Meet Farah (firefly) Mitha | Singer, Songwriter, Actor, Speaker & Founder of Firefly World

We had the good fortune of connecting with Farah (firefly) Mitha and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Farah (Firefly), where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
Hi! My name is Farah Mitha aka Firefly and i’m a singer, songwriter, actor, speaker and founder of a youth empowerment brand/movement called Firefly World. I was born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, did my bachelors and masters degree in Physical Therapy at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada and then lived in Toronto for several years prior to moving to LA to pursue my music and creative career. I was born to Indian- Muslim parents who were born and raised in Kenya and so had multiple cultural influences growing up. My dad loves languages and learning about different religions and people and my mom is someone who very much believes in a life of service and helping others as much as you can. My older sister was also a huge influence on me. She was like my idol and so even when I had convinced myself I wasn’t good enough, she let me know that I was. We grew up in the Ismaili Muslim faith which was an amazing, warm community to be brought up in. There was a huge emphasis on service, the esoteric nature of our being and education. I also had a bit of a dark side. I was extremely emotional and sensitive with more feelings than I knew what to do with. I was very susceptible to all the toxic messaging that young girls received through media and pop culture, and spent much of the time feeling not good enough, people pleasing and hating my body. All of these pieces made me who I am today and very much impact the work that I do.

My ultimate goal is to heal, empower and inspire people to be the brightest versions of themselves. I try to infuse this in all of my creative and entrepreneurial ventures. As a singer-songwriter, my genre can best be described as World Pop with a Soul. I fuse different languages and styles and try to have empowering or positive lyrics as much as I can. I try to choose acting roles that tell powerful stories that either bring awareness to social issues or inspire empathy for different characters. My youth empowerment brand is all about helping young people learn healthy emotional coping tools through music and storytelling and well as teaching subconscious reprogramming.

I do all of this because it’s a combination of the influences I had and loved growing up as well as what I felt was missing. I wish there had been more artists and actors that looked like me and sang empowering pop songs. I wish there had been role models telling me I didn’t have to look like girls in the magazines or on TV to be beautiful. I know how singing and writing were essential healthy coping tools for me and I want to combat the toxic messaging that youth get today as my way of serving the world with my gifts and passions and I’m really grateful I’ve been able to do this.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art and my life feel like one and the same! I’m someone who truly loves international energy—I love people, I love traveling, I love helping and sharing, and I try to extract every possible drop that life has to offer. I really strive to convey all of this in my art. I call my music “World Pop with a Soul,” which fuses different styles and languages but essentially falls within the mainstream pop category. I want to enliven listeners, to teach them different things the way music had taught me. I want them to feel like they are never alone, the same way music helped me cope with so much, when I was a kid.

I believe my fervent desire to make a difference with my art is what sets me apart. I don’t do this just because I love music; I do it because it feels like a calling. So much of the time, when I sit down to write, it feels like I’m channeling from spirit guides. It has not been an easy journey—in fact, these have been some of the most tumultuous years of my life—but when I look back, I realize it has allowed me to experience life in a way I never could have had if I had chosen another path, and for that, I am so grateful.

I’ve had the incredible opportunity to perform all around the world, in front of massive crowds and even royalty, collaborating with some of my favorite artists. I’ve met my idols, seen myself on the big screen, and heard people sing my songs, telling me how my music has helped them heal or changed their lives in some way. I’ve had to push myself, finding ways to heal even in very dark moments… and it’s all been worth it. It’s all now a part of my story that I share with others to help them fall in love with themselves and their journeys.

What I’m most proud of and excited about is finally finding myself as an artist and having the courage to pursue what feels authentic to me. I’m currently rebranding my artist name (again, lol) to Firefly—which feels really special. My mission is to help others shine as the brightest versions of themselves, like “Fireflies.” I wanted to take the focus off of me as a person and make it more about the artistic concept of The Firefly—international, representing and celebrating all people, cultures, and languages through mainstream music and art. This also ties in perfectly with my youth empowerment brand, Firefly World, which uses music, storytelling, and education to help combat the youth mental health crisis. I’ll be releasing my first single soon under the new brand, called “Breathing Without You” and i’ve been in the studio with some incredibly talented producers and writers where we have been crafting some incredible new sounds that i’m excited to share.

I’ve also had a chance to curate and perform my concert “Find Your Light” based on the spiritual pop album I released last year under Firefly World. This concert experience is a transformative journey through the struggles of life, finding yourself, falling in love with yourself and your story, finding your guides and celebrating every aspect of you and others. It’s designed to foster connection – to self, others and creation. It’s my life story and all the lessons I’ve learned along the way and its an experience I’m really excited to continue sharing.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oooh great question! When people come to visit LA I always have some staple recommendations. For places to eat I always recommend Kazu Nori Handroll bar, Moonshadows, Malibu seafood, Shamshiri grill and Pressed Juicery freezes. For nature I always recommend Lake Shrine, Malibu, Santa Monica Pier, the Hollywood sign hike, Joshua Tree and Death Valley. I will also always recommend checking out live music nights. Many places I used to go to all the time have shifted post – pandemic but a few that I still like are Hotel Cafe, Sofitel, Baltair and Delphi lounge.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Wow, there are so many people who deserve shoutouts for where I am today. First and foremost, my family. They didn’t always see this as the best path for me, especially when I chose to forgo medical school, but they eventually came around and recognized that this was my way of helping to heal people.

I have to shoutout my first manager, Roy Robinson (may he rest in peace), who opened so many doors for me, from performing in Jamaica at Reggae Sumfest to America’s Next Top Model Live in Toronto, collaborating with huge artists like Choclair and Gyptian, opening for Sean Paul, and winning some awards, all of which helped me achieve my status in the US.

To Nafisa Hirji, Begum Walji, Ains Ellis and Azim Keshavjee, thank you for continuing to believe in me, even when my own belief was shaken or weak. To Fox network, thank you for choosing me to be in Season 1 of *I Can See Your Voice.* To Salim-Sulaiman, Parichay, and Farhan Shah, thank you for including me in your epic, internationally renowned songs. To Asis Sethi, thank you for giving me my first big acting role. And to my brother, thank you for making it possible for me to live in LA. I’ve also had the great luck of having wonderful mentors in LA like Erik Griggs and Stacey Lamont Sydnor, to name just a few.

I really wish I could name everyone because I am so, so grateful to everyone who has directly or indirectly been a part of my journey. It’s been a long, rollercoaster ride, and I wouldn’t have made it without the help and support of so many people.

Website: FarahMitha.com soon to be FireflyWorld.io

Instagram: @fireflynow

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@fireflynow

Other: TikTok: @fireflynow

Image Credits
Erik Griggs Photography, Emma- Lee Photography