Much like its owner, the floor lamp in Rhea Raj’s studio has many moods. On days when she feels exuberant, it glows green; when she’s calm, it softens to yellow. But more often than not, it burns in fiery pinks and purples—“because it’s the energy I need when composing something sensual or feminine,” says the singer-songwriter, who was born in Connecticut to Indian parents. That same kaleidoscopic spirit coloured her debut at Lollapalooza Chicago in August this year, where she surprised fans with a performance of her song ‘Haute Couture’ alongside Aliyah’s Interlude, wearing a bejewelled butterfly-shaped corset and a molten ellipsis bindi that caught the spotlight with every move.
Off stage, the 25-year-old slips into an alter ego—one who, at least from what I can see on Zoom, feels worlds apart from the dazzling character she transforms into on stage. The sequins are swapped for a plain black tank top and her kohl-lined eyes soften behind a pair of scholarly spectacles. The only remnant of her performing persona is a silver Om necklace glinting at her collarbone. This version of Raj is at home in her parents’ unassuming garage, which doubles as her recording studio. “Like most Indian parents, they love having us home,” she smiles, referring to her 19-year-old sister Lara Raj, a member of the global girl group Katseye. The garage is their creative playground and shared work area. “We respect each other’s art so much, we give each other space. We’re really good at trading off,” Raj grins.
The siblings have a knack for decorating too. The studio is a glorious riot: wall-mounted Lana Del Rey posters rub shoulders with Britney Spears’s Blackout cover and Lionel Richie vinyls, heady incense swirls around prayer candles tangled in mic stands, and a whiteboard scribbled with ideas holds a mirror to their fever dreams. One wall is claimed by a futuristic art print of blurred faces, a striking contrast to the cavalcade of mirror-work cushions from Rajasthan scattered across a pair of couches. In the centre, a coffee table groans under the weight of Vivienne Westwood Catwalk, a hardcover by Rick Rubin, and half-empty wine glasses from a moonlit soirée. Behind it, a gigantic mirror gleams, reflecting a rack of floaty outfits. Part shrine, part stage set, part mad scientist’s lab—every corner hums with the sisters’ restless, irrepressible energy.
That zeal is a happy inheritance. “My mom taught Bharatanatyam in our living room for many years, and she’d take classes all the way up to 11pm. The house was always buzzing. I loved it,” Raj recalls. Her dad, a digital marketeer steeped in the corporate world, was just as supportive, channelling his own discipline and structure into her creative maelstrom. “When I told them I wanted to sing for a career, they were cool, but they wanted to see a business plan.” To them, music wasn’t just a dream one drifted on; it was also a calling that needed structure and foresight.
And if Raj’s music videos are anything to go by, it’s a venture best served with a side of pop nostalgia, bold looks and unapologetic attitude. Take ‘Messy’, where the musician struts onto a football field in a sparkly pink uniform, leading dancers with razor-sharp moves. It’s pure, playful defiance, or as she calls it, her “bratty energy” moment—an ode to the early 2000s teen movies she grew up on. She is also intentional about combining her South Asian identity with electro-pop, dance and R&B in a way that feels authentic, not just a means to add cultural flavour. In the video for ‘Mumbai’, she reframes what pop stardom can look like by pairing maang tikkas and bold jewellery with high-glam, futuristic outfits.
Raj’s music thrives in the tension between softness and swagger, garage-studio intimacy and stadium-scale spectacle. Whether she’s glowing pink under a moody lamp or commanding a festival stage in couture, the pop star embodies a new generation of artists who don’t have to choose between cultural heritage and global ambition. Instead, she wears both with ease, reminding her listeners—and perhaps herself—that being unapologetically you is the most radical performance of all.
This story featuring Rhea Raj appears in Vogue India’s November-December 2025 issue, now on stands. Subscribe here.
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