Ananya Birla to release her second single ‘Meant To Be’ with Faded producer Anders Frøen

Worldwide Release: 28^th July 2017

25^th July 2017, Mumbai: After topping the charts and making headlines with her debut song ‘Livin’ the Life’, Ananya will be releasing her second international single, ‘Meant To Be’ on the 28^th of July, 2017. The electro-pop single is produced by Anders Frøen known as Mood Melodies. Not only is he the famed co-producer of the song “Faded” by Alan Walker, but he has also worked with artists such as Jessie J, Alessia Cara, Zedd, Brandy, Karmin, and others.

The single will be released worldwide across all digital platforms and streaming services on 28^th July while the official music video will premiere on Ananya’s VEVO / YouTube channel on 31^st July.

Keeping her musical commitment in momentum, the ingenious entrepreneur and pop songstress has captured a very electronic yet pop sound. It is an emotive up-tempo song, which truly brings out Ananya’s voice and the distinct texture that it has.

Speaking on the inspiration for this song, Ananya said, “Some relationships don't last for a lifetime but we still feel like it is the one that is meant to be. It can get complicated for years as we go through other relationships however that one relationship still remains the most special for some reason. Even though it can be sad and frustrating when it ends- who knows what the future holds! This is what Meant To Be is about.”

With a probable album in 2018, Ananya also mentioned, “I’d like to believe that my music making process is a journey of self-discovery. I’m more inclined towards exploring the complexities and concepts of human emotions and experiences through my music in a relaxed fashion. I approach my music making process through the eyes of everyday people so that my music is relevant and inspiring in some form.”

Commenting on the song, Anders, the music producer said, “I had a great time working with Ananya in the studio in Los Angeles on ‘Meant to Be.’ We had an amazing chemistry from day one and our creative flow was incredible. We focused on getting the vocals perfect, then we went on to working on the beat together, collaborating on the drop and the synths in the song, jumping back and forward until we had a drop we loved!”

“It was an amazing journey working with Anders. Our creative vibes just came together beautifully. I grew so much as an artist. This song is very close to my heart and it has a lot more of ‘me’ in it. I can’t wait for the world to listen to this song!” replies Ananya.

Sharing his excitement Devraj Sanyal, Managing Director and CEO, Universal Music Group, South Asia adds, “The progress Ananya has made from “Livin’ The Life” to “Meant To Be” has been incredible! Here’s an artist who’s putting in tremendous effort and hard work and the result is there to see in the new single. It’s brilliantly produced by Anders - who’s worked with some of the best contemporary international acts around including co-producing Alan Walker’s biggest hits “Faded” and “Sing Me To Sleep” - and is in line with any of the international stuff out there! We are confident that this single will break new grounds for Ananya. She’s just 23 and her maturity both as an artist and as a songwriter amazes me. We can’t wait to get this single off the block.”

On the music front, Ananya is the first Indian artiste to be released on PM:AM Recordings which is home to some of the biggest artists a few being Tiesto, Alesso, Afrojack, amongst others. From an early age, musically inclined and talented Ananya was trained to play the santoor and she self learnt the guitar. “Livin’ the Life” and its remix have crossed over 19.6 million views on YouTube. The original single also peaked at a high #11 on the Shazam’s `India Top 100’ Song charts.

Everything about the song and the music video shows Ananya progressing into a more mature artist. It’s safe to state the 23 year old Ananya is here to stay, stand tall on her talents and conquer greater heights!

About Ananya

Ananya was just 17 when she founded Svatantra Microfinance, an initiative to help make rural entrepreneurs in India, especially women, more economically self-sufficient. She followed that with Mpower – an initiative to empower people dealing with mental health disorders. More recently, Ananya launched CuroCarte – an online lifestyle platform bringing together makers of handmade goods and collectors of luxury from around the world.

A student of economics and management from University Of Oxford, she has been the beneficiary of many felicitations including Hello! Hall Of Fame Corporate Debutante Award, Skoch Best Start-Up Award 2014, Leading Woman In Microfinance Award, CNBC Young Business Woman Award, Economic Times Trendsetter Young Achiever Award 2016, Asia Spa Youth Icon 2017, Hindustan Times Most Stylish Entrepreneur 2017. She has also been featured in Miss Vogue’s list of ‘28 Geniuses Under 28’, Forbes Asia’s list of ‘Women To Watch Out For In 2016’ and in Verve Magazine’s ‘Top 50 Power Women Of 2016’. She has been invited as a speaker on global platforms such as the Forbes Global CEO, Jakarta in 2016, Indian Institute of Management and the India Today Conclave in 2017

About Universal Music India:

Universal Music India Pvt. Ltd. (UMIPL) is a 100% subsidiary of the Universal Music Group (UMG) and is home to record labels such as A&M Records, Blue Note Records, Capitol Records, Capitol Records Nashville, Caroline, Decca, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammophon, Emarcy, Geffen Records, Interscope Records, Island Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury Records, Motown Records, Polydor Records, Republic Records, Universal Music Latino, Verve Music Group, Virgin Records, Virgin EMI Records.

UMIPL has an extremely rich Indian catalogue comprising songs from classic Hindi and Regional Films, IndiPop, Bhangra, Ghazals and Devotional. It’s enviable catalogue includes artistes such as Asha Bhosle, Anup Jalota, Bombay Vikings, Jagjit Singh, JoSh, Malkit Singh, Pankaj Udhas, Panjabi MC, Raghav, Mohit Chouhan, Euphoria, Adnan Sami, Rabbi Shergill, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to name a few. UMIPL’s `film’ catalogue (the 2nd largest in India) spans music from blockbusters such as Sholay, Qurbani, Amar Akbar Anthony, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Devdas and Munnabhai MBBS amongst the numerous jewels which symbolize the musical journey from the 70’s to date. On the International music front, UMIPL are the clear market leaders with artistes such as ABBA, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Enrique Iglesias, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, The Beatles, UB40, Deep Purple, Enigma, Norah Jones, Deadmau5, The Chemical Brothers, amongst host of others, popular music icons and household names in India.

About Mood Melodies

Mood Melodies is the moniker of Anders Frøen, who is a Norwegian music producer and songwriter. Originally from Bærum, a suburb of Oslo, Mood Melodies has been a part of the Norwegian music industry for the past decade.

Since his beginning, he has worked with artists such as Jessie J, Alan Walker, Alessia Cara, Zedd, Brandy, Karmin, and others. To date, his work has gained more than 3 billion streams on music streaming services such as Spotify, YouTube and more. Anders is currently based in both Oslo, Norway and Los Angeles, United States. Since 2016, he has been signed to a joint venture publishing setup with Sony/ATV and Stellar Songs, the publishing company established by renowned and critically acclaimed Norwegian music production pioneers Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel Eriksen, also known as Stargate.