Dixita Karki is a rising musician who started her career as a child star in the Nepali music scene. From a young age, she has only dreamt of sharing her musical talent with the world. She began by posting cover songs on YouTube which soon evolved into something much bigger. With 206k subscribers on YouTube, and hitting millions of views on her videos and multiple collaborations, she is unstoppable. With no formal training, she learned the art through persistence and raw passion, starting to write her songs by age 13. Her father-daughter vlogs went viral captivating her viewers because of the unique bond she shares with her father.
Despite her early success, Dixita maintains a clear vision for her music. She connects with her audience exploring themes of love, human emotions, rage, and life experiences through her music. Her compositions, such as ‘Jeevan‘ and ‘Hijo Aaja’ are deeply personal. As a young artist, she navigates the pressures of the industry by remaining true to her belief that art should be authentic and unconfined by commercial expectations.
Known for her dynamic presence on and off-screen, Dixita is a versatile artiste and fashionista exploring different genres, blending Nepali and Western influences in her music. Excerpts of a conversation follow:
How did your upbringing influence your passion for music, and how did you navigate the industry?
I became famous at a young age after my father posted a video of me singing a cover of a song. My first cover was, Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” and it had my dad dancing funnily in the background in the video. Surprisingly, people enjoyed seeing us together, and my dad realised this dynamic was working. What started as me posting cover songs turned into vlogs about our lives, and people loved our father-daughter chemistry naming us, ‘papa and pugu’ vlogs. My dad’s youthful personality and our unique relationship captured the audience’s attention, and it wasn’t long before he became a regular in my videos.
At 16, things were not that stable at home and I wanted to stop doing vlogs and create music to express myself without being known as somebody’s daughter. I wanted to create my identity and when I tried explaining this to my father, he was not able to understand it completely because he still viewed me as a child. He did not understand the concept of me having my own identity. Before our videos took off, my father had never vlogged, but as our content gained popularity, he started creating more vlog videos. Although this benefited me, it was mostly my dad’s dream we were fulfilling at that time. Eventually, I felt the need to carve out my own identity. I wanted to be more than just “his daughter” and focus on my own music.
Your relationship with your father, Chetan Karki, seems to have played a huge role in shaping your musical journey. Can you share how this impacted you as an artiste?
From a young age, I always wanted to post cover songs on YouTube. I had various creative ideas, not just around music but other types of content as well. At around 11 years old, I kept pushing my dad to let me use his studio to record songs. My dad would occasionally create a track for me to sing on. My dad would scold me during recordings, especially since I had no formal vocal training. Over time, though, I learned by singing and practising independently.
You have a very soulful and emotional style. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing and performing your music?
I wrote my first song, “Wild Child,” at the age of 13 while I was living in a hostel. This was my first composition and a reflection of the internal battle I faced between societal expectations and my own rebellious nature. I have a song called ‘Hijo Aaja’, a cheesy love song which I wrote for my imaginary crush. I just imagined what it would feel like to be so in love. It was not all fiction except for some parts, and that is how I write songs with the help of my ukulele. I also collaborated with Milan Neupane, a talented musician whose song “Sedi Bagar” I later performed.
Your latest single, “Jeevan” has resonated deeply with listeners. What does it represent for you?
My song “Jeevan” is another creation from my teenage years. It was written as an emotional release from living in a boarding school. It reflects on my understanding that life is filled with ups and downs and that it’s all part of the journey.
Despite challenges, I remained optimistic. I felt like I needed to express these emotions because there were so many unexpressed emotions that had built up. I am very aware of what I have gone through since my childhood and how and why my mind works like this. Jeevan is about my life as everything happens and ‘Ek din ta marera janai cha ni’. I understand that you are here to experience everything in life and go through these experiences to grow.
As a young artist, what challenges have you faced in the music industry?
The challenge I faced was how society wanted me to behave vs what I wanted to do. I would not get along with older people or authoritative figures as they would view me as a child and not take me seriously because of my age. Over time, I felt the pressures of the industry weighing on me. I had to balance my artistic vision with commercial demands which sometimes compromised my creative process. Art should not be about financial benefits but rather a genuine expression of emotions. The constant pressure to create commercially successful music frustrated me. Now, I have shifted my mindset. I create songs for myself and don’t limit myself to any one genre. I write both Nepali and English songs, and while people sometimes criticize me for doing more English songs, I believe that art transcends language. I refuse to limit my creativity, whether it’s in music, fashion, or any other form of expression. I am committed to exploring different styles and doing what feels right.
My vision was clear and I knew what I had to do to reach where I wanted to reach. I know everything happens for a reason so even at times when things did not go as planned for me, I took that as a learning experience. It has taught me a lot and made me who I am today.
Looking ahead, what are your plans?
As an artiste, I am the one creating songs and there will be people who might or might not resonate with my music but it’s important to know I am also creating this for me. I make songs the way I want to make it. I will create songs in Nepali and English, and in the future, learn a new language and make songs out of that too. I like exploring and trying new genres and do not believe in limiting my art, fashion, and genres of music.
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