Aaradhna
Birth nameAaradhna Jayantilal Patel
Born (1983-12-20) 20 December 1983
OriginPorirua, Wellington, New Zealand
GenresR&B,[1] soul, pop
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, record producer
InstrumentsVocals,keyboard
Years active2004–present
LabelsDawn Raid Entertainment, Republic Records

Aaradhna Jayantilal Patel (born 20 December 1983), better known by the mononym Aaradhna, is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, and musical recording artist. She made her musical debut in 2004 featuring on the single "Getting Stronger" with the group Adeaze which peaked at number one on the official New Zealand Singles Chart.

Biography

Early years

Aaradhna is a New Zealander of Samoan and Indian descent.[2] Her father Jayanti Patel is an Indian from Navsari, Gujarat, India and her mother Sia'a Patel is Samoan from the villages of PapaSataua, Falealupo-uta & Auala. Aaradhna is the eldest of five. She first showed singing aspirations at the young age of 11, singing along with her mother to traditional Samoan and country songs. She would try to imitate the songs she heard in Bollywood movies that she and her father watched and also went to festivals that her father performed at.[3] Aaradhna began writing her own music at the age of 11; she entered her first talent quest at the age of 13 making it into the finals. She joined the school choir at Porirua College had got kicked out for rebelling, but went on to form a five piece girl group called "Lovera".[3]

Career

Her debut album I Love You, entered the top 20 RIANZ and has various songs featured on feature films including the top 5 single "They Don't Know" featuring New Zealand hip-hop star Savage on Sione's Wedding and had also had another feature on the movie It's a Free World with her original song "Faith". Aaradhna released a club-inspired song alongside Australian producer, DJ & artist Paul Mac[4] in late 2006 titled Love Declaration. The song features on Mac's album Panic Room. In Australia the single reached No. 31 on the local charts.

2008–present

Her album Sweet Soul Music, a throw-back to the soul classics including The Jackson 5 cover "I Want You Back" was released on iTunes and various music stores in New Zealand on 14 February 2008 coinciding with Valentine's Day.

In 2011 she began working on her third studio album under Dawn Raid Entertainment. She released the single "Wake Up" in August 2012, and the album Treble & Reverb was later released in November.

Patel's fourth studio album titled Brown Girl was released in July 2016. The album explored her own experience of casual racism in New Zealand.[2] The album debuted at number one in New Zealand and also cracked the albums chart of Switzerland.[5] In November 2016, the performer gave away her hip-hop award at the 2016 New Zealand Music Awards, believing that she had "been placed in this category, because I'm brown". She opined that "you can't give a singer an award for Best Hip Hop artist".[2]

Discography

Aaradhna discography
Studio albums4
Music videos7
Singles3
Soundtrack albums6
Featured singles9

Studio albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
NZ
[6]		 AUS
[7]
2006 I Love You 13—
2008 Sweet Soul Music
  • Released: 14 February 2008
  • Label: Dawn Raid Entertainment
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 17—
2012 Treble & Reverb
  • Released: 9 November 2012
  • Label: Dawn Raid Entertainment
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 14—
2016 Brown Girl
  • Released: 22 July 2016
  • Label: Dawn Raid Entertainment
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 1
[9]		73

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
NZ
[10]
2006 "Down Time" 3 I Love You
"I Love You Too" 5
2012 "Wake Up" 12 Treble & Reverb
"Lorena Bobbitt" —
2013 "Great Man" —
2016 "Brown Girl" —[upper-alpha 1] Brown Girl
Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)		 Album
NZ
[10]
2004 "Getting Stronger" (Adeaze featuring Aaradhna) 1 Platinum Always and for Real
2005 "They Don't Know" (Savage featuring Aaradhna) 3 3× Platinum[12] Moonshine
"Love Declaration" (Paul Mac featuring Aaradhna) — — Panic Room
2006 "Spin1" (Che Fu featuring Aaradhna) 20 — Hi-Score - The Best Of Che Fu
2009 "Turn It Around" (David Dallas featuring Aaradhna) — — Something Awesome
"With You in My Bed" (Isaac Aesili featuring Aaradhna and Buff1) — — Eye See
"Music (Makes the World Go Around)" (Frisko featuring Aaradhna) 15 — Non-album single
2010 "Say Yeah" (P-Money featuring David Dallas and Aaradhna) — — Everything
2011 "Like You" (Monsta featuring Aaradhna) — — Pacific Coast Highway

Notes

  1. ↑ "Brown Girl" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 3 on the NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Ngangura, Tarisai (8 December 2016). "Aaradhna Is The R&B Singer Putting The New Zealand Scene On Notice". thefader.com. Fader. Retrieved 10 August 2022. Aaradhna Patel is a singular voice within New Zealand's growing R&B scene.
  2. 1 2 3 "VNZMAs 2016: Aaradhna gives away her Tui after winning 'in a brown category'". Stuff. November 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Next Up Aaradhna". This is Real Music. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
  4. ↑ "Aaradhna". NZgirl. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
  5. ↑ AARADHNA – BROWN GIRL (ALBUM)- Charts.org.nz
  6. ↑ "Aaradhna in New Zealand charts". Hung Medien. charts.nz. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  7. ↑ "CHART WATCH #379". auspOp. 30 July 2016. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  8. ↑ "Latest Gold / Platinum Albums". RadioScope. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  9. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  10. 1 2 Steffen Hung. "New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  11. ↑ "NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  12. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Savage feat. Aaradhna – They Don't Know". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
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