Time for another instalment in my Asian Groups series (sharing music by girl groups and boy bands from Asia)! I've mainly featured Southeast Asian groups so far, but today I'm going to share music from a South Asian group for the first time! :) They are an Indian girl group called W.iS.H.
Note: In the UK "Asian" refers to South Asians (Indian, Pakistani etc.) as well as East and Southeast Asians, and British Asian often refers to them specifically.
W.i.S.H
In my last Asian Groups post a couple of months ago, I mentioned that I would like to feature South Asian groups in the future but didn't know if there were many. Not long after writing that, I came across W.i.S.H, so here we are!
Wi.SH are India's first girl group in 22 years, the last one being Viva. Although India is known for Bollywood and the South Indian film industries, Indian pop music isn't that well known globally. I'm a long term Bollywood fan, so mainly listen to music from the films and also some playback singers' releases. I'd heard of Viva but didn't know their music. I plan to check out their old stuff. I think it's cool that there is a new Indian girl band. :)
Update 11/4/24: I just remembered about Rouge. They were a British Asian/Indian girl group who released music in the mid-00s. I had their single Don't Be Shy. Their career never took off though, which was a shame.
W.i.S.H was formed as part of a collaboration between Sony Music India and New Zealand producer and songwriter Mikey McCleary, who has been based in India since 1997 and worked with famous artists such as A.R. Rahman and Lucky Ali. The group consists of 4 members- Ri (full name Riya Duggal), her younger sister Sim (Simran Duggal), Zo (Zoe Siddharth) and Suchi (Suchita Shirke).
Several of the members already have experience in the music industry, since Ri and Sim (from Mumbai) were originally a duo named Simetri and Zo (who is originally from Chennai) has released several solo singles, including her debt single Human in 2020 and recently sang guest vocals for the musician Aadya Rao. Youngest member Suchi is a newcomer and brings her own talents to the group. The girls knew each other before being brought together as W.i.S.H.
The group's name stands for "World inka Stage Hai" (something like "The world is their stage" in English) and they are catered to a Generation Z audience (similar to J-pop boy band THE JET BOY BANGERZ who are also aimed at Gen Z). Don't let that stop you though if you're a Millennial like me or another generation, music is for everyone! :)
The creation of W.i.S.H was inspired by the rise of K-pop (Korean pop) around the world and also the fact that social media makes it easier than ever for music to reach people. The members have also taken inspiration from international singers such as Ariana Grande and Michael Jackson, as well as Indian stars like Sunidhi Chauhan and A.R. Rahman.
W.i.S.H's music has been branded "I-pop" (Indian pop, not to be confused with Indo-pop) and they made their debut with the single Lazeez, released last month.
Lazeez
This is Lazeez, the group's debut single which was released on 1st March (my birthday!). The title means "Delicious" and "Tasty" in Urdu and the track is all about redefining female autonomy. Lazeez is a fun pop song, with a mix of Hindi and English lyrics. It also has influences of "Afropop beats, R'n'B melodies and rap".
Click "Subtitles/closed captions" on YouTube for English subtitles! :)
There is also a new choreography video for Lazeez, which was uploaded a few days ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrZ6uokTqKw
Galti feat. MxRZI
And here is the girls' brand new single Galti, which features rapper/singer and songwriter Mxrzi. It's a upbeat song about making mistakes and owning it, with a rap verse from MxRZI.
The video was uploaded yesterday. It's actually an audio but according to YouTube comments, a music video will be released on 12th April. I'll update this post as and when. :)
Update 11/4/24: The official music video for Galti premiered today:
For more on W.i.S.H visit these links:
Pinkvilla article: https://www.pinkvilla.com/trending/world/who-are-wish-everything-to-know-about-indias-first-girl-group-in-2-decades-1284324
Rolling Stone India feature: https://rollingstoneindia.com/w-i-s-h-indias-newest-girl-pop-group-sony-music-mikey-mccleary/
Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/w.i.s.h.__official/
Official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@W.i.S.H.Official
Hope you enjoyed the post! :) Do you know any other South Asian groups? I'd also like to feature some African girl groups in future. (Although obviously not as part of this series!) I know Afrikanas and have come across a couple more when searching earlier. Please let me know your faves! :)
For more Asian music check out these posts:
My most recent post in the Asian Groups series, Asian Groups- Filipino Boy Band + Thai Girl Group: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/02/asian-groups-filipino-boy-band-thai.html
Asian/Pacific Groups- Australian Girl Group + Hawaiian Boy Band: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/03/asianpacific-groups.html
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