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It is 2013, and you might have just come from school, college, or your office, and you are listening to music. Listening to singers like Sonu Nigam, and Kishore Kumar has always been a routine but suddenly a voice comes to your ears and grabs your attention with something like this:
“Kyunki tum hi ho,
Ab tum hi ho,
Zindagi ab tum hi ho
Chain bhi, mera dard bhi,
Meri aashiqui ab tum hi ho”
Take a moment and guess the singer of this song. You might not even need a moment to think. Of course, you know who the singer is. Arijit Singh became a household name after the release of this song in 2013 from the movie Aashiqi 2.
You may find this surprising but initially, he did not get much recognition for this singing. However, with back-to-back amazing songs, he proved that he is one of the greatest singers.
Now the question is, WHAT MAKES HIM AN AMAZING SINGER?
Why does everyone from AR Rahman to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy love him and give him songs in almost every movie?
Why do most filmmakers prefer him to have at least one song in their films?
But first, let's see the story of Arijit Singh right from his childhood in Murshidabad to Bombay when he became famous.
1. Early Life and Musical Upbringing
Arijit Singh was born in West Bengal in the city of Murshidabad. He was born to a Sikh father and a Bengali Mother. Music is an integral part of Bengali households and culture. And it is said that Arijit Singh was initially trained in music by the maternal side of his family.
Gradually, his parents took a step to teach him music as a professional singer and thereby he started learning music under the tutelage of Hazar Brother for Indian Classical music, Tabla, Rabindra Sangeet, and Pop Music. He learned everything from Indian Classical music to Western pop music and even played the Tabla.
2. Early Career
Arijit Singh started his career as a contestant in the reality show ‘Fame Gurukul'. He could not even make it to the TOP 5 contestants on that show. Even after this loss, he did not lose hope and continued practicing.
Later, he participated in another reality show which he won - and received the cash prize of INR 10 lakhs. With the amount he won, he bought tools for Music Production and learned almost every aspect of music from singing, instruments, and composing to production.
Because of this holistic understanding of music, Arijit Singh developed a new tonality in singing.
3. Bollywood Debut
Even though Singh’s voice was similar to Atif Aslam (one of his contemporary singers), he added more dimension to his voice with practice. This enabled him to sing songs across genres.
In 2011, Arijit Singh made his debut in Bollywood with the song Phir Mohabbat from the movie Murder 2. And he became an overnight sensation before becoming a household name with the song Tum hi Ho mentioned above.
There is an interesting story where the song Tum hi ho was initially about to be offered to the singer Shafaqat Amanat Ali (Singer of the song Mitwa from Kabhi Alvida na kehna) but Mithoon, the composer of the song recommended Arijit’s name and the rest is history.
We are all aware of Arijit Singh’s growing stardom but here are a few questions we can ponder upon as singers - beginner or professional.
What makes Arijit, Arijit?
Was it luck? Or, was it something else?
The years of hard work, right guidance, consistency, risk-taking ability, and thinking out of the box made Arijit Singh the household name he is today.
4. Learnings from Singh's Life
Some of the key factors all music students should learn from Arijit Singh's journey towards being a great musician:
a. Unique tone of voice
He developed a tone that is versatile so he can sing songs across genres with a strong command over the fundamentals.
b. Multiple music skills
He is a good tabla player, he plays guitar and piano. He also knows how to produce music. In fact, Arijit Singh has done the arrangement of the popular Bollywood song Gerua from Dilwale along with singing it.
c. Versatility
His versatility is at par with most legendary Bollywood singers. With his deep understanding of all aspects of music, he can sing across genres with ease and leave the listeners mesmerised with his voice every time.
d. Fundamental Music Training
Arijit Singh has had extensive training in Hindustani Classical Music for more than 20 years. With this training, he has mastered the fundamentals of singing. And to polish this understanding further, he also has training in other genres.
This is what makes Arijit Singh the star that we all know of. Most people lose hope or give up when they face failures, but those who keep going end up making history. And that’s what Singh did. He did not let his loss at the reality show define him. He kept working hard on his skills and won millions of hearts across the globe.
-Kushal Mehta
Indian Classical & Bollywood Vocals Teacher
Spardha School of Music