Rhea Raj Wants to Achieve Global Superstardom — And Some of the Industry’s Most Powerful Execs Believe She Can
Categoria: Musica
Newly backed by REPUBLIC, HYBE America and 5 Junction Management, the pop artist wants a new generation "to feel empowered and be bold," as a beacon for South Asian artists.
Por Billboard | 15/09/2026
A few weeks ago, Rhea Raj dreamt that she was seated on a roller coaster as it was slowly inching upward, approaching its apex. She’s been thinking about that dream ever since, and how it reflects this point in her personal and professional life. “I feel like everything I’ve done my whole life has been leading up to this moment,” she tells Billboard . “I’m just waiting for the roller coaster to go down, to go crazy. I’m right there .” Today, a decade after her first brush with the spotlight, the pop artist is much closer to actualizing that dream. Billboard can announce that Raj has signed a joint label deal with REPUBLIC and HYBE America, in a strategic alliance with 5 Junction Management, which she joined in early 2026. Raj’s signing represents the first joint-venture deal between REPUBLIC and HYBE; KATSEYE, the chart-topping girl group that features Raj’s younger sister Lara as a member, is signed to a similar label arrangement between HYBE and Geffen. Some of the most powerful executives in the music industry have united as champions of the 26-year-old Indian-American, as Anjula Acharia, the leader of 5 Junction Management and the Warner-backed label 5 Junction Records, has joined forces with REPUBLIC collective founder/chairman Monte Lipman and HYBE America CEO/chairman Isaac Lee. Together, they have identified an explosive crossover potential in Raj, a dynamic and uncompromising pop talent who will be releasing her first single under the new label deal in the coming weeks. From left: Monte Lipman, Anjula Acharia, Rhea Raj, Jurgen Grebner Courtesy of Republic Records “Rhea sees everything so cohesively, as a total vision, and there’s so much storytelling in that,” says Acharia, who launched 5 Junction last year as a means of delivering South Asian artists to North American listeners and signed Raj as her new management company’s first client in January. Acharia (who teamed with veteran Universal marketing exec Jurgen Grebner on 5 Junction Management) says that the artist that Raj reminds her of is Lady Gaga — whom Acharia helped introduce to Indian audiences near the start of the superstar’s career. “Every minute, Rhea has an idea for something,” Acharia continues. “‘This is my album cover. This is my single cover. This is the director for my video. These are the brands that align with my ideas and my values.’ What’s so exciting about it for me is, as a South Asian woman, I long sought to put South Asian culture on the map in a way that speaks to global audiences. I think that she does that.” Raj first encountered Acharia a decade ago, after the Texas native made it to the auditions stage of American Idol in 2016. The 15-year-old aspiring star asked her mother to email Acharia — the longtime manager of Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who had previously built Desi Hits into an internet hub for South Asian music and news — and received an encouraging email in response. “Fast forward exactly 10 years