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The making of a 'Pop Star' India Dupriez

September 27, 2019
It’s a story often told: kid realizes they don’t really fit in with anyone, has to find something to fit into. And for India Dupriez, that something was art.

At age 12, India realized she wasn’t like other kids her age. She’d try to care about the things they cared about, nod her head in conversation about whatever they were talking about, and do the after school activities they were into. But it was never deep enough for her, it wasn’t fulfilling. And by trying to be more like them, she was becoming less like her.

So she auditioned for a musical-- unsure if she was any good at singing, seeking fulfillment and excitement. She sang the director a song and walked off the stage to her mom, surprised, “that wasn’t half bad!” She figured half good was better than not good at all, maybe music could be that thing for her.

India nervously enrolled in voice lessons. She walked in ready to sing her favorite song, quickly learning she’d have to start with scales, and left wondering if scales were really even music. Although she was slightly confused, and somewhat underwhelmed, she kept going. At the time, she wasn’t sure why she kept going. Now she knows she stuck with it because she had discovered that little force of magic we spend all our lives searching for: passion.

People started hearing that passion, and recording it. Videos of her singing made their way onto the internet. One specific video is forever etched into her memory-- the one of her singing a song to her family in her auntie’s living room. This video would circulate in group chats and instagram dms as a way to, yep you guessed it, make fun of her for being different. But at this point, further disconnected from her classmates and more closely connected to her art, she wasn’t embarrassed. Sure it was awkward and “annoying,” but she was secure in herself and her voice. It took a long time to get to that point, but she did it.

“Doing things their way, how you’re ‘supposed to’ school, college, desk job— we all know the outcome, certainty, security, friends. But true success and magic happens from doing things the less expected way, doing things your own way.”
She made the decision to study from home where she could hone in on her craft and perhaps eat lunch at a table instead of in the bathroom “like an cliché old American movie.”

Today, India (16), is that same “different” girl she’s always been. She’s just more confident in who she is, and has the voice to match. If we could peer in on her in this exact moment, she’d probably be at home with her two dogs, watching an Instagram story of her old friends hanging out, thinking about whether or not she’ll regret her decision to be herself rather than ‘one of them,’ contemplating if the world is moving on without her while she’s stuck at home license-less, still singing.
But now, she sounds more than half good: with an addicting voice that can transform from soulful and soothing, to exhilarating and edgy, her story is one you have to hear: in her voice. Her voice is her unique gift.

India is guided by the belief that being yourself will always be more fulfilling than being accepted, and she uses music as a way to spread this message to other young girls around the world, wondering if they’ll ever find their place. She isn’t completely sure of the answer yet, but musically, we can journey through that question with her. With the belief that it is okay to grow and not know who you are, India plans to bring her fans along with her to grow alongside her instead of just watching from afar.

Teenagers all struggle with not knowing their identity and not knowing where they are going to go next and India stands by the fact that its okay to not know these things, they will come in time. Her approach is to simply relate to every person who comes her way. She wants to move people through music and take them out of whatever space they are in in that moment. That is music magic.
Though she was featured in recently released Lifoti's September 2019 issue 09, you can check it from below link's for your country:

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