Swetha Bharat goes beyond Aggie Voice

Since winning Aggie Voice in December, Swetha Bharat has been juggling the many opportunities that have opened up in her music career while still focusing on school.

Q: How would you describe the style of music you create?

A: When it just comes to music in general, I literally love everything, but I think when I make music, it’s always singer-songwriter-esque — like, girl with a guitar. It’s always a love song. I’ve never been in love, which is really, really funny, but it’s always a love song or something about a boy. Very acoustic and raw is kind of just how I make my music.

Q: When did you get into making your own music and songwriting?

A: I started writing songs when I was like 11 for fun. I would make up little things in my head and jot them down mostly. I am just the kind of person that loves the ‘what ifs.’  I’m constantly always dreaming about something. I feel like it was a very good way for me to get it all out. Everything I wanted in life, I’d write about pretty much. But also, growing up is hard. A lot of things are hard. So, I think that writing at such a young age was such a good outlet for me to kind of just understand what I was feeling.

Q: What does the creative process look like for you?

A: It’s literally different every time, but usually, it’s because a lot of my songs have been melody first, lyrics after. Some songs have been lyrics first, melody after. If I’m in a rut and I’m like, “I need to freaking write a song,” I will sit down and force myself to come up with something on my guitar, and then I’ll be like, “Okay, what do I want to write about?” But most of the time, my best songs have just been something that’s going on in my life. Let me just pick off of it as inspiration and dramatize it.

Q: How do you think winning Aggie Voice impacted the trajectory of your music journey?

A: I was not expecting any of this happen — I literally auditioned for Aggie Voice for fun. I just was not expecting to be performing at so many things, and I also wasn’t expecting people to want to hear me at so many things. I think it’s really funny, though, because I hate hearing myself sing. On a recording, I just don’t like hearing my own voice. I think that with any artist, there’s always a smidge of insecurity just because it’s hard and there’s so much comparison. I mean, comparison is the thief of joy, but it’s inevitable, just when there’s so many people doing the same thing as you. So, I guess, the fact that so many people wanted to hear the stuff that I was making and the stuff that I was singing just made me feel so good, and I feel like the more I get asked to do things, the more I’m like, “Huh? Maybe this could go somewhere.” I mean, I’m still going to be in college and stuff — I very much have motivation when it comes to my major and the job I want to do — but it’s nice being able to do something I love so much.

Q: What’s your favorite part about kind of getting to share your music with people?

A: My favorite part always is when people are like, “I related to your song.” At the end of the day, music’s always going to be art. It’s always going to be something that impacts people. Like, even me — when I’m listening to music in my headphones, sometimes I’m just sitting there thinking there is no way that a couple of notes and a person’s voice is making me want to sob my eyes out right now, or there is no way that I am feeling this euphoric by just having a song play in my car at night with my windows down. The fact that my music — which I would have never, ever, ever thought would have touched anybody —  is touching people by just singing on a stage at college is insane to me, especially because I came here with literally no intention of moving forward in my music career at all.