Explore the riveting tale of Instagram phenomenon Chinansha Sharma, who gets raves for her mesmerising voice. She shares her journey, debunks myths, shares insights on her musical heroes, and provides valuable advice for new artists hoping to succeed on social media, from hitting milestones with her covers to striking a balance between authenticity and trends.

Excerpts from the interview:

Can you share a memorable breakthrough moment in your music career, either online or offline?

A memorable breakthrough, I’d say, was when my covers hit 100K. Then, the second one was after my reels started getting reach, I was invited to this event that happens every year in Vadodara, We Desi. They asked me to come to the festival and perform for them so that was one of the moments because that time somebody called me and they wanted me to perform, that too in a different state. Later on, there have been many moments, like when I performed at IIT for a huge crowd. They were all singing and people would come to me to get pictures clicked and to be very honest, I felt like a celebrity. Then there was a song ‘Soch’ by Hardy Sandhu that I covered and it reached 10 million views on Instagram. So these have been some breakthroughs for me.

How do you balance maintaining authenticity in your content while also engaging with trends and staying relevant on social media?

Maintaining authenticity means that I usually go for evergreen songs because they never go out of style. My niche has been singing songs from the 1970s, 80s and 1990s and singing songs that people have loved but apparently forgotten about. I used to listen to them every time, and we all still liked them, but we have forgotten them because of the new songs. I do cover new trending songs sometimes, depends on whether that goes with the vocal tone and whether I like it or not. ‘Pehle Bhi Mein’ by Vishal Mishra is a song that I really loved. I covered it but usually I go for the evergreen ones and that has been helping me a lot and people appreciate those songs. and they appreciate me covering the songs that they had forgotten about and they get a platform to remind them of those songs.

Who is your ultimate music idol, and how have they influenced your style and creativity?

Music idol, so, basically, my vocal tone is quite different. It’s heavier than usually what female singers have but I really look up to Sunidhi Chauhan and if it comes to Western singing, Adele is the one I follow. Western music is what I have always been more inclined to and what has suited my voice. It suits my vocal texture and helps me know which types of songs suit my voice. Sunidhi Chauhan’s songs again. I just love the local texture she has and the sass that she has so these are the two idols that have influenced my creativity and style.

What’s one misconception people often have about being a content creator or artist on social media, and how would you debunk it?

One misconception, people often have about being content creators is that they think it’s easy to think it’s comparatively easier but trust me, it’s not. I mean, it takes a toll on your mental health. There are certain hours that you have to dedicate to what you do. You have to figure it out in different ways. You have to be creative all the time and it’s difficult to be creative all the time and it would become difficult to engage the audience all the time. Sometimes you don’t want to do that. Sometimes you just don’t want to post anything but you cannot afford to do that because there are people who are looking up to you and then there’s an algorithm that works a certain way and there are a lot of things that are associated with it. That’s one misconception: creators have it easy but they don’t; they work as hard as I do.

If you could collaborate with any artist, on a song or project, who would it be and why?

If I could collaborate with any artist, I would love to collaborate with Osho Jain because I personally love the way he writes and his vocal texture. I personally love everything he creates, like the lyrics and style of writing. So, I would prefer Osho Jain.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to aspiring artists who want to gain traction on social media platforms like Instagram?

One piece of advice for aspiring artists is to be themselves first of all, because what we do is try to copy what others are doing but the thing is that what works for them might not work for us all the time. We all have different capabilities; we all have different talents and we should explore more in the ways that suit us. Secondly, do not let your mood hamper the creating process. There have been days where I did not feel like posting anything, but I had to because that’s my work. So, if you treat work well, if you keep your professional and your personal life aside and separate, I believe things will work better.