One of my favorite things about using TikTok is finding new and upcoming artists promoting their work while randomly scrolling through my For You page. I’ve found a number of creative and passionate artists through the app, but I want to talk about one specific, ridiculously talented artist for this article, and her name is Sravya!
I found Sravya through an interactive post she had on her account, where she was asking her followers and other random algorithm viewers for help with choosing her album cover. From the song in the background to the beautiful array of photos I scrolled through and compared to one another, I immediately became interested in her account! I thought it was really cool for her to use viewer engagement and interaction as a way to promote herself and her music. From that point of contact, I have been following her and her blossoming music journey, which centers around R&B and rock tones. Through personally messaging her, I had the opportunity to converse with Sravya and ask more about her passion for music and finding her own online presence. In this article, I wish to provide more background to her incredible work and the importance of having a creative online outlet accessible to infinite audiences!
I find it so cool that I was able to randomly find Sravya’s page — TikTok was right in saying she was for me. I immediately became a fan of her work, and it’s been really exciting seeing her promote new music. The chorus to “Softly” already has me obsessed! It can be listened to through extra teasers she has on her page, paired with interactive posts on possible covers for the single (I commented my favorite contenders!). Sravya’s music immediately caught my attention with how pretty it sounds. Her voice is light, delicate, and lovely to listen to, especially when she layers and harmonizes it with itself. Her lyrics, too, are unique and captivating, like in her song “Ends,” which can be listened to on her Spotify (@Sravya). Every lyric describes the “end” of something, from “fading into a Sunday” to being “the credits on a silver screen.”
Sravya has been singing since she was four years old, having begun with Indian classical singing. Music, she notes, has always been a creative outlet for her, and something she has explored deeper with time. At 19 years old, Sravya began releasing her own music. She has vlogs on her page showcasing her music-making process with her friends at university. In building her page, she states that it’s really important for her to be able to choose how she and her music are promoted. Beyond just the sound, Sravya shares that she spends a lot of time thinking about her visuals, with choosing the colors, patterns, and fonts she uses. For each song she creates and posts, like with “Ends,” she creates Pinterest boards to help bring the songs to life. Sravya wishes to truly “build a world” around her music and ensure her visuals align with her intended message.
“It’s really important to me that what I put out has a sound that feels like me.”
TikTok provides agency for upcoming artists to have full creative freedom and control of the messages they wish to share. Self-written and self-produced with the help of her close friends, all of Sravya’s songs come from a place of personal meaning. She states that even finding one person who is able to relate and connect with her music is all she could ask for. With its For You page algorithm, TikTok provides high reach for artists in comparison to other apps like Instagram and X, as users are always being shown new accounts to discover and follow. I’ve found a lot of music through the app, but it’s most exciting when I discover new artists whose music I want to follow.
“I didn’t realize how strong of a community TikTok was until I started posting.”
Sravya describes the high audience outreach and sense of community TikTok has given her. Most especially in finding fellow aspiring musicians and South Asian creatives, which is really important to her, considering how few South Asians there are in the music scene. As a South Asian girl myself, I realize I totally normalized this absence growing up, which I should never have done. But that’s what happens when minorities feel excluded from spaces as a result of having no representation, making it all the more important for artists like Sravya to directly call it out and speak up. Sravya notes that TikTok has helped to give her a lot of support and encouragement, alongside mutual inspiration and friendship.
“It’s just really nice because it feels like a community of a bunch of us trying to make it as artists with no team.”
I’m really grateful the algorithm brought me to Sravya the way it did. It’s beautiful how apps like TikTok foster connections around the world and provide artists opportunities for self-exploration. Our generation’s digital age is unique in comparison to generations before us in that there is much more exposure for upcoming artists and encouragement to explore passions and find audiences. I find artists like Sravya incredibly inspiring and motivating. It’s clear she has such intrinsic motivation and talent in what she creates, and she uses music as a way to connect with the world.
I would like to thank Sravya for giving me the opportunity to talk with and include her in this article! I love her music and cannot wait to hear what she creates next!
For quick access to her various pages, here is Sravya’s Link Tree!