Sonia Rao

A UC Berkeley graduate, Sonia Rao was on her way to becoming a psychologist, with offers from both Stanford University's doctorate program and Columbia University's master's program. Sonia decided to go a different way, though. She turned down both of these offers and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her love of music. Since then, Sonia has appeared on NBC’s The Voice, as BMI’s “Spotlight Indie Artist,” and as a BuzzFeed “Asian American Artist to Watch.” Sonia's songs have been featured on more than 35 shows including MTV’s Jersey Shore, E!’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and CBS's The Bold and The Beautiful. Sonia's 2018 TED talk, “The shame and power of being a woman,” proved to be both timely and powerful. Sonia released her third album in 2016 followed by a 32-city tour across the United States, Japan, and Indonesia, and performances at Microsoft, Indiegogo, Soho House, and Disney. She is now working on her fourth album and her first book, an essay collection.