Sparsh Shah

I’ve always deeply resonated with music, and I like to tell people that my connection to the art is like that of two best friends who grew up together. I’ve been singing ever since I could speak; my mom and dad were the first to recognize my inclination towards music, since I would often hum the songs we played in our car. Eventually, I even started correcting my parents when I felt they were off-pitch, and that’s when they realized that this was not just an inclination, but a gift.

I started my musical training on the keyboard at the age of three, but due to my condition, I broke my arms often and thus could not play the keyboard regularly. However, my parents encouraged me to continue to learn music, telling me that “No matter how many bones you break in your life, your voice will never break.” So at six years of age, I commenced Hindustani (North Indian) classical vocal lessons from the Pandit Jasraj Institute of Music (PJIM); I’ve been learning it for eleven years now. I’ve also been taking Western vocal and keyboard/piano lessons since the age of eleven (so about six years now). On top of that, I’ve also been part of my elementary, middle, and high school choirs, and I took A.P. Music Theory as a high school sophomore! All of these experiences opened my musical horizons, exposing me to different disciplines that would profoundly influence my musical career.

At the age of eight, I first performed at a public stage, and I fell in love with the thrill of singing for other people. Slowly yet steadily, I built momentum by uploading my performance videos to Facebook and Youtube, and in time, I became a well-known local singer. Then, at the age of ten, I wrote my first song, “This Love Will Never Fade,” and when I was eleven, I won the prestigious Young Voice of NYC competition (which, unlike the name suggests, included contestants with all sorts of talents) and was named the 2015 Youth Ambassador for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. These two events marked a turning point in my life: that was when I made the decision to pursue a career in music. And that was when I conceived my biggest dream yet: to perform in front of a BILLION people worldwide one day. 

Soon after I won the Young Voice of NYC competition, more doors began to be opened than ever before. In 2016, I released my first cover of Eminem’s hit song “Not Afraid,” and over the next year, I created a cover album of Eminem songs entitled “Tribute to Eminem,” complete with Indian classical influence that would become the foundation for a new musical genre: “ragarap.” From then on, the sky was no longer the limit for me. I started performing at world-class venues, appearing on world-class TV shows and radio stations, and traveling throughout the world to share my story and voice. Finally, after a decade of hard work, my biggest dream was fulfilled—TWICE! The first time it happened was on November 2018, when I sang and was interviewed by the Bollywood legend Shri Amitabh Bachchan on Kaun Banega Crorepati? (India’s version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?); I say this because the episode was broadcasted to about 185 countries all over the world, reaching at least a billion people! The second time it happened was on September 2019, when I led the Indian National Anthem at the "Howdy, Modi!" event in Houston, during which India's Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the U.S. President Mr. Donald Trump addressed the Indian diaspora in Houston, Texas; that what broadcasted worldwide to almost TWO billion people!

However, the fulfillment of my dream does not mean my career has ended. In fact, it has only begun! As I mentioned earlier, I wrote my first song when I was ten, and I've written over fifty-five songs since; I've also been learning to produce music for the past three years. All of this leads up to my next big dream: to create my DEBUT (original) album before I turn 18! I also want to pursue Berklee College of Music's online degree program once I graduate high school, maybe win a few Grammys along the way, and most importantly, I want to "sparsh" (which means "touch" in Sanskrit) the hearts of as many as I can throughout the world. Though these may seem like Goliath tasks and unbelievable dreams, I know by experience that if you believe it, you can achieve it! I could never have imagined that I'd fulfill my mission of inspiring others to see the light God has given them in any other way than through the universal language of music. Hence, I stay forever humbled yet driven to leave my tracks in the sand of legacy so deep that not even tsunamis can erase them! So come and join me as the journey continues; after all, "Success is the journey, not the destination," and its path leads is infinite!