Jonita’s versatility as a singer spans across various genres including: Sufi, Bollywood, Western Classical, RnB, Pop and Soft Rock just to name a few. She has sung not only in Hindi and English, but also Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, German, Italian, and French for live and recorded performances. She has been trained by the Conservatory of Music in Western Classical singing and now studies Indian Classical music while in India.
In January of 2012, composer, artist and pianist Aakash Gandhi ignited a collaborative effort between three talented musical personalities; it brought together the trio of himself, flautist Sahil Khan, and Jonita Gandhi with vocals on Aakash’s YouTube channel 88keystoeuphoria. Their cover of Pani Da Rang has been viewed by over 5 million people worldwide, which initiated Jonita’s international fan following and helped her gain recognition from prominent Bollywood personalities including Amitabh Bachchan, AR Rahman, Salim Sulaiman and Ayushmann Khurana. In 2013, her online presence culminated in her first Bollywood break: the title track of Chennai Express by renowned Bollywood musical duo Vishal-Shekhar. She has collaborated with several other YouTube artists including ARJUN for Can’t Forget You/Tujha Bhula Diya, which gained over 2 million views in its first month. Jonita’s own YouTube channel not only showcases her collaborative works, but also live performances and TV features, including her appearance with her band on Kappa TV’s Music Mojo, and her performance on MTV Coke Studio.
Her successes grew rapidly, as her talents brought her star-studded opportunities including touring alongside Sonu Nigam in his Klose To My Heart tour, gaining her an integrated part in the production. In 2015, Jonita performed as the lead female vocalist in A.R. Rahman’s North American Intimate Tour series where she stunned audiences with performances of various genres in 5 different languages. In 2016, she collaborated with ten-time Grammy award winning musician Carlos Santana for a special live performance as part of AR Rahman’s band. In addition to headlining concerts around the world as a solo artist, she regularly records and performs alongside AR Rahman, Salim-Sulaiman, and Amit Trivedi. She has performed several times on local and international television, and was also selected to perform the Top Songs of 2014 at the Mirchi Music Awards Ceremony in Mumbai.
Shortly after her debut in the Bollywood film music industry, Jonita was contacted to record for Bollywood film songs, jingles and regional films. Her biggest break was when she recorded her first Bollywood solo with AR Rahman: Kahaan Hoon Main from the movie Highway. Kahaan Hoon Main was an excellent showcase for her eastern and western musical influences. She made it her own, as she was part of the song from the initial humming-through-composition stages to recording the final song. Since then, Jonita has had the opportunity of working with Rahman on several Bollywood and Kollywood tracks, as well as two songs in his album “Raunaq” for politician Kapil Sibal.
2016 marked a year of award nominations for Jonita. The Breakup Song brought her nominations for all of the prestigious awards of Bollywood in the Best Playback Singer (Female) category, but it was for her song Gilehriyaan (Movie: Dangal) that she won the title at the Mirchi Music Awards.
Jonita’s work as a recording and performing artist is yet in its budding stage. Her desire and determination to grow as a vocalist continues to help her excel in her career. Her aspirations for her career range from spreading awareness about important social causes, making real connections with people through her music, singing to inspire; to bridging the gap between Western and Indian music with fusion works. She strives to explore her creativity in the independent music scene as well as singing for Bollywood songs. Jonita’s future as a singer looks far beyond the horizon as a promising personality.
