Meet Chandrika Darbari: The singer who made it to BBC Radio 1's Top New Pop chart

Earlier this month, a 17 year-old singer-song writer found herself on BBC Radio 1's Top New Pop chart, along with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Miley Cyrus, for her debut single in the first week of its release. The singer was Rika, aka Chandrika Darbari, a half-Indian, half-Serbian musician from northwest London.

Her song ' No Need' is set in an archetypal high school, with the lyrics sending out a clear and timely message: to stop judging and being unkind to others for how they look or talk. Released independently on September 21, the upbeat dance-pop number quickly climbed the music charts in both UK and India. It was also featured in BBC Asia's Artist of the Week list. Since its release, it has got over 840,000 views on YouTube.

The song was inspired by Rika's own experience of being bullied. "I was bullied a lot in school -not because I was Asian but because I had bad acne and was really skinny," Rika told TOI during a visit to Mumbai. "Yet, I wanted everyone to connect to the song. It is diverse and can also be about racism, divorced parents or just straight-up bullying. It's just saying that we should try to improve ourselves instead of bringing someone else down."

Born to a Serbian mother and an Indian father, Rika's music draws upon her multicultural upbringing. Last year, she penned and performed the song 'For Peace in Syria' with her brother.The video, which was shot in Delhi, received over 900,000 views on YouTube.

Meanwhile, Rika is now meeting labels in UK and India, and getting ready for the release of her first EP next year.