How Dubai wedding planner Malika Singh turned into singer opening for Sean Paul and Kelly Rowland

Dubai: “From age 14 to 17, I would go straight from school to the recording studio,” says Malika Singh.

“I’d spend three hours making music, get home at 9pm, and then start my homework.”

That grind, she adds, shaped her teenage years more than any textbook or exam ever could. Music — not mathematics — was the language she understood best.

Born to Indian parents and raised in Dubai, Malika never saw geography as a limitation. If anything, Dubai emboldened her.

“Dubai is a melting pot of cultures,” she says. “That shaped who I am — the influences, the sounds, the perspectives. You’ll hear all of that in my music.”

Her breakthrough moment came when she was barely an adult. A song she pitched was even played during Formula 1 Dubai.

Suddenly, the Dubai kid was opening for Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child, Sean Paul, Jay Sean, and more.

Standing on stage in front of 10,000 people is not a exaggeration — she lived it.
“When I performed for Kelly Rowland and later Sean Paul, it was surreal,” she says.

“I was this Dubai girl who had written a song and suddenly I was performing it in front of thousands of people. Hearing the audience sing it back to me — that was a defining moment.”

No Bollywood detours — and no apologies

While many Indian artists try to break into Bollywood first, Malika instinctively leaned west.

“I sing in English, Hindi, Punjabi,” she says.

“But my sound was always more international. When I spoke to people in India, they told me the same. So I decided to put the music out on my own and see where it takes me.”

That choice wasn’t about rebellion — it was about authenticity. She admired Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion. She consumed big ballads and powerhouse vocals. She wasn’t chasing commercial film songs; she was chasing soul.

Privilege meets grit

Malika is refreshingly candid about support systems.

“Yes, I was lucky,” she admits. “My family supported me — emotionally and financially. My mom even flew with me to LA to make sure I was settled.”

But anyone who thinks that’s enough has never tried cracking the entertainment industry.

“Dubai shelters you,” she says.

“Then suddenly you’re in LA trying to understand how everything works.” There were moments she didn’t fully belong — not in Hollywood, not in India, not quite anywhere.

But she kept showing up to the studio every day.

“If you focus on your craft, something clicks somewhere,” she says. “That’s what I held onto.”

A second career — born of necessity and talent

Malika is not just an artist — she is an events entrepreneur. Thirteen years ago, she launched FED Events, a boutique firm that designs and produces weddings. It wasn’t a vanity side gig. It was survival.

“You have to pay your bills,” she laughs. “Music doesn’t do that in the beginning.”
The events business took off, allowing her to reinvest in music and stay independent.
In a way, her dual career reveals a deeper truth: she creates beauty either through emotional sound or visual experiences.

“Music makes people feel,” she says. “Events make people see. I love both.”

Her latest release, Pray For You, is the first song she has written and composed entirely herself. There’s no pop star posturing here — it was born from a very human place.

“It’s a song about choosing compassion when bitterness would be easier,” she explains.
“It’s about acknowledging your past without dragging the pain into your future. It’s healing. It’s letting go.”

And the world is responding. Former classmates, strangers, even a five-year-old child — all writing to her, telling her the song helps them sleep, or calms them on bad days.

“That makes all the hustle worth it,” she says. “If I can help someone heal — there’s nothing better.”

Dubai to LA — and back again

Today, Malika divides her time between Dubai and Los Angeles.

India is still home to family, not work. She’s not chasing algorithm-driven virality or Bolly-soundtrack fame. She’s chasing a feeling — the one she had at age 14, in a tiny studio in Dubai, singing her heart out.

“For anyone in Dubai who dreams big,” she says, “take the leap. Whether it leads you to India, LA, or someplace else — you’ll only know if you try.”