Akshath Plots India Tour on the Back of Hit Song ‘Nadaaniyan’

Just about two months since the release of his song “Nadaaniyan,” Mumbai artist Akshath Acharya (who goes by his first name as an artist) still finds it difficult to process that the song has been streamed over 25 million times across Spotify and YouTube. It’s also been used extensively over Reels and became the most Shazamed song in the country for a while.

Akshath anticipated some success once an early teaser for the song in May itself garnered 3.5 million views and calls to release the full version. He says in an email interview, “I along with my team just put our heads down and kept working day in and out to make sure we built on the momentum and gave our best, in just a month we were the Number One viral song in India, Pakistan, U.A.E. and globally on Spotify. This validation is truly inspiring for me to work even harder and become the best version of myself for my community and everyone who has shown so much support all around.”

While some have pointed out a noted vocal phrasing that reminds listeners of Suzanne Vega and DNA’s 1984 hit “Tom’s Diner,” there was just a high relatability in Akshath’s lyrics, coupled with a charming, uncomplicated approach to production. He says, “Both in terms of the mood and the tone, I wanted to keep it simple and relatable, while the instrumentation and production added to the edge. The expression was crafted from a very day-to-day perspective having my loved ones around.”

Although Akshath has enjoyed success with songs like “Jadoo” in 2023, it helps that “Nadaaniyan” was backed by Universal Music India to catapult it into viral territory. The artist, however, says there was a “remarkable organic rise” when it came out.

The first Instagram Reel for the song garnered 14,000 shares in three days. He adds, “With a quick turnaround from creation to release within 36 hours, facilitated by [artist management company] Shark & Ink and Universal Music Group, the song hit 10,000 streams in its first week.” Akshath points to a “high save rate” for the song – over 50 percent – that was key to engagement and of course, content creation being “continuous.” At the time of responding to our interview earlier this month, “Nadaaniyan” reportedly had a daily stream rate of over 700,000 on Spotify.

Akshath chalks it down to his community and “real connection” with listeners that drives the streaming success of his songs. He’s also clearly a strategist when it comes to releasing music in the social media age. “I also like to integrate both new and old songs from my catalogue in my hygiene content plans across platforms and I think it helps the audience to connect more and get more of what I have to offer,” he says.

To that end, Akshath believes that – despite releasing “Nadaaniyan” through a major label – that “no record label can make or break a song.” He adds, “They can only enable an artist to double down on the impact created by their music and empower them to reach out to a larger fanbase but it ultimately all boils down to the artist, their music, and the community.” He’s not wanting to sound ungrateful, of course, because he goes on to thank Universal Music India and his management for being the ones who “worked tirelessly day and night” to ensure the success of “Nadaaniyan.”

The artist is now gearing to play his first gig since the release of his set, supporting artists Rahill and DJ Wavy on July 27 in Mumbai. There’s a nationwide tour also slated between August and September, and more music to be released. “Apart from music, I am also working on some exciting acting opportunities. I also can’t wait to shell out a bunch of collaborations I’ve been working on with my favorite artists from around the world,” he says.

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