Some people are born lucky, and Salomé Das seems like a very lucky girl. How many of us can say that we were plucked from a fashion shoot in a Malaysian magazine to be part of one of the biggest modelling agencies based in London? And how many of us can say that we received a random DM on Instagram from someone working in TaP Music (the very same label that discovered Dua Lipa) the day after wishing for it on their birthday? Not many of us can say that, but Das can. After all, this is her life. 

But if you thought that the 24-year-old had it all smooth sailing throughout her life, you’d be terribly wrong. Like everyone else, we only see the surface of a person’s life. During our photo shoot with the French-Indian artiste, we dug a little deeper to find out her origin story. Das is an open book—her free-spiritedness is infectious, and she’s happy despite everything she has been through. Let’s go through it. 

How would you introduce yourself to someone who has never heard of you? 

I would say I’m an artiste, first and foremost. But I’m also an actress, a model, and a comedian on the side. When I was younger, my family and I always thought that I would end up a comedian. I would put on shows for my parents and their friends. I would do different accents, and I would sing. 

How did you get into singing?

I always knew that I wanted to be a performer. I used to dance and play the piano, and then we moved to India when I was eight years old. When you attend music classes there, you have to sing. I remember the teacher gave us a song to sing, and when I sang in front of the whole class, I remember hearing myself and thinking, Gosh, I sound amazing. My teacher was shocked too. She decided there and then that I would perform for the year-end show. When I moved back to Malaysia, I started joining singing competitions. 

But living in Asia, people tend to look down on you when you say you want to go into entertainment. Particularly in the school that I was in, which was a pretty elite school, you couldn’t say that you wanted to do this [entertainment] full-time. They’d say I was dumb or that I wasn’t going to make it. Things took a turn when I started getting badly bullied in school—that was why I dropped out. It’s also how I started modelling full-time. Within a month, I started booking consistent jobs in campaigns and on runways. I thought, let’s try to earn as much money as possible, be financially independent, and move abroad. 

Did you end up moving abroad? 

I moved to London when I was 17 and got signed on to a modelling agency. Elite [Models] reached out, saying that they wanted to see me in person. I was already going to Paris to visit my grandparents, and so I agreed, saying I’d come for a weekend. I went to London with a hand luggage, and they signed me on there and then. I still remember—it was a Friday, and I had a campaign for ASOS the following Monday. It all happened so fast, and I ended up moving to London. 

Weren’t you…scared?

At that point, I had already been through so much emotionally for the past three, maybe four years. I finally felt like, even though things were hard, at least I was doing things that I wanted to do. But I was alone—my parents didn’t support me because they were upset. And rightfully so. I had dropped out of school; I was modelling, of all things. I have very Asian parents. I had no friends because I lost all my friends in school. So I was alone, yet I never felt alone. I just really felt like I had something to prove. I had a goal that I wanted to reach, and only I knew how to reach it. I had to reach that goal, but I didn’t have a Plan B. I was literally walking around London with my hand luggage, looking for a flat. Nobody wanted to give me a flat because I didn’t have any papers or employment at the time, so I had to stay in people’s basements. It’s so ratchet when I think about it, but I felt free because I was finally doing everything I dreamt about. I hadn’t felt free for so long, and I loved it. Looking back, obviously, I can see how tough things were. But I never felt that way in that moment—I just thought I had to tough it out. 

What happened next? 

It’s quite magical actually. On my 20th birthday, I looked at my bank account and thought, Wow, I have not put my head up for two years. I’ve just been working nonstop. But now I finally have enough money that I can take a break from modelling and do music full-time. My birthday wish was to start my music career. And the very next day, I had a cold DM from a manager at TaP Music asking if I sang. It was crazy how I literally manifested it, and the management was the one I had been wishing for. I still get goosebumps thinking back to that moment. We went out for coffee, and things just started from there. Obviously it hasn’t been easy since. I’ve been through several managers—some of them have tried to go behind my back, but I’m here now. 

So, you’ve succeeded as a mainstream pop singer now. 

Yes, I literally can’t believe it. I genuinely am so happy—I’m walking in my dream right now. It all started last year with “Life As Simple.” The song, just a month ago, hit 100 million streams, which is insane. I was travelling so much last year that I didn’t really understand the scope of how big the song was getting. Then one day I was in the airport, and I heard it playing. It was like—oh my God. But it still didn’t feel like mine, because a DJ was featured on it. “Back to Malaysia” truly feels like my song, because from the concept to the melodies to the story to the visuals—everything started from me. It’s all been my ideas, and to see it come to life and see the reception, hear it on the radio—it’s more than I could ever ask for.

Tell me about that song. Why “Back to Malaysia”?

I had been focusing on songs about my Indian heritage and my French heritage, but I really wanted to do a song about Malaysia, because Malaysia is my home. I also thought ‘Malaysia’ itself is such a beautiful word. But mostly it was a way to honour the place where everything started for me and the country that’s given me so much culturally—who I am as a person, who I am as an artist, the things I like to do, the food I like to eat, and the way I dress. It just felt important to do something like that.

I told my team in Los Angeles—the producer and the songwriter—and they said, ‘Great idea; let’s do it.’ The producer started on the beat, and we just started freestyling on the mic. The song took about two hours to finish. You know when you don’t have to try for a song, it just comes? This was that. I remember the song finished, and there were birds chirping—the producer lives in this incredible house, and the studio is in a garden full of trees and birds—he went outside and recorded the birds. We put them in the song. And I told my team, ‘I think this is my first single.’

But they weren’t going to go with it at first?

No, they insisted on the other song. But I said, no, this has to be it, because Malaysia has been first for so many things for me, and now it’s going to be first for my music too. I had to convince them. In the end, I was on my own with it. For two and a half months, I basically didn’t sleep because I had to think of everything—videographer, editor, strategy, marketing, PR, and distributor—and I was paying for everything out of pocket. It was a hurdle I didn’t think I’d have to jump alone, but I did. That’s how “Back to Malaysia” came about.

Now that “Back to Malaysia” is out, when’s the rest of the album coming?

Honestly, most of the album’s already done; it’s just a matter of timing. My second single is themed around the World Cup—I’m going to India to film the music video soon. 

I actually pitched my second song for the official World Cup soundtrack, because I know the people in charge of that. They loved it but said they were going with known artists—that was the only reason. It went through so many stages, and I thought, if only I weren’t a “no-name” right now, this would’ve worked, but it’s okay. Soon. I don’t care; I’m going to do it my own way eventually. But best believe I’m putting this out as my own World Cup song.

So, what’s your endgame?

The goal is to tour the world. But I’d also genuinely love to have a show centred around food, or exploring different cultures, or something adventurous. But the true end goal is to have a foundation—hopefully a self-made foundation—helping build conservation laws for our seas, jungles, and forests. I’ve grown up in Malaysia, and I’ve seen firsthand how our jungles have halved every year because of deforestation, new condos, or whatever. 

We live in the most biodiverse area on the planet—the Coral Triangle encompasses Malaysia, Indonesia, and part of the Philippines—and I don’t feel like people are concerned enough. That’s truly my passion. I want my voice to make a difference there—I see myself speaking at the UN, implementing something in school curricula in Asia about why conservation matters. There’s a real education gap. When I was in India, locals would eat their food and litter into the sea, and when I asked why, they didn’t know it was bad—they just didn’t know. We don’t have a Plan B for Earth—this is all we have.

Photography: Chuan Looi
Creative Direction & Styling: Joseph Cheng
Art Direction: Nadia Aswardy
Makeup: Jenn Teh
Hair: Ckay Liow 
Styling Assistants: Sarah Chong, Lorraine Chai

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