While [1] touring in Bangalore and Mumbai last October, Aussie pop-rock group [2] INXS decided it wanted to collaborate with an Indian artist.

And rising star Sona Mohapatra (her debut album [3] Sona was recently released on Sony BMG) fit the bill perfectly.

“They chose to go with me as they felt my voice would complement their lead singer J D Fortune,” Mohapatra told [4] Toe Knee Unplugged. The result, this soulful rendering of the hit track Afterglow, has been received very favorably:

Mohapatra, who has an engineering degree and MBA, left behind a corporate job after years of trying to juggle singing, with her career as a brand manager in Mumbai. “I wanted to spend much more time pursuing my singing - I wanted to learn, go places, travel,” [5] she says. “The idea of the album was shaping up and I wanted to fully work on this. That’s when I decided to quit.”

“I think I can be part of that set of people who can define contemporary Indian sound outside of just film music.”

More:
Mohapatra’s interpretation of Aaja Ve is also totally worth a [6] listen (watch the video [7] here).
Visit [8] SonaTheArtist.Com for details on, um, Sona the artist.
Nirali’s own [9] Arun Kale, founder of [10] Split magazine, [11] weighs in on India’s thriving rock scene.