Umaria Binti Aisyah Sinhawansa, professionally known as Umaria, is a Sri Lankan singer, musician, performer and television personality who was born on January 5, 1991, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She studied at Muslim Ladies’ College and Gateway International School in Colombo and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music. She comes from a musical family, with her parents Tony Sinhawansa and Ayesha Sinhawansa both being musicians. Her older siblings include musician Subandrio and music producer and entrepreneur Hartono, while her sister Umara Sinhawansa is also a singer. Umaria is also a granddaughter of actress Rani Perera and the late Sri Lankan singer and actress Rukmani Devi. She began performing publicly with her sister at a young age and has remained active in music since 2005. She is active on Instagram as @umariaofficial, where she has over 755K followers, and her profile describes her as an artist with her latest release highlighted as “Musawan.”
Umaria began performing publicly with her sister at around age 11 and later worked with Sri Lankan music producer Sri Shyamalangan before collaborating with Bathiya and Santhush on “Shaheena.” Her playback singing debut came with the 2007 film Asai Man Piyabanna through “Pethu Pem Pethum,” which became an important early point in her career. She was nominated for Best Female Playback Singer at the Sarasaviya Awards in both 2007 and 2008, becoming the youngest singer nominated for the award at the time. In 2010, she represented Sri Lanka at international singing competitions in China and Turkey, winning silver and bronze awards, and she later won a bronze award with her sister at the Crimea Music Fest. She performed at the IIFA Awards in 2010 with Bathiya and Santhush and later performed at the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting opening ceremony. Her career includes collaborations with artists such as W. D. Amaradeva, Bathiya and Santhush, Randhir Witana, Dushyanth Weeraman, Nalin Perera, Billy Fernando, Sanuka Wickramasinghe and many others. Her original songs include “Denuwan Piya,” “Kumuduniya,” “Sandak Lesin Paya,” “Araliya,” “Malak Nowe,” “Rangume,” “Manda Pama,” “Ayachana,” “Yuda Gini Dumaraya,” “Rathu Eli” and “Naane.”
Her playback singing credits include Asai Man Piyabanna, Rosa Kale, Adaraye Namayen, Dancing Star, Pravegaya, Spandana, Sarungal, Bimba Devi alias Yashodhara, Ginnen Upan Seethala and Vijayaba Kollaya. She won the Derana Music Video Award for “Lassana Dasak” and later became a judge on Sirasa Superstar. She also won Hiru Mega Stars with the Sooryans team and worked as a guest judge on Youth with Talent – Generation Next. In 2020, she joined The Voice Sri Lanka as a coach and became the winning coach of its 2021 season. She also continued as a coach for the second season. Her song “Manda Pama” won Song of the Year at the SLIM-Nielsen People’s Awards in 2021, while “Ahi Pillamak Athara” from Vijayaba Kollaya earned her the Sarasaviya Award for Best Female Playback Singer. Her other recognitions include silver awards at international music competitions, the Kala Keerthi Abhimani title and awards connected with her contribution to music. She has also worked with brands including SLT-Mobitel, Signal, Sunlight, British Cosmetics, Nestlé Sri Lanka, Dialog Axiata and OPPO.
Umaria has remained closely connected to music through her family background and her long career as a performer. She has also taken part in activities focused on supporting people during difficult periods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she performed “Itukama” as part of a Sri Lankan public awareness effort and took part in drive-in performances while health restrictions were in place. She has also used her public platform for discussions around mental and emotional wellbeing. Her interests and identity are strongly connected with singing, performance and creative work, while her social media presence continues to focus mainly on music and artistic projects.