Last Updated:
Meet W.i.S.H., India’s first all-female major pop group in over two decades. With their chart-topping ICC Women’s World Cup anthem Whatever It Takes, this trailblazing quartet—Ri, Sim, Zo, and Suchi—are redefining the Indian music scene.
W.i.S.H., India’s first all-female major pop group in over two decades, is making waves with their empowering anthem Whatever It Takes for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2024. Featuring Ri, Sim, Zo, and Suchi, this trailblazing quartet blends pop, Afrobeat, and girl power to redefine the Indian music scene.
Meet W.i.S.H., the all-girl pop powerhouse redefining the Indian music scene. As the country’s first all-female major pop group in over two decades, this trailblazing quartet—featuring Ri (Riya Duggal), Sim (Simran Duggal), Zo (Zoe Siddharth), and Suchi (Suchita Shirke)—is here to shatter ceilings and rewrite the rules. Fresh off making history with their anthem for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2024, Whatever It Takes, W.i.S.H. is proving that empowerment and pop hooks go hand in hand.
With a mission to celebrate women in sports, music, and beyond, their vibrant sound and unstoppable energy have already put India on the global map. News18 Showsha caught up with the group to talk about their journey, their message of empowerment, and how they’re making history one anthem at a time. Get ready to be inspired by W.i.S.H.—because these women don’t just dream big, they do big.
Here are the excerpts:
How did W.i.S.H. come together as India’s first all-female major pop group in over two decades? What’s the story behind the name?
Ri – W.i.S.H. was the brainchild of Mikey McCleary, a prolific composer and creative. He took auditions and scouted the internet eventually finding Ri, Suchi, Sim and Zo. It wasn’t a stereotypical audition process – it was a lot about dubbing songs in the studio, songwriting, etc. The chemistry we had together was key to this working.
We experimented with a bunch of names trying to find something that perfectly represented us by blending our indian background with a western influence. W.i.S.H. can be interpreted as a wish come true, on the flip side the hindi word ‘vish’ means poison so we can also be badass!
Each of you brings a unique personality to the group. How do your individual styles and experiences influence your music?
Sim- When the four of us our together we bring out our fierciest creative energies when we’re writing our songs. Me, Ri and Zo have similar tastes in music mostly Pop music and Suchi listens to a lot of afrobeat music – we always end up bringing each of these flavours into our writing sessions.
What was the experience like composing the anthem for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2024? How did you approach this historic opportunity?
Ri – From being young girls playing building cricket in a male dominated country to writing, composing and performing the ICC Woman’s T20 World Cup 2024 event song was an incredible and fulfilling experience. International Women’s cricket is a showcase of girl power and we tried our best to make it truly representative of the hard work and sacrifice it takes to do something so groundbreaking. A full circle moment indeed.
How do you prepare for live performances as a group? Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Zo – I think individually we all have our own little things to prepare for the show, but as a group we like to get ready together, stretch, do vocal exercises together and one thing that is a MUST, is a group hug and chant before stepping onto the stage! Goooo Wish haha.
In terms of prep and practice, we make sure that we have multiple rehearsals so that there isn’t no doubt in our minds that it’s gonna be a great, super fun show!
Your music is breaking barriers and empowering women. How do you see W.i.S.H.’s role in shaping conversations around gender equality in music and sports?
Zo- gender inequality has been there since any of us can remember, it’s unfortunate that it’s so normal in our industry. There has been a shift off late and we are really seeing women super powers taking over both in music and in sports. WE are so excited to be doing what we do during this shift and actually be the boss women we are meant to be. We believe in being a part of all the important decisions and choices, being super active in every aspect of what we do, be our own bosses, take charge and pave the way for more pop groups and acts in India. We as women believe we are unstoppable 😉 and everyone else will believe it too soon! Speaking of music and sports W.i.S.H. made the event song for the ICC T20 women’s cricket World Cup, whole lot of women empowerment right there hehe 😉
What advice would you give to young women aspiring to enter the music industry, especially in India?
Ri – We need more women in the music industry! Even in tec
hni
cal jobs like sound engineering, production, etc. It’s an ever expanding industry with opportunities increasing, so if you are passionate, work on your craft, and keep at it, it’s definitely a viable career path.
Can you walk us through the creative process behind “Whatever It Takes”? What inspired the lyrics and the energy of the anthem?
Sim – We had a good direction from the ICC team about the underlying theme about inspiration, dedication and that “never give up” attitude. The teams have to do whatever it takes to make their country proud by giving their all on the fields and doing their best to win that trophy. And that’s when Mikey got down to constructing the melody, lyrics and production. We had a
couple
of writing sessions with him and the team to put forth our ideas and made it the badass and powerful anthem that it is.
How do you balance creating music that’s both empowering and commercially appealing?
Ri – I think the best way for us to work has been to create music that is true to us and that we would listen to. Being in a girl group gives you that sense of girlhood, boss energy and feeling the best in your own skin and we’ve tried our best to put those into our songs. We’re so glad that people are loving them!
Are there any artists, bands, or genres that have influenced your sound as a group?
Suchi – We’ve all grown up listening to different genres.. but one genre has stayed common and that is POP music. Artists like Beyoncé , shakira, Taylor swift , Dua lipa , Little mix , backstreet boys , pussycat dolls and many more, have all shaped our taste in music and so they all somehow reflect in our performance as a group.
If each of you had to describe the band using one word, what would it be?
Suchi – strong together
Sim – sisterhood
Zo – braver
Ri – Girl’s girls
What’s the most memorable moment you’ve shared as a group so far?
Zo – How to choose haha. We’ve had many, but one that stood out for me was that we performed for YouTube fanfest 2024 and it was something that was super exciting and our biggest event at the time. It wasn’t just the performance, it was the moment right after the show, where we just got off the high of the performance and saw how proud our manager was of us. He had tears in his eyes and I think that moment really hit us. Suchi and I couldn’t stop crying hahaha, and every time we saw the manager, it started again will always remember that.
If you could collaborate with any international artist or band, who would it be and why?
Sim- There’s so many that it’s hard to pick just one. We would love to collaborate with Dua Lipa, Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Jungkook because they’re not only good singers they’re also amazing performers and it would be a dream to learn from them and be on the same level as them someday.
What’s one thing fans might be surprised to know about each of you?
Suchi- I can Beatbox
Zo – I’m South Indian, Tamilian from Chennai but also half parsee
Ri – Not a lot of people know but I can produce music too!
Sim – i can do 3 pirouettes
What’s next for W.i.S.H.? Any upcoming projects or collaborations you can share?
Ri: We’ve just released a new song! It’s a recreation of the classic Biddu and Nazia Hassan song, Boom Boom. The music video will be dropping soon. It will be an ode to the disco era and all things glam.
Where do you see W.i.S.H. in the next five years, both as a group and as individuals?
Ri: In the next five years, we hope to tour the world and promote at least 2-3 albums! We’re so passionate about performing and we would love to spread our music at the biggest music festivals and primetime network shows. All of us have really distinct styles so it’ll also be interesting to eventually listen to some solo music from each of us.
What message do you hope your audience takes away from your music and performances?
Suchi : We hope that whoever comes to watch our show may have the best experience and remember to come back for the next one.
When it comes to our music, we love writing relatable stuff and put it out there for people to feel they’ve been through similar situations and sing their heart out about it
How has fan feedback and interaction shaped your journey so far?
Suchi : To be very honest, we have gotten such warm and humbling moments with our wish stars. They listen to our music and share their small little stories about how it makes them feel.. it’s truly been motivating and rewarding.
