Raised in a home filled with musical
interests and talents, dancing and singing
around the house was encouraged by her
family. It was her father, a professional
musician himself, who recognized her rhythm and pitch. In her early years, she was known amongst her peers for her talent as a dancer, with recognizable skills in Bollywood and Hip Hop styles. But it wasn’t only movement that drew Jonita’s heart close to dance; it was her profuse love for music. While growing up listening to and learning a variety of musical styles, Jonita has become a true experimentalist in her vocal art. She enjoys opportunities to try new styles and sing in different languages.
Jonita began performing on stage at the tender age of 4, and has managed to pursue an exciting musical career while maintaining academic excellence and completing her BHSc and HBA at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. Her journey to success as a singer began in her university years, winning first place in various competitions including NATS at York University, 2011 Asian Idol at University of Western Ontario, winning Sonu Nigam’s contest for English-language tribute to Michael Jackson, and winning the competition to open for Kailash Kher’s concert in Toronto.
Jonita’s versatility as a singer spans her strongly across various genres including: Sufi, Bollywood, Western Classical, RnB, Pop and Soft Rock just to name a few. She has sung not only in Hindi and English, but also Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, German, Italian, and French for live and recorded performances. She has been trained by the Ontario Conservatory of Music in Western Classical singing and now studies Indian Classical music during her travels to India.
In January of 2012, a collaborative effort between three talented musical personalities was ignited by singer, composer, artist and pianist Aakash Gandhi. It brought together the trio of himself, flutist Sahil Khan, and Jonita Gandhi with vocals in an online forum on Aakash’s YouTube channel 88keystoeuphoria. Their cover of Pani Da Rang has been viewed by over 2.5 million people worldwide, which initiated Jonita’s international fan following and helped her gain recognition from prominent Bollywood personalities including Amitabh Bachchan, AR Rahman, Salim Sulaiman, Priyanka Chopra and Javed Akhtar. Her YouTube works with Toronto’s Gunsmith & Mohit, as well as Bollywood’s Sanam Puri and his band SQS also helped build her credibility and increased demand for her talent on the playback level.
Her successes grew rapidly, as her talents brought her star-studded opportunities including opening acts for Sunidhi Chauhan’s concert at the Sony Centre in Toronto, as well as Sonu Nigam’s Klose To My Heart tour for which she is now an integrated part of the production as it continues to tour internationally. Jonita has become the lead female singer in Sonu Nigam’s performance group. Other performances include appearances with singers Chang, Parthiv Gohil, and Chinmayee, and the Michigan Philharmonic Symphony. Jonita has recently headlined her own shows with Aakash Gandhi in Dubai, Hong Kong and India.
Being in India has opportuned Jonita many prestigious performances and media appearances. Recently, Jonita was selected to perform live on TV for Priyanka Chopra’s Our Girls Our Pride telethon that broadcasted internationally on NDTV. She has been featured in several articles and interviews on TV and in print both in Canada and India, including Asian Television Network, Kolkata Times of India, Delhi Times of India, and Bollywood Film Fare Canada to name a few. With such tremendous exposure in the industry, Jonita gained recognition by music producers in the Bollywood playback industry, which led to her debut in the title track of Chennai Express, as well as multiple Bengali films that followed.
Jonita’s work as a recording and performing artist is yet in its budding stage. Her desire and determination to grow as a vocalist continues to help her excel in her career. Her aspirations for her career range from making real connections with people through her music, singing to inspire, and spreading awareness about important social causes, to bridging the gap between Bollywood and Hollywood by making a name for herself in Bollywood and Western mainstream music and fusion works. She hopes to have great success in creating her own original songs and videos as well as to become a prominent name for hit Bollywood songs. Jonita’s future as a singer looks far beyond the horizon as a promising personality.