.
And to think it all started when she found herself uninspired by school.
Speaking to 9honey, Dhee insists she “wasn’t naughty”, but just found herself skipping class more and more in her senior years.
“Obviously [with] South Asian parents, everyone’s concerned,” she reflects, “I felt like I couldn’t focus in school as much as I used to because I was like, ‘I need to do music. I have so much to study and so much to learn.'”
She acknowledged her parents’ concerns, saying, “The music industry is also a volatile industry… It’s really hard for parents to accept this.”
For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.
But eventually, they backed their daughter’s move into a whole new world. “It was a difficult decision, but I think it’s the best decision I’ve ever made,” she says.
At the time, Narayanan had just made his mark as a composer in the Tamil film industry and took his stepdaughter along for the ride, with Dhee’s voice first featuring in the films he created the music for.
They both “blossomed” together in the industry, with Dhee’s name now in lights alongside legends like actors Rajinikanth and Dhanush – the latter with whom she sang her hit song Rowdy Baby.
From the 2018 film Maari 2, it became a runaway favourite with over 1.5 billion views on YouTube, making it the highest-viewed Tamil music video and one of the most-viewed Indian videos of all time.
The same goes for her debut single, Enjoy Enjaami. Produced under the eye of legendary producer A. R. Rahman, as well as her stepfather, the tune has over a billion streams combined.
The song was particularly meaningful for Tamil people, with lyrics highlighting the ancient civilization’s role in maintaining natural resources and the effects of colonial Indian history.
READ MORE: The Rock reveals why he loves Australia so much
Three years on, Dhee wants to bring these themes into her own work, in her own words.
The 26-year-old has returned home to Australia to launch her English-language music career, with her new song I Wear My Roots Like A Medal being heard for the first time at its launch at Australian Parliament House, and last night when she performed in front of thousands at the SCG to celebrate Indian Independence Day.
She says the song is “based on three generations of experiences – my grandma’s, my mum, and myself – and a lot of stories that they told me about during the Sri Lankan Civil War”.
“Being children of that family, you’re also carrying all these things with you, you’re also growing up caught between two identities,” she continues.
“It’s a common diaspora experience … I think people, to some extent, would have felt that at one point in their life.
“It’s just about accepting them, embracing them, and manoeuvring through this identity crisis.
READ MORE: Olympian Scotty James faced one big hurdle because of where he was born
But these feelings aren’t just restricted to her ancestral lands, with the singer pointing out that many of us have – in some way – been “displaced”.
“Most people don’t live where their ancestors once did, right? For some, this displacement is recent and for others, it stretches back to ancient times.”
She knows for a fact embracing every part of yourself is essential, because she curiously feels the same pull for her home in suburban Sydney as she does in Jaffna.
“I feel very rejuvenated [in Jaffna], and I feel that when I come to Sydney as well. So that’s how I know that it’s like a sense of home… a big piece of you is there.”
This feeling has been punctuated by the reception of her English-language music, with the songstress receiving a hero’s return in Australia as she moves into the Western industry.
READ MORE: Amy Shark is living a life beyond her younger self’s wildest dreams
She believes the warm welcome is indicative of change in Australian music, one that she is glad to be at the forefront of.
“I think people are just sort of curious to know, like, you know, they want to hear different things – even in storytelling, you want to hear different things.
“I think we were at that time now.”
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.