Raveena Aurora, known mononymously as Raveena , is an American singer and songwriter. She has gained expertise in jazz, R&B, and soul music genres. In 2022, Aurora became the first woman of Indian origin to perform at Coachella, an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
Wiki/Biography
Raveena Aurora was born on Friday, September 30, 1994 (age 27 years; as of 2021), in Massachusetts, US. Her zodiac sign is Libra.
Raveena Aurora in childhood
Her family had its roots in Punjab, India. Her parents immigrated to Queens, New York, from India during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She grew up in Queens, New York, and Stamford, Connecticut. Inclined towards music from a young age, Aurora began singing when she was in class 6; Raveena gave her first singing performance on Colors of the Wind from Pocahontas at the age of eleven. Gradually, she became obsessed with music and began learning R&B, jazz, soul, and folk music. While in middle school, Aurora got involved with musical theatre, she started writing original music when she reached high school. She studied recorded music at The New York University Tisch School of the Arts, New York.
An old picture of Raveena Aurora
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Family
Raveena belongs to a traditional Sikh Family.
Parents & Siblings
Raveena Aurora is the daughter of Rajiv Mehta and Dimple Mehta. Her mother is a fashion designer; she worked with Calvin Klein in the ’90s. She has an elder sister, Kareena, and a brother, Rajveer.
Raveena Aurora with her mother and grandmother
Career
Music
Raveena began her music career in 2015; working with the record producer Everett Orr. In December 2017, she released her first EP ‘Shanti.’ Her debut EP was a blend of R&B, soul, and jazz music and was based on the themes of self-love and healing. It garnered huge appreciation from the audience. Subsequently, she started directing her own music videos.
🌺✨⭐️☀️🌼SHANTI EP OUT TODAY🌷✨⭐️☀️🌻🌹@spotify : https://t.co/c6iyn4c3RQ@soundcloud: https://t.co/CYpqqa66Ax pic.twitter.com/b9jbXaYija
— Raveena (@raveena_aurora) December 6, 2017
Her debut album “Lucid” was released on May 31, 2019. The album was distributed by Empire Distribution. Her album gained positive reviews. NPR’s Sidney Madden described the album as
comforting but nuanced, balancing cultures old and new by mashing up contemporary R&B with traditions from the South Asian diaspora.”
Praising the track ‘Petal’ from the album, Vrinda Jagota from Pitchfork wrote,
Over the course of 12 songs, her sound becomes bolder and clearer, finding strength in everything from sun showers to her mother’s resilience to her own femininity and womanhood.”
NPR named Lucid as the ‘Best Albums of 2019.’ The single ‘Stronger’ from the album was named one of the “100 Best Songs of 2019” by Noisey.
Lucid cover
On 11 February 2022, she released her sophomore album “Asha’s Awakening.” In the album, Raveena carried the avatar of a space princess from the planet ‘Sanataan.’ Aurora was bejeweled in ornate nose pins and was portrayed as wearing traditional Indian jewelry. The avatar was her interpretation of a space Punjabi princess.
Asha’s Awakening
Live Performances
In 2018, Raveena became a part of ModCloth’s Say It Louder campaign. The campaign aimed at celebrating the individuality and strong female icons in music. It featured other outspoken female musicians like Lizzo, Awkwafina, and Hayley Kiyoko. In November 2018, Raveena made a performance at Tyler, The Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival. In March 2019, Aurora, along with H.E.R. and Toto, performed at the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Raveena Aurora during a stage show
Ravena became the first woman of Indian origin to perform at Coachella in 2022. During the festival, she performed a surprise cover of “Dum Maro Dum” from the Bollywood film Hare Krishna Hare Ram (1971).
Raveena Aurora performing at Coachella
After the event, Raveena took to her Instagram page to thank her team. She wrote,
So wild to me that I’m one of the first Indian women to play Coachella. Thank you to my beautiful band (love you ty, cale, and Aaron) & team who made this happen! May there be thousands more!!!…”
Favorites
- Song: Raat Hamari Toh from the film ‘Parineeta’ (2005)
- Travel Destination: Las Vegas
- Fashion Brand(s): Collina Strada, Eckhaus Latta
Facts/Trivia
- Raveena loves painting and playing the guitar in her leisure time.
- She has been featured in Vogue India magazine multiple times.
Raveena Aurora featured in Vogue India
- She has got many tattoos inked on her body including a butterfly tattoo on her left arm, a tattoo on her right arm, and a tattoo on the right side of her waistline.
Raveena Aurora’s tattoo
Raveena Aurora’s tattoo
- She is often spotted drinking alcohol on various occasions.
Raveena Aurora enjoying a drink
- In an interview, Raveena revealed that whenever she suffered from a stomach ache in childhood, her grandfather used to practice reiki (a form of energy healing) on her.
- During an interview, while sharing her favorite memory from childhood, Raveena said,
I don’t come from a family of musicians, but I come from a family of talented bathroom singers. My favorite memories from my childhood involve that warm feeling when my friend’s parents were over, and they sat in the living room taking turns singing old Indian songs. I was always creative. Singing and writing were my escape, and the way I found a sense of safety and meaning in the world, especially when I was experiencing sad or hard moments. It’s not always easy being the first-born in America, or a first-generation child of parents who had survived and come up from a lot, compared to my classmates whose parents have been here for generations and are more settled. There can be a lot of pressure and confusion from that environment that you have to navigate on your own.”
- Raveena’s mother often collaborates with her to create colorful garments for her videos and onstage performances. Talking about it in an interview, Raveena said,
It’s a big part of our relationship, working together on clothes for my music now. She had such a big influence on my style growing up, and now I can come to her with anything, with really modern or new designers, or with this crazy ’70s Cher mood board that I just made, and we see how we can translate it all into a way that feels relevant to what I do. She has a really elegant concept with everything that she makes.”
- Raveena lost one of her maternal uncles during the 1984 Sikh Massacre. During the riots, her family business was also burned down.
- In a conversation with leading news daily in New York, Raveena revealed that she had been writing poetry since a very young age.
- As a child, Raveena grew up listening to the songs of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Talking about it in an interview, Aurora said,
Once I heard their voices, I was hooked. There was no turning back. I really fell in love with the voice and how to use it and study it and be as expressive with it as possible.”
- Raveena has been very open about her pansexuality. She once revealed that she was a survivor of sexual abuse.