Award winning singer-writer-composer on fighting against the odds and making a global name for himself
“I feel the reason why people really like my music is because I’ve been really honest. When songs are personal, they are more authentic,” says Prateek Kuhad, singer, songwriter and composer. Image: Vansh Virmani
Prateek Kuhad’s love affair with music began at 16, when he started learning how to play the guitar. By 18, he had already started writing and composing his own songs. Kuhad had no plans to pursue music professionally, till the video of a song he wrote, composed and sang—Raat Raazi, which was shot on a phone—went viral on YouTube. Soon, he started getting gigs and decided to give music a shot. “I decided to give it a year. If things work out great, if they don’t, I’ll go back to doing what I was supposed to,” he says. Turns out, he never had to fall back on his backup plans.
Kuhad's debut album In Tokens and Charms was an instant hit, earning the artiste an MTV Europe Music Award, Indie Album of the Year honours from iTunes, and the title of Best Pop Artist at the Radio City Freedom Awards. The album’s opening track, ‘Oh Love’, captured first place in the prestigious International Songwriting Competition.