INFORMATION
| Artist Birthday : | 15/03/1983 (Age 41) |
| Born In : | Hoshiarpur |
| Occupation(s) : | Singer |
| Genres : | Bollywood |
It would be impossible to guess who Hirdesh Singh is and what stature he boasts of in the Indian music industry. However, everyone knows Yo Yo Honey Singh, the rapper and music director who started with the Punjabi music industry and ultimately made Bollywood dance to his beats.
Hirdesh Singh was born on March 15, 1983, in Hoshiarpur, Punjab but his family later moved to Delhi. Not much is known about his early schooling and college, but he is said to have studied music at the Trinity School, UK.
He has been active in the Punjabi music scene since 2005. His song “Glassi” became very popular in 2006, but he hadn’t acquired his ‘rap star’ persona till this time. He worked mostly as a music director. In his album International Villager which released in November 2011, he became the singer, rapper and music producer as we know him today. One of the album’s track, featuring singer J-Star was an instant chartbuster.
His collaboration with Diljit Dosanjh helped in painting his rap and hip-hop image. Their song “Lak 28 Kudi Da” topped the BBC Asian Download Charts in May 2011. In 2012, he was a familiar sight in Punjabi pop, which was becoming popular around the country. Two of his videos, “Brown Rang” and “High Heels” topped the 2012 YouTube top trending charts at no. 1 and no. 4 respectively. He also debuted as an actor in Punjabi film Mirza- The Untold Story and then worked in a comedy Tu Mera 22 Main Tera 22 alongside singer Amrinder Gill.
His success quickly started paving the way for bigger accolades as Bollywood stayed waiting. His first song in Bollywood was for the film Shakal Pe Mat Ja. His song “Angreji Beat” was featured in the movie Cocktail. He was reportedly paid 70 lakh rupees for the song, followed by a similar payment for the film Mastan. It is the highest fee ever for an Indian song.
In 2013, he made some popular songs for the films Chennai Express and featured in the video alongside Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone. He did another one of his crazy dance numbers for the movie Boss, followed by some Punjabi flavored hit songs for Mere Dad Ki Maruti, Bajatey Raho, Fugly and Gabbar is Back.
After becoming one of the biggest names in the Indian music scene, Singh suddenly disappeared from the industry in 2014. He made a comeback a year later but mostly stayed away from the media and buzz. According to some sources, he was spending time in rehab. Singh later confirmed that he was suffering from bipolar disorder.
He is married to Shalini Talwar Singh.
