Sparkling crimson lasers sweep across the crowd, lighting up the Federal Way PAEC with anticipation for the next act as the intermission ends. The spotlight gleams, revealing a confident, 5-foot-1 figure. With chocolate curls falling just over her shoulders and sharply lined eyes, then-sophomore Mahima Menon energetically greets the audience.
“What’s up, Seattle!!!”
As a guest of Malayalam star Shaan Rahman’s 2025 world tour, Menon delivered her viral rendition of “Empuraan”, a dance remix from the soundtrack of the sequel to popular Malayalam movie Lucifer, to a cheering Seattle crowd.
Menon began singing very early on, discovering her talent when belting the Frozen soundtrack in elementary.
“Hearing this, my parents thought I would be interested in singing lessons,” junior Menon said.
With a few years of training, Menon started covering songs on Youtube. In 2022, she was sought out for her first professionally recorded song, “Ye Asmaa.” Production included many quality control challenges.
“The recording session was six to eight hours,” Menon said. “I didn’t speak Hindi very well, so there was a lot to do with my pronunciation.”
Six months later, Menon’s “Empuraan Dance Remix” was released. The song had its obstacles – the range was a challenge to Menon’s belting, and, like “Ye Asmaa”, pronunciation was difficult.
“During the audition, [the producers] were really confused what language I was singing. It was really a humbling moment,” Menon said. “I had to go to classes every night and work with my parents to perfect my pronunciation. Even in the track, you can hear some mispronunciations. It’s funny how people who cover my version mimic these despite being more familiar with the language.”
Initially, nothing big came of “Empuraan Dance Remix” after it was released. However, about a year later, what would have been a normal evening after school instead held an immense surprise for Menon.
“I was coming back from tennis practice and my dad told me, ‘Oh, your song got 1,000 reels released to it’. I thought he was over-exaggerating,” Menon said.
Following this, her song’s popularity continued to grow rapidly.
“People started to reach out. This one company called Flowers TV, which is really prominent in my state of Kerala, asked for an interview,” Menon said.
Others online had increased coverage on her, particularly about how she sounded very mature for her age. Even so, nobody knew who Mahima Menon truly was, only recognizing her voice.
“Essentially, everyone heard the song on the radio or TV,” Menon said. “Yet, they didn’t know that it was 12-year-old me. When Flowers TV called me for an interview, my voice finally got a face.”
Following her journey to fame, Menon has settled back into junior year routines, aiming to become an oncologist post-graduation. She continues to practice music and singing, particularly her study of South India’s traditional Carnatic music, which she aims to revive through her future projects.
“I have a couple of original songs about to be released; I’m really excited,” Menon said. “If they gain attention, this whole process will start again and I’ll love every single part of it.”