Priya Ragu’s parents disapproved of her love of music.
The singer, whose full name is Priya Ragupathylingam, had grown up in a sheltered house where genres outside of her Sri Lankan heritage were forbidden and her dad banned her from seizing her first opportunity, when she was invited to perform with her brother, Japna Gold, at the age of 16.
Speaking to Red Bulletin magazine, she said: “That was the first moment that I felt confident about my skill, and I felt like I had to show it to somebody.
“At that time, Japhna had a rap crew, and I sang in front of them. They all liked it and said, ‘You should come perform with us this weekend.’ I couldn’t believe it. I went home and wrote it in my diary.
“On the day of the event, I got ready, put on an outfit, learned the song, and I was so nervous.
“I was ready to go out, and [my dad] was like, ‘Where are you going?’ I lied and said I was going to a friend’s birthday party, but he told me, ‘I saw your diary entry – it’s not happening. I went back to my room and I hated the world. It was awful.”
Although Priya “can laugh” about what happened at the time, she recalled just how “devastating” the order was at the time.
She added: ” I told myself, ‘From now on, I’m not going to share anything with my parents about my music until I reach a certain level.'”
Thankfully, Priya’s parents seem to have changed their opinions on their daughter’s music and her career has been “very healing” for the family.
She said: “Music has opened mine and my brother’s relationship with our parents … there are no boundaries any more. It’s a very healing process for all of us.”
Her parents even worked on Priya’s new album ‘Santhosam’, with her father being credited as a lyricist on some tracks, and her mother featuring in ‘Damnshetamil’, providing ta Tamil chant.
She said: “My dad has such a good ear!
“I would never have thought that he could understand my kind of music, but he really does. The kind of feedback that he gives me sometimes is very surprising. I’m like, ‘Whoa, yes! That’s really coming from you?'”