INFORMATION
Artist Birthday : | 30/07/1973 (Age 51) |
Born In : | Faridabad, Haryana, India |
Occupation(s) : | Singer, Actor, Anchor |
Genres : | Pop Rock Singing, Classical Singing, Semi-Classical Singing, Ghazals Singing, Playback Singing |
One of the most versatile and popular singers in the modern times, Sonu Nigam has sung everything from bhajans to romantic Bollywood songs. He fits into any song with ease and delivers a soulful performance each time. It is very difficult to match the range that Sonu Nigam brings to Indian playback singing.
Sonu was born in Faridabad, Haryana on July 30, 1973, to Agam Kumar Nigam and Shobha Nigam. His father and sister, Teesha Nigam are also singers. He performed on stage for the first time at the age of four alongside his father to sing “Kya Hua Tera Wada” as a tribute to the legendary singer Mohammed Rafi. He later moved to Mumbai with his father at the age of 18 and was trained in Hindustani classical by Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan.
He has worked across genres- ranging from devotional, romantic, patriotic, rock, sad and even ghazals. He has sung in at least 18 languages till date with a plethora of crazily popular pop albums that made him a sensation during the 90s and early 2000s. Nigam’s first song as a playback singer was for the 1990 movie Janam which was never released. He did several radio commercials too. However, only a few people know that Sonu acted in films between 1982 and 1986 in movies like Kaamchor and Hum Se Hai Zamana.
His first released song was for the 1992 movie Meri Jaan called “O Aasman Wale.” He went on to sing a few forgettable numbers in Indian movies and released an album “Rafi ki Yaadein” in 1992. His big break in movies came in 1995 when he sang the smash hit song “Acha Sila Diya” in the movie “Bewafa Sanam.” He then sang “Sandese Aate Hain” for the movie Border and one of his most popular hits “Ye Dil Deewana” for Shahrukh Khan in the movie Pardes in 1997. He then released his solo album “Deewana” which made him India’s singing heartthrob in 1999.
Some of his most celebrated songs are “Kal Ho Na Ho” title track and “Abhi Mujhme Kahin” for the movie Agneepath. He collaborated with Britney Spears for the track “I Wanna Go” Remix. He has also collaborated with Avicii on the song “Indian Levels.”
He is widely regarded as the best artist of the generation, even by greats like Lata Mangeshkar and contemporaries like Shaan.
The 45-year-old singer has several awards and accolades to his name. He is married to Madhurima Mishra and has a son named Neevan.