Dhruv Sharma, known mononymously as Dhruv, has steadily built a growing fanbase over the last few years after exploding onto the scene with his viral hit “Double Take” in 2019. His debut full-length, ‘Private Blizzard’ was released last year to critical acclaim and his first major North American tour that included his debut in major cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and others. ‘Private Blizzard’ explores themes of personal growth, grief, and identity with a blend of jazz-infused pop and smooth vocal stylings that has become a trademark for the British-born Indian singer-songwriter. “I started in a place of numbness, and I didn’t really understand why I felt that way,” Dhruv stated. “The songs that I started out with were trying to help me unpack that feeling. The further along I got, I started feeling better—I just felt lighter.” Standouts from the LP include “Tragedy”, “One and Only” and “Speed of Light”, the latter Dhruv described as that “limbo state of being heartbroken over someone who clearly had no trouble moving on from the relationship.” Born and raised in Singapore and of Indian descent, Dhruv developed a passion for music at the early age of five, hearing Bollywood soundtracks on the T.V. at his grandmother’s house. After years of writing songs privately, he put his studies at Yale on hold to make a go of music in earnest and began producing from his bedroom. Going viral with “Double Take” provided numerous opportunities for Dhruv that included getting signed to Little Worry and RCA and eventually touring with Joji, selling out headline stops across the U.S. and the U.K., and a handful of dates in Asia in 2023, that included two rare headline shows in India.
Singer-songwriter Dhruv spoke with B-Sides host Pete Mar about his musical journey from growing up queer in a conservative societies in Singapore and India. He talks about finding his voice and honing his music while going to Yale, the success of his viral song “Double Take”, touring, his latest album ‘Private Blizzard’ and more.
