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Alka Yagnik

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Alka Yagnik
Yagnik in 2023
Born(1966-03-20)20 March 1966(age 58)
Kolkata,West Bengal,India
OccupationPlayback singer
Spouse
Neeraj Kapoor
​
(m.1989)​
Children1
AwardsFull list
Musical career
GenresFilmi
InstrumentVocals
Years active1980–present

Alka Yagnik(born 20 March 1966) is anIndianplayback singerwho works predominantly inHindi cinema.One of the most prominent singers of 90s eraBollywood,she has receivedseveral accolades,including twoNational Film Awards,twoBengal Film Journalists' Association Awardsand a record sevenFilmfare AwardsforBest Female Playback Singer[note 1]from a record of thirty-six nominations.

Yagnik is one of the most prolific female playback singers and artists, and has sung a large number of female solos in her Bollywood career.[1]In her career spanning over four decades she has sung songs for more than thousand films and recorded over 22 thousand songs in over 25 different languages.[2][3]Twenty of her tracks feature inBBC's list of top forty Bollywood soundtracks of all-time.[4]She is ranked No.1 on theYouTube's Music Charts & Insights list of top global artists as of June 2024. She has been on the chart for years, with around 360-400 million views per week, around 18 billion views per year, an all-time unmatched record.[5]

Yagnik has been recognised as the most streamed artist in the world byGuinness World Recordswith 15.3 billion YouTube views in 2022, with which some 12.3 billion or 80% are registered users from India, she is also the most listened to artist in Pakistan garnering 683 million views. The record book further reported that, "Kolkata-born Yagnik, 56, has been the most popular artist on the platform for the past three years, with 17 billion streams in 2021 and 16.6 billion in 2020."[6] She has sung several Pakistani and Nepali songs.She sang for slumdog millionaire, elephant whispers(french album), collaborated with kaveesh the band.An Arabic remake of her song dilbar was made. American rapper Armani white worked in the remake of baazigar twice. Her song Chamma chamma was used in moulin rouge.Her songs such as choli ke peeche,Eli re eli, tujhe yaad na meri aayi,sapne saajan ke and many more have Been used as samples for several Pakistani and western songs.

Early life

[edit]

Yagnik was born inKolkataon 20 March 1966 to aGujaratifamily.[7]Her father's name is Dharmendra Shankar.[8][9]Her mother Shubha was a singer ofIndian classical music.In 1972 at age six, she started singing for Akashvani (All India Radio), Calcutta.[7][10]At age 10, her mother brought her toMumbaias a child singer. She was advised to wait until her voice matured, but her mother remained determined. On a subsequent visit, Yagnik got a letter of introduction toRaj Kapoorfrom his Kolkata distributor. Kapoor heard the girl and sent her with a letter to noted music directorLaxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar.Impressed, Laxmikant gave her two alternatives – an immediate start as a dubbing artist or a later break as a singer; Shubha chose the latter for her daughter.[2][11]Yagnik mentioned that she was a bright student but didn't like studies.[8]

Career

[edit]

Trained in the classical style, Yagnik began singingBhajansfor Akashvani (All India Radio), Calcutta[10]at the age of six. Her first song was for the filmPayal Ki Jhankaarin (1980). This was followed byLaawaris(1981) with the song "Mere Angane Mein", followed by the filmHamari Bahu Alka(1982). She got her big break with the song "Ek Do Teen" from the filmTezaab(1988). She has said that she had a high fever on the day she recorded "Ek Do Teen".The song won her the first out of sevenFilmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer.[12]In addition toHindi,she has sung in more than twenty-five languages, includingAssamese,Bengali,Gujarati,Malayalam,Marathi,Manipuri,Odia,Punjabi,Bhojpuri,TamilandTelugu,[13]besides singing 15 Pakistani songs.[14]She has also performed in live concerts around the world. In an interview withMid-Day,Yagnik told that she records five songs daily during her time.[15]

In 1993, Yagnik sang a seductive song "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai"withIla Arun.The song created controversy because of the lyrics written byAnand Bakshi.She got a second Filmfare award for the song, which she shared with Ila Arun.[16]

In 1994, she sang another seductive song "Din Mein Leti Hai" from the filmAmaanatwith co-singerKumar Sanuand Ila Arun, composed byBappi Lahiriand lyrics by Anwar Sagar.[17]Besides the duet version, she also sang the female version of the song with Ila Arun.[18]She has performed several shows with Kalyanji-Anandji and Laxmikant-Pyarelal.[15]

Throughout the 90s Yagnik andKavita Krishnamurthywere singing most of the songs for heroines.[19]

Yagnik worked on private albums like "Tum Yaad Aaye" in 1997 in close collaboration with award-winning lyricistJaved Akhtarand composerRaju Singh,"Tum Aaye" in 2002 with Javed Akhtar and singerHariharanand "Shairana" in 2003 with Javed Akhtar and singer-composerShankar Mahadevan.She has also performed the Hanuman Chalisa and various devotional songs. Her song "Chamma Chamma"fromChina Gatewas featured in the song "Hindi Sad Diamonds" from the soundtrack of the filmMoulin Rouge!.[20]

In 2012, she along withSonu Nigamsang a song 'Shiksha Ka Suraj' as part of the National Literacy Mission of India for which she was felicitated by Union Minister For Human Resource DevelopmentKapil Sibal.[21][22]Also in 2012, on the occasion of 100 years of Hindi Cinema, her song "Taal Se Taal Mila" from the movieTaalwas voted as the best song of the century in a poll conducted by DesiMartini, Hindustan Times and Fever 104.[23]Also, her song "Choli Ke Peeche" from the movieKhalnayakwas voted as the hottest song of the century in a poll conducted by Sanona.[24]

Yagnik has also been involved in various projects to empower girls.[25]In 2014, Yagnik again teamed up with Sonu Nigam to sing the song "Phool Khil Jayenge" for child health awareness.[26]She also sang a song titled "Maine Li Jo Angdai" for the albumWomen's Day Special: Spreading Melodies Everywhere.It was composed by Farid Sabri, Harish Chauhan, and Gurudatt Sahil; and penned by Sudhakar Sharma.

In 2015, she sang 'Agar Tum Saath Ho'; she explained that the music director of the song, A.R. Rahman, wasn't present in the studio but gave her instructions on aSkypevideo call and told her she should sing the song her own way.[27]

Yagnik shares the title for the greatest number ofFilmfare Awardswith Asha Bhosle (seven) by a female playback singer.[28]She has sung 2,486 Hindi songs in 1,114 films. She is the fifth most prolific Bollywood singer of all time after Asha Bhosle (7886 songs),Mohammed Rafi(7405 songs),[29]Lata Mangeshkar (5596 songs) andKishore Kumar(2,707 songs).[citation needed]She is the third topmost female playback singer after Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle who has sung the maximum number of female solos in her Bollywood career.[1]

Artistry

[edit]

Yagnik credits her mother as her first guru, who began singing at the age of four.[12]Besides her mother, Alka learned singing fromKalyanji-AnandjiandLaxmikant–Pyarelal.[30]Although she has sung many genres of songs but according to Alka, her voice suits the romantic genre best.[31]Alka has acknowledged veteran singerLata Mangeshkaras her inspiration,[31]She has sung romantic, sad, peppy, seductive and item number songs.[18][32] She started singing at the age of 4 Most of her duets were with Kumar Sanu, followed byUdit Narayanand Sonu Nigam.[33]She sang maximum numbers of romantic songs with Kumar Sanu and flamboyant numbers of songs with Udit Narayan[33]and she is known with Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayan, as the trinity of 90s playback singing.[34]

In the media

[edit]

Yagnik is cited as "the queen of playback singing".[33]On Mother's Day 12 May 2019, Alka became the most-streamed Indian artist-mom onSpotify.[35]The Times of Indiacited her as 'honey-voiced singer'.[36]Hindustan Timesmentioned her as "magical voice".[37]Mid-Dayincluded her in the list of notable 90s playback singers.[38]One of the most well known and leading contemporary singerSunidhi Chauhanonce said that she can't even dream of getting where Lataji, Ashaji and Alkaji (Alka Yagnik) have reached.[39]

Personal life

[edit]

Yagnik marriedShillong-based businessman Neeraj Kapoor in 1989, with whom she has a daughter named Syesha.[40]

She lost her hearing ability in 2024.[41]

Discography

[edit]
Main article:List of songs recorded by Alka Yagnik

Filmography

[edit]

Besides singing, Yagnik also judged several singing reality shows on television.[42]

Year Name Notes Channel Ref
1992 Sapne Sajan Ke Yagnik also appeared in film Sapne Sajan Ke in a song 'Yeh Dua Hai Meri' with co-singerKumar Sanu. — —
2006 Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs She made her first television debut with the show. Zee TV [42]
2014 Comedy Nights with Kapil On 25 May 2014 she appeared as a special guest along withKumar Sanufor the popular TV show Comedy Nights with Kapil. Colors TV [43]
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs She had done Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs as a judge in first Season and fifth Season as a Maha Guru (also in previous 2 seasons). Zee TV [44]
2016 Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain! In November 2016, she appeared in a Hindi comedy serial Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain! withKumar Sanuin a special one hour episode. &TV [45]
2017 Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai Yagnik also appeared as a guest in Hindi serial 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai' STAR Plus [46]
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs She came with her co-singerUdit Narayanand sung many duets songs of 90s era. Zee TV [47]
2018 Rising Star She appears as a guest and gave a special tribute to late actressSridevi Colors [48]
Indian Idol She appeared in 10th season of Indian Idol with co-singerKumar Sanu. Sony Entertainment Television [49]
2019 The Kapil Sharma Show She appeared in The Kapil Sharma Show with other two judges for the promotion of her show 'Superstar Singer'. [50]
Superstar Singer In 2019, she appeared in Superstar Singer as a Judge inSony TV. [51]
2020 Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs Besides Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan and Kumar Sanu appeared as judges after 30 years. Zee TV [52]

She also appeared inStar Voice of Indiaas a judge.[7]She appears as a guest with Udit Narayan in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs.[53]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
See also:List of awards and nominations received by Alka Yagnik

Yagnik has won several accolades including twoNational Film Award for Best Female Playback Singerfor her songs: "Ghoongat Ki Aad Se" fromHum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke(1993)[54]and "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" fromKuch Kuch Hota Hai(1998).[55]She has won a record sevenFilmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer[note 2]for her songs: "Ek Do Teen"fromTezaab(1988),[56]"Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai"fromKhalnayak(1993),[57]"Zara Tasveer Se Tu" fromPardes(1998),[58]"Taal Se Taal" fromTaal(2000),[59]"Dil Ne Yeh Kaha Hai Dil Se" fromDhadkan(2001), "O Re Chhori" fromLagaan(2002) and "Hum Tum" fromHum Tum(2005) from a record thirty-eight nominations.[60]Additionally she has won twoBengal Film Journalists' Association Awards.For her contribution in the field of music, Yagnik was bestowed with theLata Mangeshkar Awardin 2019.[61]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Tied withAsha Bhosle.
  2. ^Tied withAsha Bhosle.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"Women are fading out from Bollywood music".Hindustan Times.Archived fromthe originalon 13 May 2019.
  2. ^ab"Iconic Alka Yagnik".IBN Live.19 March 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 7 October 2014.Retrieved3 May2012.
  3. ^"Happy Birthday Alka Yagnik: Evergreen songs by the melody queen that will make you nostalgic".20 March 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 13 May 2019.
  4. ^"BBC Top 40 tracks of all time".BBC Asia.2008. Archived fromthe originalon 15 April 2009.Retrieved3 May2009.
  5. ^"YouTube Music Charts".Retrieved17 March2020– via YouTube.
  6. ^"Guinness World Records".20 January 2023.Retrieved21 January2023– via YouTube.
  7. ^abc"Alka Yagnik birthday: Lesser known facts about the Agar Tum Saath Ho singer, you would love to know".Times Now News.20 March 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 27 March 2019.Retrieved2 April2021.
  8. ^ab"A Lots of Songs Were Taken From Me".Filmfare.Archived fromthe originalon 13 May 2019.
  9. ^"Alka_Yagnik".Alkayagnik.co.in. Archived fromthe originalon 5 September 2012.Retrieved24 December2015.
  10. ^abNumber, A Hit (16 October 2011)."Fine Tuning".The Telegraph, Calcutta, India. Archived fromthe originalon 18 October 2011.Retrieved16 October2011.
  11. ^"About Me".Alka Yagnik. 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 5 September 2012.Retrieved3 May2008.
  12. ^ab"Would listen to my songs, analyse, learn from mistakes: Alka Yagnik".Hindustan Times.21 April 2017.
  13. ^Dasgupta, Piali (17 April 2012)."˜Item songs dominate the film industry".Bangalore Mirror.Retrieved12 August2020.
  14. ^"Alka Yagnik lends her voice to a Rajasthani film".The Times of India.25 June 2015.
  15. ^ab"Alka Yagnik: Sang Ek Do Teen in one go".Mid-Day.9 July 2018.
  16. ^"Musical notes with Alka Yagnik".Bollywood Hungama.25 October 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 12 March 2017.Retrieved12 March2017.
  17. ^"mid-day 38th anniversary: When music was the hero".mid-day.23 June 2017.Retrieved19 August2019.
  18. ^ab"15 Most Perverted Double Meaning Songs in Bollywood".MensXP.com. 30 May 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 28 July 2019.
  19. ^Raman, Sruthi Ganapathy (9 December 2017)."Sunidhi Chauhan interview: 'Any song can sound good if you do a good job'".Scroll.in.Retrieved14 January2020.
  20. ^"Hindi Sad Diamonds (From" Moulin Rouge "Soundtrack) by John Leguizamo & Nicole Kidman & Alka Yagnik".Amazon.
  21. ^"Shiksha Ka Suraj".The Times of India.2012. Archived fromthe originalon 6 September 2012.Retrieved20 March2012.
  22. ^"Felicitations".The Hindu.2012.Retrieved4 September2012.
  23. ^"Song of The Century".2012.Retrieved31 August2012.
  24. ^"Hottest Song of The Century".2013.Retrieved26 April2013.
  25. ^"Save the Girl Child".India West. 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 26 April 2012.Retrieved20 March2012.
  26. ^"Child Health Awareness".2014.Retrieved20 August2014.
  27. ^"World Music Day: 'Time just flew by', says Alka Yagnik on spending close to four decades in Bollywood".indulgexpress.com. 20 June 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 25 August 2019.
  28. ^"Filmfare Award Archive"(PDF).2005.Retrieved20 March2005.
  29. ^"Facts you should know about Mohammed Raf".Onmanorama.Retrieved2 September2016.
  30. ^"Alka Yagnik prefers live performances over playback singing".The Times of India.3 September 2016.
  31. ^ab"A lot of songs were taken away from me".Filmfare official website.
  32. ^"Digitisation can enhance your singing, not your skill: Alka Yagnik".Hindustan Times.4 January 2015.
  33. ^abc"Alka Yagnik: I'd die if a song I recorded is given to someone else".The Times of India.16 January 2017.
  34. ^"38th Anniversary: When music was the hero".Mid-Day.23 June 2017.
  35. ^IANS (8 May 2019)."Alka Yagnik is number one on this list".TheQuint.Retrieved22 February2022.
  36. ^"Singer Alka Yagnik enthralls fans at this event - Times of India".The Times of India.14 May 2019.Retrieved21 February2020.
  37. ^"Melody and good music will remain in our hearts forever, says Alka Yagnik".Hindustan Times.9 August 2020.Retrieved6 March2021.
  38. ^"Bollywood playback singers who are tuned out!".Mid-Day.5 March 2014.Retrieved24 June2017.
  39. ^Jha, Subhash K (14 June 2005)."How can I disrespect Lata, Asha: Sunidhi".Hindustan Times.Indo-Asian News Service.Retrieved20 June2022.
  40. ^"Alka Yagnik Birthday Special: From 'Tip Tip Barsa' to 'Lal Dupatta,' Top 10 songs by the soulful singer".Free Press Journal.19 March 2021.Retrieved21 February2022.
  41. ^Mishra, Lata (19 June 2024)."Alka Yagnik's 'hearing loss' a disorder hard to reverse: Doctors".The Times of India.Retrieved23 June2024.
  42. ^ab"Kids were the main reason for me to choose Superstar Singer, says Alka Yagnik".Eastern Eye. 3 July 2019.
  43. ^"Comedy Nights with Alka & Sanu".2014.Retrieved20 May2014.
  44. ^"Alka Yagnik to judge 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs'".The Indian Express.22 December 2014.
  45. ^"Saumya Tandon's fan moment on sets 'Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai'".Mid-Day.21 November 2016.
  46. ^"Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai September 4, 2017 written update: Alka Yagnik pays tribute to Akshara at sangeet ceremony".The Times of India.5 September 2017.
  47. ^"Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs: Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik take the audience on a 90's nostalgia trip".23 April 2017.
  48. ^"Alka Yagink's Tribute To Sridevi".
  49. ^"Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan to usher in Navratri on TV".Sify.Indo-Asian News Service. 6 October 2021. Archived fromthe originalon 7 October 2021.Retrieved20 June2022.
  50. ^"The Kapil Sharma Show preview: A musical night with Superstar Singer team".22 June 2019.
  51. ^"Alka Yagnik to judge music reality show".The Times of India.
  52. ^"Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu launch the new season of SaReGaMaPa Lil Champs 2020".Mumbai Live.28 February 2020.Retrieved4 March2020.
  53. ^"Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan's cute BANTER on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs".DNA. 19 April 2017.
  54. ^"41st National Film Awards"(PDF).Directorate of Film Festivals.Archived(PDF)from the original on 16 January 2020.Retrieved24 February2022.
  55. ^"46th National Film Awards (PIB - Feature films)".Press Information Bureau (PIB), India.Archivedfrom the original on 19 August 2012.Retrieved24 February2022.
  56. ^"The Filmfare Awards Winners – 1988".The Times Group.Archived fromthe originalon 14 October 2007.
  57. ^"The Filmfare Awards Winners – 1993".The Times Group.Archived fromthe originalon 28 October 2007.
  58. ^"43rd Filmfare Awards 1998 Winners".Indian Times.The Times Group.Archived fromthe originalon 8 May 2006.Retrieved27 June2021.
  59. ^"The 45th Filmfare Awards 2000 Winners".Indian Times.The Times Group.Archived fromthe originalon 25 March 2012.Retrieved28 July2021.
  60. ^"Filmfare Awards Winners From 1953 to 2019".filmfare.com.Retrieved14 February2020.
  61. ^"Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan to get Lata Mangeshkar Award".The Times of India.Retrieved24 February2022.
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