By Gio Arteaga
Aadya Vadrevu, a junior at Westmont High School, is a rising star in music. Beyond her technical ability, Aadya’s passion isn’t just music. She’s seen on Westmont’s campus as an active participant in the girls’ swim team, co-president of the Warrior Med Club, and highly Westmont-spirited. From the age of 7, she loves covering popular songs by artists like Gracie Abrams and Lizzie McAlpine. With everything she touches, she brings a fresh and authentic voice to each track and adds her spin with speed and pacing. In one of her more recent works, Aadya sings “Free Now” by Gracie Abrams with an acoustic twist on the song. Her talent is evident in every song she sings –whether singing under her breath or full-blown– she can seamlessly blend vocals with her guitar skills and add her unique interpretation to each song.
What got you into playing the guitar and singing?
Music has always been such a big part of my life and such a large part of who I am, I’ve loved singing my entire life and play four other instruments, so I saw guitar as a way to accompany my voice, and I kinda just fell in love with playing its such an amazing instrument.
What’s the hardest thing for you to do as a singer?
I feel like a lot of singers and musicians can agree with me on this, but I think recording myself and hearing it back is something I struggle with a lot, especially because I have an expectation as to how I want my voice to sound. When I sound weird to me, I start to get picky, so I would say recording myself would be the hardest.
What’s your favorite song?
It’s hard to pick any one song, but right now, I think I would have to say “I Told You Things” by Gracie Abrams. But I love anything by Gracie Abrams or Lizzy McAlpine.
Is singing a helpful way to express yourself?
I write and produce my music, and I feel like creating and going through the process of making a song and bringing it to life is the ultimate way to express feelings or emotions that can’t be explained otherwise, especially if I have something on my mind.
how long have you been singing and playing the guitar?
I’ve been singing my whole life, and I started taking professional classes when I was in 4th grade. I’ve been playing guitar since I was 13, and my dad actually got me a guitar for my 13th birthday. It’s become my most prized possession.
A few video pieces from Aadya: