California native Dasha has ignited a wildfire in the music industry with her track "Austin," which exploded on TikTok and has racked up a staggering 32 million streams on Spotify. Her TikTok has amassed over 476k followers and 14.1 million likes, and Dasha's star power continues to soar. With her roots deeply embedded in songwriting and dancing, she's on pace to carve out a legacy that resonates not only in the music world but also within the hearts of her devoted followers. Get to know more about Dasha below:

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First, congrats on “Austin” and your project What Happens Now? But let's start at the beginning of the journey. What got you into making music and what led to your current momentum now? 

I have always been into music. It started with musical theater. I became obsessed with performing and being on stage. When I was 8-years-old, I started writing songs. I loved poetry and how words fit together. My parents were the ones that were very encouraging. I got into piano and guitar lessons when I was 10-years-old, and it took off from there. It kind of made sense in my brain, and I started writing songs all of the time. My dad was like my first manager, and he would book me all of these coffee shops. He would book winery gigs on the weekend, and I started doing the rounds and gaining all of this stage time. I got a lot of time playing my original songs at a very young age. From then, I knew I wanted to be an artist and do this the rest of my life. I kept going, and my older brother and I would learn off of eachother growing up. He is more of a producer so I would topline and he would produce it out. Our parents were like “Yeah, keep going and keep going.” I wrote my first song when I was 13 and my birthday present was to have the song and video professionally recorded. I applied to Belmont and got into the songwriting program. It was the only place I applied. For two years, I got my ass whooped on how to write a good song. It was amazing. 

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That led into my next question because your songwriting is so intentional. It is very true to you and great. What is the biggest thing you learned from Belmont or working with your brother that helped you become so great at writing songs? 

Honestly, I learned the techniques at Belmont, but I really have always loved keeping the songs very conversational. It keeps a level of realness and authenticity. I also love visual storytelling. When I say a lyric, I really want my fans and listeners to be able to say it in their head. Those two things have kind of been my north star in my writing for as long as I can remember. 

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What made you transition from making pop music to country? 

It is funny because when I was 8-years-old, I was making country. The first song I ever released was country. I honestly just went right back to the beginning. I think growing up, I had to just go through a couple of phases to figure out what I wanted. I had to do pop music for a little, but I realized my pop music were just country songs with different production. I have always loved the storytelling and visual lyrics, which is different from pop. 

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Growing up, who inspired your sound?

Kacey Musgraves is a huge inspiration for me. I just love how she can tell a story. Dolly Parton too. I love how unapologetic she is. I love who she is. She owns the space. Taylor Swift is also a big one for me. Avril Lavigne too – I listen to her a lot. Recently, Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan, and Morgan Wallen. Also, SZA and Chris Brown because I love R&B music a lot. I feel for country music, my melodies are very untraditional. They are very inspired by R&B music in general. 

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Now here we are. Your music is resonating with millions of people. How does it feel and how have you processed it? 

You saying that made it hit again. It is so exciting because of how fast it has gone. Usually when people have a viral moment, it pushes the needle a bit, but this moment has been catastrophic. I am the first independent artist to be on the cover of Pop Rising – as a country artist too. So many doors are wide open because of the community and the fan outreach from this song. It is just wild to see it getting streamed double than the US. It is a global connection, and I am so happy.

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The dance incorporated with it has been huge. How did you come up with that, and how important is dancing to be incorporated with your music? 

So I grew up dancing for like 15 years. I was in Ballet. I did the nutcracker, and I was a ballerina. Dancing has always been in my blood. When we wrote “Austin,” we knew it was going to be very special. Our whole album campaign was set around that song. Alex – my manager – and I were like, “What can we do to market this song?” I was like, “What if I do a line dance?” My favorite way to interact with music is dancing. Line dancing is just built into the culture of country. What if I brought it back?  My generation doesn’t know much about it. I choreographed the dance with this girl, Susana. We went through a couple rounds, and we decided on the simplest possible dance that as many people can do. That is the whole point – to get as many different people from different communities and cultures to come together for this one song. It felt like a cultural movement. 

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Beyond “Austin,” your project What Happens Now? is very cohesive. What does it mean to you? 

I feel like my albums represent times in my life. “What Happens Now?” is my first album of me admitting, “Okay, I am an adult now, while also feeling like a kid inside,” and having a crisis with that. This album means the world to me. I am so proud of all of the songs. I have never been more proud of a body of work. It is really cool seeing people feel the same thing.

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How excited are you to go on the road and perform this?

I am so excited. This is how I knew I needed to go away from pop music. I am way more excited to perform these songs.

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What is the biggest thing you want your fans to grasp from not only the music, but the dancing and the visuals around the music?

I have a lot of female fans my age. I want to encourage my fans and listeners to be the most unapologetic and beautiful version of themselves. You don’t need to direct for anybody. You don’t need to act for anybody. Just do it for you. Be the truest version of you because that is the version people will fall in love with. That will make you the happiest. Through everything I say, I am very honest and vulnerable with my fans. That is why I have taken my social media to the next level such as filling them in on my personal life and to keep them involved. I want to inspire them to have lives that they are super happy and proud of. 

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Last question – What is the ultimate goal? Where do you want to take this? 

I want to take this to the moon. I want to sell international stadiums. I want to go across the world and meet people – connect with people. I want to make honky tonk in Asia, Australia, and everywhere. I want to turn the industry upside down and have fun with it.