A singer, songwriter and performer, local and foreign press have covered her extensively as she’s already performed in the UK, Australia, India, South Africa and Spain.

Her strong vocals, captivating performances and talent for songwriting have won her numerous music awards as well as nominations.

This year alone, Heerraa won a Rampage Music Award and her hit song “Feel Alive” was named Best Female Single of the Year at the International Singer-Songwriters Association Awards.

Given the span of her achievements at so early in her musical career, one would be forgiven for assuming success may have gone to her head, but Heerraa remains amazingly and refreshingly down-to-earth.

“I have wanted to be a singer since I was five years old,” she tells FMT, before adding that her musical inclinations make her somewhat of a rarity in the family.

“No one in my family even listens to the radio. Nobody knows how to play any instrument.”

Her mother, a finance director, was a little surprised at little Heerraa’s musical ambitions, but thankfully remained supportive and enrolled her in music classes.

“My mum asked me, ‘So if you don’t become a singer, what are you going to do?’ I was like, ‘I don’t have other plans. I’ll do or die!’”

When she was 14, Heerraa was audacious enough to approach a talent development organisation, openly stating her desire to become a singer.

Surprisingly, that actually worked! “Before that, I didn’t know where to start. That was when I started writing songs, doing covers and listening to more music.”

According to her, she soon realised how life-changing music can be and was inspired to change other people’s lives for the better through her music.

“If you can write more positive songs,” she says, “you can positively impact people’s lives too.”

Playing the acoustic guitar, ukulele and keyboard, Heerraa describes her brand of music as the “sunshine genre”.

She explains, “I write such positive songs and each song has a different message and story. The songs I typically create have lessons, a purpose, a meaning and a solution.”

Her songs are largely written based on her current emotions, though she tries to remain upbeat even in the direst of times.

The singer counts disco and punk as her favourite genres but aims to be more experimental in the future.

Given that most people her age would be entering the workforce for the first time, Heerraa counts herself lucky for being able to work with international artistes and perform for overseas audiences.

And mind you, she’s no school drop-out, for she’s still a student and a consistent top-scorer in Harvard.

“A lot of people say music is more of a hobby or a passion, but for me, music is what got me interested in my studies,” she says.

“I had mentors who showed me how important music was in my life. I wanted to be someone who does very well in exams while remaining a singer.”

She has an amusing story to tell about her ISSA Awards nomination, sharing how she slept through the virtual awards show, only to be awoken by excited family members when her name was announced.

“My whole house was screaming, ‘Heerraa, wake up! You won an award!’ And I was so grumpy because I was sleepy and I was like, ‘What nonsense is this?’”

The internet has been nothing less than a lifesaver for her, especially since performances have largely gone virtual because of the pandemic and has allowed her to continue entertaining fans across the globe.

“The first time I performed overseas online in South Africa, back in June last year, I was worried if people would understand my songs, if they would like it.” Thankfully, they did.

While the Covid-19 pandemic has not disrupted her burgeoning career much, she does feel that the social isolation is affecting her.

“Spending all my time at home, I realised how dependent I am on other people. I need to be around people to be happy,” she says.

She has turned to song-writing to express herself, in the meantime, and hopes to make others feel better about their situation through her music.

Her genuine desire to help others became clearly apparent when she set-up Ascendance, a youth empowerment group.

Just as her musical ambitions were realised, she hopes to help young people with big dreams make them a reality.

Already six years old, Ascendance has grown to become an international movement for 13,000 youth and received the Diana Award in 2019.

While she considers herself too inexperienced to share meaningful life advice, Heerraa does encourage young Malaysians to put in the work if they want to achieve their dreams.

“Follow your passions no matter how crazy they are. There were many times I could have given up but when you keep working on your goals every single day, you will get there.”