Arijit Singh

Who is Arijit Singh?

Arijit Singh, born on 25 April 1987, is an Indian playback singer, music composer and producer, and the most dominant voice in modern Hindi cinema. Across more than a decade of film music he became the default singer for Bollywood's biggest love songs, prized for a soft, emotive tone that carries heartbreak and longing with rare intimacy. In 2025 he received the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, and by 2026 he had become the most-followed artist on Spotify in the world.

Early life and training

Singh was born in Jiaganj, in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, into a deeply musical family. He began Indian classical training at the age of three, surrounded by relatives who sang and played: his grandmother and aunt were singers and his uncle played the tabla. He trained in Hindustani classical music, tabla and Rabindra Sangeet, and that grounding in classical discipline still shapes the control and restraint that define his playback style.

From reality TV to the studio shadows

Singh first reached a national audience on the reality show Fame Gurukul in 2005. Rather than chase that early visibility, he spent years working quietly behind the scenes — as a music programmer, arranger and assistant to established composers including Pritam — learning the craft of the studio from the inside. His Hindi playback debut came in 2011 with "Phir Mohabbat" from Murder 2, the start of a slow build rather than an overnight rise.

Tum Hi Ho and the breakthrough

Everything changed in 2013 with "Tum Hi Ho" from Aashiqui 2. The song became a generational anthem, won Singh his first Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer and made him the go-to voice for Hindi cinema's romantic peaks. Almost overnight, composers and directors began writing their biggest emotional moments with his voice in mind.

The defining voice of Hindi cinema

What followed was one of the most sustained hit runs in Bollywood history. Singh's catalogue includes "Channa Mereya" and "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", "Gerua", "Janam Janam", "Raabta", "Hamari Adhuri Kahani", "Kesariya" and the modern ballad Sajni, among hundreds of others across Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and more. Beyond the studio, his live concerts grew into some of the largest ticketed events in India, where his stripped-back, harmonium-led renditions draw stadium audiences.

Awards and national honours

Singh has won two National Film Awards — for "Binte Dil" from Padmaavat (66th National Film Awards) and "Kesariya" from Brahmastra (70th National Film Awards) — alongside a long list of Filmfare Awards and other industry honours. In 2025 he was conferred the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his distinguished contribution to art and music, cementing his status not just as a hitmaker but as a nationally recognised cultural figure.

Streaming and global records

Singh's dominance is starkly visible in the streaming era. He was the most-streamed artist in India on Spotify for seven consecutive years, from 2019 to 2025, and by 2026 he had become the most-followed artist on Spotify anywhere in the world, with more than 180 million followers — a milestone no other Indian artist had reached. That global reach reflects both the scale of Hindi cinema's audience and the cross-border pull of his voice.

Philanthropy and a private life

Despite his fame, Singh is known for a notably understated, low-key life largely rooted in his hometown of Jiaganj rather than in Mumbai's spotlight. He runs the charitable foundation "Let There Be Light", which supports education and healthcare for underprivileged children, and during the COVID-19 pandemic he funded medical supplies and oxygen for rural communities in Bengal. He married Koel Roy in 2014 and is famously protective of his family's privacy, keeping his personal life well away from public commentary.

Stepping back, Sapphire and legacy

In January 2026, Singh announced that he would stop taking on new playback assignments, closing what he called a wonderful chapter — while making clear he would continue creating music independently and complete the projects he had already signed. The decision came at the height of his global profile, shortly after his cross-cultural feature on Ed Sheeran's 2025 single Sapphire, which paired his Hindustani vocals with acoustic pop and introduced him to new Western audiences. Whatever comes next, Arijit Singh stands as the defining playback voice of his generation — the sound of an entire era of Indian film romance.