Of Serbian and Indian heritage, but every inch a Londoner, RIKA is set for a huge breakthrough this year in the music industry. We took the liberty of getting ahead of the trend and asked RIKA to put together 15 things she’d like her future fans to know about her! Read on to find out what she had to say…
RIKA returns with 'The Others'
- My name is RIKA because too many people couldn’t pronounce my full name.
- I refuse to sleep less than eight hours a day.
- I also refuse to drink coffee from anywhere else except Starbucks.
- My Starbucks order is filter coffee with pouring cream and two sugars.
- I’m 5’7.5, but I always round it up to 5’8.
- London’s rain is only good to fall asleep to.
- I love shopping for clothes which I’ll only wear twice - #badhabit!
- I’m a Gemini, but no one ever asks that, right?
- I’ve travelled most of Europe, but London is the best place to be.
- Coke > Pepsi.
- My socials are @rikaldn everywhere!
- The Incredibles is the best Pixar movie, period.
- I’m pretty sure I’ve watched The Notebook nine times and cried nine times.
- I’ve never been to America, yet my accent is American.
- There is a soap named after me. A literal bar of soap.
Now we know a little more than we should about RIKA, we’re all set to watch her take on the big wide world in the coming months with her brilliant new material! You can watch the music video for her new single ‘The Others’ below:
Combining dark pop with tropical visuals on the video, RIKA says that she realised this would be her next official single as soon as she and her team “pencilled the track”.
“It’s about having that special person in your life and how they’re ‘nothing like the others’,” the singer explains. “It’s very sweet sounding.”
Admitting she was influenced by the likes of Major Lazer for the song, RIKA enlisted the help of producer David King for the track, following their collaboration on her previous release, ‘No Need’.
Away from the glare of the industry spotlight, RIKA has been integral in raising awareness about the tragedies happening in Syria. Back in December 2016, she released her song ‘For Peace In Syria’, with the track going viral because of the heartfelt and powerful lyrics. Reaching over 800,000 views in a week on YouTube, the song is almost at a million views, and RIKA couldn’t be more proud.
Chatting about the creation of the tune, she said: “As a child myself – at the time I was 16 – I just connected with it. They did nothing to deserve what hit them. They were just normal children like me, living their lives and all of a sudden this tragedy happened.”
Now, with those kids in her heart, RIKA is hoping to make a bigger name for herself than ever before. We imagine that with her incredible talent, it won’t be long before this artist is a household name across the globe.
You can check out the video for RIKA’s previous releases ‘No Need’ and ‘For Peace In Syria’ below, and download or stream that song, as well as her new single ‘The Others’ now.