Kiwi Indian singer Aaradhna Patel has set a record at this year’s Pacific Music Awards; winning every award she was nominated for - all six of them.
The 29-year-old was the clear winner, picking up Best Female Artist, Best Pacific Urban Artist, Best Song, Best Album and Best Video for her clip to hit song Lorena Bobbitt.
She also won a special Radio Airplay award for her No1 track Wake Up. The catchy tune - which can be heard on some television ads - went platinum early this year, just before she signed a multi-album deal with US label Republic Records.
On awards night, she thanked fans for their ongoing support, as well as the label that got it all started for her - Dawn Raid Entertainment.
The songstress acknowledged that it had been a long time coming, having taken a break over the past four years.
Talking about her latest album, Treble & Reverb, Aaradhna said she was inspired to write new music by listening to tracks by the late Amy Winehouse. “I used to go to her Back to Black album and I’d repeat it all day because I connected with all her music. “The thing I liked about it was that she didn’t care about what other people said. She really spoke her mind - that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to make music that I could really say what I wanted to say.”
Aaradhna Jayantilal Patel, better known by her stage name Aaradhna, sings mostly R&B/ pop and made her musical debut in 2004 featuring the single “Getting Stronger” with the group Adeaze which peaked at number one on the official New Zealand Singles Chart.
She is a New Zealander of Samoan and Indian descent. Her father Jayanti Patel is Indian from Navsari, a Southern Gujarat village and her mother Sia’a Patel is Samoan from Papa Uta village. Aaradhna is the eldest of five. She first showed singing aspirations at the young age of 12, singing along with her mother to traditional Samoan and country songs.
She would try to imitate the songs she heard in Bollywood movies that she and her father watched and also went to festivals that her father performed at. She began writing her own music at the age of 11; she entered her first talent quest at the age of 13 making it into the finals.
She joined the school choir at Porirua College and went on to form a five piece girl group called “Lovera”.
