By DANIAL FUAD
Being a singer is no easy feat nowadays, considering the burgeoning music industry in which a new singer pops up every day. But that has not deterred 24-year-old Heerraa from pursuing a career in music. “I’ve always had the ambition to be a singer ever since I was young, but nothing happened earlier on as I was not born a talented singer,” states Heerraa. At age 14, however, her mother took her to a social business incubator platform called ET Ideas and that’s when her musical journey began. Her goal was not only to become a singer but also a singer with purpose. Heerraa said: “A lot of my talent, character and values were guided by my mentors and it was then that I came up with the idea to change the world through music.”
“I strive to make positive music that makes people happy, to follow their hearts and work on their goals. That is what I meant by changing the world through music; writing catchy songs with lyrics impacting the audience,” Heerraa explained.
Her first international breakthrough was in October 2019, though the roots of this started one year before. Heerraa said, “When you start being serious about what you are doing, people will notice and give you more opportunities. I would like to thank my music teacher, Clarence Chua, for my first big international breakthrough.” Clarence Chua founded Theater of Sound, where Heerraa took music lessons. He gave her a chance to write a song for a game. “Writing for games, movies, or television is mysterious. They don’t tell you what it is about except for a few keywords.”
It was only a year later that Heerraa found out her song made it on Simulacra 2, a found-phone horror game developed by Kaigan Games. “The song called The Girl Who Loved did really well overseas with listeners in Poland, Germany, United Kingdom, Finland and even in the United States.” That is how she got into the international spotlight at 20.
“When the pandemic happened, I was bummed out because my music career was just picking up in the local scene,” she said. But it was during the pandemic that Heerraa experienced her next stage of career growth. “My first online show was in Malaysia to support an online fundraising event. Even though it was my first time performing virtually, the audience still loved it. I was later invited to perform in Indonesia, India, Australia, Scotland, Wales and the US,” Heerraa said.
The momentum went on as Heerraa’s songs played on radio stations worldwide. It snowballed to her recent win in California. “I was nominated at the 6th California Music Video Awards for Best Female Solo Artist and Best R&B Music Video for my song Attention Island,” Heerraa shared.
She added, “That was my first time in San Francisco. It was very nice as many Malaysians took their time to vote for me for the award.” It was a surprise for Heerraa as she received the Best Female Solo Artist Award on stage. “To be able to represent Malaysia and South-East Asia was an honour for me and I hope to continue doing so.”
Talking about how she managed to get to where she is now, she said that environment played a major factor. “What worked for me was finding an environment that aligned with my goals and could help me to grow. Find your community in which you are able to support each other. Your environment shapes who you are.” Aside from that, she also added that collaboration is vital, “ET Ideas showed me that when you collaborate, you create really good music that changes lives.”
“Growing up, I thought becoming a singer was about fame and popularity. Instead of the limelight, my mentor guided me to focus on the impact I can create as success and popularity are two different things,” Heerraa said. She is currently working on various international projects and corporate performances, as well as travelling later in the year to attend awards shows in the US and the Netherlands.
Heerra is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree at Harvard University in the United States. During the pandemic, she released a live album of her performances in various countries. To date, she has released 15 singles. To get more updates about Heerraa, visit at her website, follow her on Instagram, and stream her songs on Spotify and Apple Music.
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