Sonu Nigam

Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam is an Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured mainly in Hindi and Kannada. He has also sung in Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Odia, Tulu Nepali and various Indian languages. He has also released Indian pop albums and acted in a number of movies. He has been one of the highest paid Indian singers. His singing style is considered similar to the legendary Mohd. Rafi whom he also considers his motivation. He has become to instant limelight through...
NationalityIndian
ProfessionWorld Music Singer
Date of Birth30 July 1973
CityFaridabad, India
CountryIndia
See, I have to do my best because I am not as glamorous or as well-equipped like a Beyonce Knowles or Michael Jackson, where their band members are close to 100-150 people. They even have great equipment which is flown along with the artists. They have a budget of around $5 million pumped in to make their concerts a hit.
My mother taught me my first bhajan. My mother, Shobha Nigam, was a very religious woman. From her only I learnt 'Om Jai Jagdish' song and used to do puja along with her.
Whether I am performing for an elite crowd or a crowd of 20,000 people - the moment someone asks for 'Agneepath,' and I respond 'Agneepath' chahiye?' the noise in the crowd, shows that this song has become huge.
I was a topper till class tenth and wanted to initially be a scientist.
There is a conception about me that I am a playback singer and I sing for albums or for films only, but my roots are in bhajans. Even when I was in school, I used to win competitions for ghazals and bhajans.
My dad has a lot of foresight and decided that I would not do any shows in Mumbai till I became a singer and got to sing my own songs. He knew that if I started earning money from shows, I would not have the time and aggression to rough it out to become a singer.
You don't have to be the sexiest girl or the most talented person to have the X factor. X factor is something you are born with that is your own. And the moment that you realize how to tap into that quality that you have within, and how to bring that individuality out of yourself, that is when you discover the X factor.
I was the first judge in the 'Indian Idol' format. The biggest risk when you adapt a format from a country in the West is how to make it your own, so I remember at the press conference for Indian 'X Factor,' the press would ask, 'Who is Simon Cowell?' And I said 'Why don't you ask Simon Cowell, 'Who is Sonu Nigam?'
If I stop practising, I will be an average singer. There are a lot of singers I know who hardly practise, yet sing well.
I was born in Faridabad and I spent a major part of my growing up years in Delhi before shifting to Mumbai. Delhi-NCR is still very special to me.
Before every show, I would call my mother and say, 'Mummy, I don't know how I will sing today.' But that would change as soon as I went on stage and would merge with my music. She is my best ally, and I don't want to lose her. Nobody other than her would be concerned if I had eaten or had oiled my hair. She is my queen.
My happiness is not dependent on others; it comes from within. Spiritual growth in a person is never encouraged, but it is important. I don't know why people want to judge others instead of doing their own thing. I firmly feel that I don't need to follow or live according to other people's rules. I like living life the way I want to.
From childhood, I have been more of a musician than a singer. People close to me know how much effort I put into practising. Even when I am travelling, I have my tanpura on my iPhone.
There are a lot of singers who cannot sing to save their lives. We have to accept it, but thank God there is such a thing as live shows. It's only when people are faced with live shows that the world gets to know how good or how bad they are.