Shine Bright Like Sonali

Fall 2019 (Florida Coast Magazine) – Sonali Argade, born in Los Angeles, California and raised in Parkland, Florida, is a rising star with a promising future ahead of her. With the full support of her family, she has been singing for as long as she can remember. In addition to singing, Sonali also enjoys playing the electric guitar, keyboard, and even experiments with drums from time to time.

Sonali began singing lessons at age six with a classical background. It wasn’t until age 18 that she started taking lessons focusing on a more pop sound. Sonali studied at New York University (NYU) where she majored and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Recorded Music/Entrepreneurship and minored in Child Psychology.

Sonali takes pride in writing her own songs. She tries to be relatable and transparent through her lyrics in order to genuinely engage with her listeners. “I try to write in a diary-like way so the listener feels like it was written for him or her.”

“My creative process of writing a new song usually begins with just one lyric,” Sonali explains. From there, she writes down all of her thoughts about that particular word or phrase. Following this, she plays around with chord progressions and works towards making a demo. Finally, collaborators and producers are contacted to finalize the process.

Sonali’s dreams were put on hold between 2014-2017 as she went undiagnosed with Lyme disease for quite some time. This development caused her to take a hiatus from working on her music. “It affected me to the point that I couldn’t even get out of bed. It didn’t seem feasible that I would ever get back to singing.” Fortunately, Sonali was able to restart her career and release her first single in late 2017.

Last year, Sonali enjoyed a pretty big moment when she was asked to perform at SunFest 2018 in West Palm Beach. She performed a 40-minute set, blowing away any expectations she had going into this momentous occasion. “I figured I would just be a morning set or be on a side stage. I ended up opening for Pitbull on the main stage! It was one of the coolest things I have ever done.” SunFest was also the first show ever for Sonali and her band to play together.

Personally describing her own musical style as Indie/Alternative-Pop, Sonali says, “I try to listen to as many genres as possible.” Just a few of her various influences include Led Zeppelin, Paramore, John Mayer, LANY, and MUNA.

Performing live is one of Sonali’s favorite parts of being a singer. “I like my music to feel like a friend to people when they feel they don’t have someone to talk to.” Before each performance, Sonali does her best to find a moment to herself where she can get centered and focus on what message she wants to deliver to the audience.

Now at 25 years old, the singer/songwriter just released her second EP, “Runaway,” over the summer. This project featured three new songs and two music videos. Each of the songs were produced and recorded over a four-day period in Los Angeles. The music videos were filmed in New York City and took two days to shoot.

Currently, Sonali mostly performs at venues ranging from West Palm to Miami, but she occasionally visits New York City to hit the stage. Looking to the future, this up-and-coming singer/songwriter is most excited to play bigger gigs, release more music, and eventually begin touring.  

To find out more about Sonali and her journey, follow her on social media platforms at @itsmesonali. You can check out her music on Spotify and YouTube.