Artist Profile: Heerraa Ravindran, an Inspiring Singer-Songwriter

Heerraa Ravindran, a Harvard Extension School student, has a powerful and vibrant voice that is pleasing to the ear. More importantly, though, the lyrics that her voice sings invoke life lessons and compassion. Ravindran wants to change the world, and through her music, she does.

The Harvard Extension School student has produced 20 songs available to stream, but has written at least 100. Her song “Feel Alive” won the ICon Award and Best in North America in the pop genre at the InterContinental Music Awards in 2022 as well as the International Singer-Songwriters Association International Gold award in 2021.

Her music probes themes of insecurities and being vulnerable.

“What are the realistic expectations of life, of relationships? How do you manage your ego because sometimes it gets the better of us. So like writing all this in song, and writing the solutions in the song is something that I find helpful for me, then I've seen that it's been helpful for other people as well,” Ravindran said in an interview with The Harvard Crimson.

However, when she wrote “Feel Alive” during the pandemic, she was not “feeling alive.” The song became a way for her to revitalize herself.

“That song, that was after feeling like I can find what makes me happy. I got to really reflect, ‘Who am I?’” Ravindran said.

While many of her songs arise from her own experiences, they are also for Ravindran’s listeners.

“I think that's how my songs act. Like, whether you know it or not, it is getting you to slowly start living by these values of being someone who's happy with themselves, being someone who is driven to chase after their goals, being someone who's hopeful even though there are bad days that you encounter,” said Ravindran.

For example, “Crazy” encourages listeners to overcome the maddening aspects of life, and appreciate what can be “crazy good,” as Ravindran said.

Ravindran has believed that music could change the world since she was 14. When she, a self-identified “emo teenage kid,” accompanied her mother to a social business incubator called ET Ideas. There, she realized that pursuing a career in music was not just a dream, but could be a reality.

“I'm not sure how it's like throughout the world, but where I grew up in Asian culture, [If] you want to pursue a career in the arts or like become a singer, it is kind of frowned upon […] So, to actually get people to believe in me, that was something that really shook me,” Ravindran said.

Since then, Ravindran has continued making music to help “shake” others. As that is her goal, she does not inhibit herself to a certain style or genre. Rather, she lets the genre arise from the song’s theme.

“The reason why I write songs is to convey messages. It's really for myself and for my audience, for us to grow. First of all learn different things that we encounter as human beings. And the byproduct of that is writing songs that best cater to each mood, each journey,” Ravindran said.

For instance, whereas “Crazy” and “Feel” belong to the pop category, “Attention Island” falls into R&B, “which was purely accidental,” Ravindran said. The slower tempoed, deliciously moody song discusses fame and its false promise of happiness.

“I didn't even know that was an R&B song. I just wrote it one night. And like, months later, I brought it to the studio and someone was like, oh, that's an R&B song,” Ravindran said.

Other genres that Ravindran explores include funk-soul and retro-pop. For example, “Across the Universe,” which is part of Harvard Undergraduate Songwriters’ Collective’s 2022 album, features her stirring yet tender, truly soulful voice accompanied by disco inspired beats.

Ravindran’s music, however, is not her only way of changing the world. In 2015, she co-founded the international youth movement Ascendance, which engages children and young adults from ages eight to 23 in career exploration, workshops, and leadership programs.

“I think at first off, a lot of us don't have the luxury of taking the time to find out what we love to do,” she said. “And if only we did that, we'd be much more happier, we can make better decisions as adults. So first off, getting them to find their passion. And then second of all, how do they actually achieve those results while they're still in school?”

In the past eight years, Ascendance has collaborated with more than 50,000 students across 26 countries. In 2022, Ravindran retired from her position as Chief Operations Officer. Now, in alignment with the organizations’ goals, her pupils are the ones running the operations.

Although Ravindran cannot entirely disclose her future plans, she can attest that some international collaborations are on the way.

“I'm looking forward to working with people because I think it's always nice when you can collaborate with like minded people. It gets you to grow as an artist. It gets everyone's careers to a different level as well. And you get to create music that's life changing,” Ravindran said.

Not only does Ravindran excel in musical and humanitarian fields, she also endures the workload of being a Harvard student. In fact, while many complain about their 9:00 a.m. courses, Ravindran attends class at 6:30 a.m. due to the time difference between Boston and Malaysia. Her contagiously positive attitude is certainly helpful.

Regarding the upcoming midterms, Ravindran says this: “It can be crazy, but it's nice because we're not alone. And I think that's something that we can all feel a bit better that we're not doing this alone.”

Ravindran’s published songs can be found on Apple Music, Spotify, and Youtube.