With the release of her latest single, “RUN,” singer-songwriter Shannon K is for the first time presenting her ethnicity through her music, even producing the video in her home country of India. Already with 17-plus million views on YouTube, the video (below) was shot at the 450-year-old Mundota Palace and Fort in Jaipur, with snippets of the artist performing in a traditional Indian dress.

Shannon K was born in India, grew up in London and moved to Los Angeles with her mother and little sister five years ago. The video for “RUN” was shot last October, and was the last time the 19-year-old singer was able to visit much of her family in India since the start of the pandemic. One person Shannon K especially misses is her father, Kumar Sanu, who is a famed Bollywood singer.

“He is my inspiration, and I remember when I was younger I would beg him to take me to his recording sessions and I would sit there and watch him do his thing. He’s always been there for me, and we always talk about music and he’s influenced a lot of my music,” she says.

Shannon K says her latest release captures the identity crisis she faced when trying to fit in in a new country. Through her music, she wants to inspire others to embrace their own cultures and not feel limited to just one identity.

“I was a 14-year-old South Asian girl with big dreams of becoming a major artist here, and I came across a lot of people who didn’t think I would be able to do so well in the industry, and I feel like a lot of people tried to bring me down by telling me things like, ‘Oh, you don’t fit well here,’ ‘Maybe you should change your name, or the way you look to fit in with society so people would accept you,’” she recalls. “I feel like somewhere along the way I lost all of my confidence, but fortunately I have my family and friends who showed me that I’m different because I am myself and that makes me unique.”

With more than 2.8 million followers on Instagram alone, Shannon K has a dedicated fanbase she’s been able to continue connecting with online during the coronavirus outbreak.

“I feel like social media has saved us all from going crazy,” she says. “I was pretty nervous because the last time I released a single was in March, and that’s when the Covid and the lockdowns had started, so it was pretty new and we were all getting into our hibernations. Now, I’ve released another single, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect because I couldn’t go out and physically promote my single, but the amount of love and appreciation I got from all over the world was just amazing.”

Beyond releasing new music, Shannon K is also exploring careers in acting and podcasting. She’ll make an appearance in Emmy-nominated Venezuelan film and TV producer Fernando Ferro’s upcoming release of “The Big Feed.” She’ll also be launching a show called “Get Real,” for which she’ll be interviewing celebrities, artists and actors about their own paths to success and the obstacles they had to overcome.