AARADHNA

Aaradhna is a New Zealander of Samoan and Indian descent. Her father Jayanti Patel is an Indian from Navsari, Gujarat, India and her mother Sia'a Patel is Samoan. Aaradhna is the eldest of five. She first showed singing aspirations at the age of 11, 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 at which her father performed. Aaradhna began writing her own music at the age of 11, entering her first talent quest at the age of 13 and 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.

Her debut album I Love You entered the top 20 RIANZ, with various songs featured in films including Sione's Wedding and It's a Free World. She released a club-inspired song alongside Australian producer, DJ and artist Paul Mac in late 2006 titled Love Declaration. The song features on Mac's album Panic Room and reached #31 on the local charts in Australia.

Aaradhna's album Sweet Soul Music, a throw-back to the soul classics including the Jackson 5 cover I Want You Back, was released on iTunes and in various music stores in New Zealand on 14 February 2008, coinciding with Valentine's Day. In 2011 she began working on her third studio album under Dawn Raid Entertainment. She released the single Wake Up in August 2012, and the album Treble & Reverb was released in November.

Aaradhna's fourth studio album Brown Girl was released in July 2016. The album explored her own experience of casual racism in New Zealand. The album debuted at number one in New Zealand and also cracked the albums chart of Switzerland. In November 2016, the performer gave away her hip-hop award at the 2016 New Zealand Music Awards, believing that she had "been placed in this category, because I'm brown". She opined that "you can't give a singer an award for Best Hip Hop artist".