Rika Darbari

This might come as news to many music buffs in the country, but an Indian-origin Londoner is creating a stir in the global pop industry. Her name is Chandrika Darbari, or Rika, as she calls herself. Last year, Rika burst into the charts with No Need, a straight-up western pop song punctuated with up-tempo beats. Music industry honchos sat up immediately. Here was a British-Asian singer who refused to be pigeonholed into the UK's desi music market. She's got the right sonic sensibilities to be moulded into the sort of musical product that makes for good business. It helps that she is easy on the eye. And, she's just 17.