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Adele’s ’30’ becomes best seller of 2021

These two superstars are generally regarded as the last two who are guaranteed to sell massive amounts of physical product — CDs as well as the more in-vogue vinyl versions…reports Asian Lite News.

Grammy winning-singer Adele’s ’30’ enjoyed the biggest opening numbers of any blockbuster album in 2021, as expected, with 839,000 album-equivalent units, according to an announcement by Billboard Sunday night.

Her big premiere beats the previous mark set by Drake’s ‘Certifiable Lover Boy’ when it bowed with 613,000 back in September, reports variety.com.

It also comes in ahead of Taylor Swift’s ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’, which just a week ago had the second-biggest debut of the year, with 905,000 album units, and now is bumped to the third most sizable of 2021.

The biggest part of Adele’s tally came in full-album sales, as was true of Swift’s massive debut last week.

These two superstars are generally regarded as the last two who are guaranteed to sell massive amounts of physical product — CDs as well as the more in-vogue vinyl versions.

’30’ racked up a staggering 692,000 in actual album sales, by far the most for any release this year.

’30’ was no slouch in the streaming world either, registering 185 million on-demand streams during its first week out, according to Billboard.

Although vinyl sales can outdo CD sales for many artists nowadays, Adele fans were attracted first and foremost to the compact disc, so Swift’s ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ still holds the record for the most LPs sold in a week.

Adele’s album sales amounted to 378,000 as CDs and 108,000 in the vinyl format.

Digital album sales came in between those two formats, with 205,000 downloads sold. A cassette version sold exclusively in the artist’s web store sold just under 2,000 to serious completists.

The numbers are indisputably huge by today’s standards, although the unit figure doesn’t come close to matching what Adele’s previous album, ’25’, did when it came out six years ago. In the land of 2015, a very different time for physical sales and mind-boggling album numbers, ’25’ debuted with 3.38 million copies, still an all-time record.

With Adele’s album having been released just a week before Black Friday promotions that saw Adele racks being positioned at the front of Target stores, she’s due for another big sales number next week, and a likely stronghold on the No, 1 position for the remainder of 2021, with no other superstar releases currently scheduled to come out.

The other debut in Billboard’s top 10 was aRaising the Roof’, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ first joint album in 14 years. It came in at No. 7 with 40,000 album units.

As with Adele, Plant and Krauss have a mature audience that primarily wants to own the new record and not stream it. Of that 40K figure, 38,000 were full album sales.

Among holdovers, ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ was not surprisingly the biggest returning album, slipping to No. 2 with 159,000 album-equivalent units in week two.

Drake’s album moved up a couple of spots to No. 3, Silk Sonic’s collaborative debut fell two spots to No. 4, Morgan Wallen’s ‘Dangerous: The Double Album’ moved up one notch to No. 5, and Summer Walker’s “Still Over It” fell a couple spots to No. 6 in its third week.

Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Sour’ moved back into the top 10 at No. 8. Michael Buble’s ‘Christmas’, which just got a re-release with new bonus tracks, became the first holiday album to bump its way into the upper ranks this year, landing at No. 9.

The Weeknd’s greatest-hits collection, ‘The Highlights’, which had been out since almost the beginning of the year as a digital-only release, but got a big chart rebound from finally coming out on vinyl.

Billboard said 91 per cent of the sales for the Weeknd’s hits set this week in the LP format.

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‘Music School’ fills missing ‘art’ in education

Produced by Yamini Films, ‘Music School’ will be photographed by ace cinematographer Kiran Deohans…reports Asian Lite News.

As the shooting of the upcoming Hindi-Telugu musical film ‘Music School’ starts in Goa this week, director Papa Rao Biyyala says the film aims to question the education system and highlights the role of art and music on the same.

The music of the film will be composed by iconic composer Ilaiyaraaja.

Papa Rao Biyyala said, “We’re deriving enthusiasm from Children’s Day and hitting the floors with child-like energy. ‘Music School’ is poised to challenge an education system that hasn’t underlined the importance of art. It feels great to have kicked off its shoot and to be united in making a special film. We hope to create a compelling musical experience.”

The film features Sharman Joshi and Shriya Saran as the leads.

The story of the film is about two contemporary and creative teachers, Mary D’Cruz and Manoj, who provide a glimpse of the rich culture and refinement of music and theatre to students who are driven by an unimaginative educational system.

Produced by Yamini Films, ‘Music School’ will be photographed by ace cinematographer Kiran Deohans.

The film also features Gracy Goswamy, Ozu Barua, Suhasini Mulay, Benjamin Gilani, Shaan and Vaquar Shaikh along with six child actors, Olivia Charan, G. Siddhiksha, Rohan Roy, Vivaan Jain, Aadya, and Kushi Soni.

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Wadkar’s musical journey to Padma

All praise for the numerous talent shows on television, Wadkar feels that they have been instrumental in introducing a host of new talent which may have missed recognition…writes Sukant Deepak.

Suresh Wadkar, who has sung for several films like ‘Sadma’, ‘Henna’, ‘Parinda’ and ‘Utsav’, may be elated to have received the Padma Shri recently, but he does feel that it should have been conferred on him much earlier.

“Der aye, par durust aye.I am thankful to the government, my listeners and teachers,” he tells.

For someone who has worked with major music directors, including Kalyanji-Anandji, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Ilaiyaraja, and sings in Hindi, Marathi and Bhojpuri films as well as in Odia, working in multiple languages is always exciting as it involves “living with the language”.

“There is research, and there is spending time with the language so as to ensure an authentic sound and pronunciation. Of course, the lyrics in other languages are also written in Devanagari. But before attempting to sing any number, it is important for me to completely understand what the song wants to convey.”

Even as India is witnessing multiple training institutes in music, including Tier-2 and 3 cities, the singer is pleased that efforts are being made by private institutes to not just impart training but also propagate music.

“It is great to know that youngsters are excited about this art form. While many students aim for a career in this, there are some who want to understand music by learning it. In both cases, music is the ultimate winner.”

All praise for the numerous talent shows on television, Wadkar feels that they have been instrumental in introducing a host of new talent which may have missed recognition.

“And look at the young children who are also part of these programmes. It is a delight to see their potential.”

Remembering his early years in the industry, when recordings involved big orchestras, the singer laments that while technology may have made things easier, the quality has suffered.

“Not to mention, it tends to overpower natural sounds.”

The singer, who was hospitalized for 10 days owing to Covid, says that barring that time, during the entire period of lockdown, he kept himself busy.

“I would be in my studio and record songs by legends like Lata Mangeshkar , Kishore Kumar, Rafi , Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey, Mukesh, Talat Mahmood, Mehdi Hasan and others. In fact, I have been thinking of releasing them on YouTube in the near future.”

Besides playback singing, Wadkar has also been keeping himself busy with training students. I am quite enjoying training the next generation of singers. It is really heartening to see such talented youngsters.

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Adnan Sami proud of the great honour

Recalling the moment during which Sami reached Rashtrapati Bhavan, he said: “I was sitting at Rashtrapati Bhavan and was waiting for the award ceremony to start. I was quite emotional.”…Sami speaks with Mohammad Suaib Khan

Renowned singer Adnan Sami who was honoured with the Padma Shri award by President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday has thanked the Indian government for the “respect he has received”, while remembering his father with moist eyes.

Sami was honoured for his remarkable contribution in the field of music.

“It is a great honour for me. I do not have the words…,” he said during an interaction.

“…behind this, there is the love of the countrymen for me. I have got this honour for the hard work, blood and sweat that I have shed over the years.”

“Though there were difficulties, I still kept on moving forward by raising my spirits,” he added.

“While receiving the honour, I felt as if, the Government of India and the people of the country told me that, it is for your work on our behalf, that is why it is very valuable to me.”

Recalling the moment during which Sami reached Rashtrapati Bhavan, he said: “I was sitting at Rashtrapati Bhavan and was waiting for the award ceremony to start. I was quite emotional.”

Adnan has the experience of playing more than 30 instruments.

Who has contributed to this journey?

In response, Adnan said: “My parents and my wife have played a very important role in this whole journey. My father gave me opportunities and facilities. Because every person has highs and lows in his life. During this, my father also gave me his shoulder to cry on.”

“Also, a major part of my life has been my musical mother Asha Bhosle ji. My first song “Kabhi To Nazar Milao” was released with Asha ji.

“I met Asha ji for the first time at the age of 10, although I also had my first meeting with her in India, she encouraged me and said that you come here from Canada. I came to Mumbai only on her advice.”

“I didn’t know anyone except Asha ji after coming to Mumbai. But I would like to thank her and her family for the love they have given me.

“I came to India in 1999 and the first song was released in 2000. After that I fell in love with India,” he added.

Adnan took up citizenship of India only a few years ago. His mother belonged to Jammu and his father belonged to Pakistan.

“Indian citizenship was not given to me overnight. It was achieved after going through all the rules of law and all the procedures. I never did a Jalsa for this, but when I got citizenship, everyone came to know.”


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Rahman’s daughter keeps legacy of music

This is not the first award for ‘Farishton’ as just a couple of days ago, the music video won an Award of Merit at the Global Shorts.net, an international short film competition…reports Asian Lite News.

Noted music director A.R. Rahman’s daughter Khatija Rahman seems to be doing her dad proud. The gifted singer’s music video – ‘Farishton’ – has won the award for the Best Animation Music Video at the International Sound Future Awards.

Although the award will technically go to A.R. Rahman for being the music director and the producer of the video, it is clear that Rahman considers the video to be the work of his daughter Khatija.

He tweeted the news of the music video has won the awards. “‘Farishton’ wins one more award. @Rahmankhatija EPI.”

This is not the first award for ‘Farishton’ as just a couple of days ago, the music video won an Award of Merit at the Global Shorts.net, an international short film competition.

The video has also received a special mention award at the Los Angeles Film Awards.

‘Farishton’ is significant as Khatija Rahman considers it to be the beginning of her musical journey.

In a post describing her video on YouTube, Khatija says, “I was born in Chennai in a multicultural family with different genres of music and with friends from diverse backgrounds. I’ve always been fascinated with the wonders of life. As Mawlana Rumi says – ‘There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground; there are a thousand ways to go home again. The video’s main character Amal was created with such experiences of mine and the longing to explore the unknown. I hope all of you find your own journey of the unknown.”

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Madonna wins hearts with her flawless singing

She had come down to Bengaluru to attend the success party of ‘Kotigobba 3’, starring superstar Kichcha Sudeep…reports Asian Lite News.

 Multi-lingual actress Madonna Sebastian, who made her Kannada film industry debut with the super-hit movie ‘Kotigobba 3’, won the hearts of Kannadigas by singing the title track from the movie, ‘Yatake ninnane bayaside hrudaya nee kootiyali obbane’. In the film, the song is sung by Shreya Ghoshal.

Sebastian, who is also a singer, presented the song flawlessly and the video is trending on social media platforms. She had come down to Bengaluru to attend the success party of ‘Kotigobba 3’, starring superstar Kichcha Sudeep.

When she was called on to the stage and prompted to sign a Kannada song by noted actor Arun Sagar, who was anchoring the programme, Sebastian said, “I can sing a few lines from the song, probably to compensate for not speaking in Kannada.” After the presentation of the song, she received a heartfelt applause from the audience.

She said: “I must say I am very proud to stand here today. Thanks to the entire team and Sudeep sir, who made the job easy. I was expecting the experience to be a little timid intimidating. But that was not the case. I felt very comfortable, very welcomed, and felt very lucky and blessed to be standing here today.”

Speaking at the event, Kichcha Sudeep stated that although the release of the movie was delayed by a day, audiences have loved the film. He added that he was looking forward to the release of the Telugu version of ‘Kotigobba 3’.

Superstar Upendra was the other speaker. Congratulating the team, he said the movie had given the Kannada film industry a much-needed success.

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READ MORE-Music In Genes: Kashmiri Rhythm Unwraps Hearts

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Music In Genes: Kashmiri Rhythm Unwraps Hearts

Kashmiri being a Dardic language hardly resembles any other Indian language in terms of accent, intonation, vocabulary, etc., but young artists are not shying away from this language barrier…reports Asian Lite News.

Music is deep-rooted in the living paradise of Kashmir. It signifies its cultural glories and not just as means of entertainment and leisure, but as a central part of heritage. Its divine music is like food for the soul — birthed in the congregations of Saints and Sufis that would surpass the physical world into the metaphysical through music.

It is a gift of nature — heard through winds in the trees, countryside calm, willow orchards, and shades of Chinar through seasons. Trees in Kashmir have granted a natural sense of rhythm to artists; it is said with the changing atmosphere and moods of the Valley, the wind carries emotions passing through a variety of trees, paving way for music that only true artists can hear.

Kashmir also has a history of traditional musical instruments like Tumbaknar, Sarang, Rabab, Noet, Nai, Santoor, Sitar, Saz-e-Kashmir, etc., having a unique sound, importance, and reason. They were given a center stage in Bollywood movies like ‘Fitoor’, ‘Haider’, and ‘Raazi’.

Lately, many music studios are coming up in Kashmir. Kashmiri music is gaining popularity in the mainstream as artists across India are taking interest in Kashmiri folk music and language. Once again like the early Bollywood era, artists are choosing Kashmir as their video shooting destination. Perhaps this is the new beginning, the revival of the Kashmiri music and culture that we have been waiting for.

AR Music Studios, a Mumbai-based Music Record Label aims to revive the eternal appeal in music by blending traditional melody with modern demands. The founder, known by a popular Kashmiri song ‘Harmukh Bartal’, Jaan Nissar Lone from north Kashmir’s Baramulla has created waves in Bollywood for his forte, Sufi tradition meets modern acoustics. Their Sufi super hit soundtrack ‘Allah Teri Kya Shaan Hai’ was even chosen as the best Sufi song of the year by Mirchi Music Awards! He has established himself as a Bollywood music director, producer, and singer, lately having composed music and sung for the hit OTT series ‘The Family Man’ Season-1.

Jaan Nissar has also taken a hands-on initiative, a live project like Coke Studio, the first of its kind in Kashmir where Kashmiri singers will sing in Kashmiri with guests artists from South Asian countries to create fusions with languages like Pashto, Persian, etc.

Such upcoming studios are inspiring the new generation to choose music as their profession. Many Kashmiri music composers are collaborating with non-Kashmiri singers across India, and are earning international acclamation. A few of these songs are ‘Peer Myanio’, ‘Khodaya’, ‘Jugni- Az Rouz Saane’, ‘Rouvmut Dildar’, ‘Katyu Chukh Nundbaane’, ‘Salaam e Wazwane’, ‘Maenzi Raath’, all sung by outsiders, who barely understand the language but are quite keen learners!

Kashmiri being a Dardic language hardly resembles any other Indian language in terms of accent, intonation, vocabulary, etc., but young artists are not shying away from this language barrier.

Rani Hazarika, from the renowned Hazarika Dynasty of singers from Assam, has sung Kashmiri songs: ‘Salaam e Wazwane’ (a tribute to Wazwan, the Kashmiri cuisine), ‘Maenzi Raath’, and ‘Katyu Chukh Nund baane’, among others.

Richa Sharma, a celebrated Bollywood playback and devotional singer is also looking to popularise Kashmir and the Sufi genre that has its soul in the Kashmir valley. Her latest album ‘Mere Ali Maula’ displays the true identity of Kashmir, its scenic beauty, and spiritual transcendence.

A huge singing sensation of the Valley, Mehmeet Syed, who topped the charts as a teenager since her music debut in 2004 with her first Kashmir musical ‘Chulhama Roshay Roshay’ is collaborating with an international group for creating a fusion of Kashmiri and foreign music. She has earned a household name by holding concerts in cities across the US, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East. She is ready to give Kashmiri music a new, global appearance.

Some Kashmiri songs with their contemporary rendition and Hindi translations have taken Bollywood and non-Kashmiri artists by storm. They have been appreciated worldwide. The perfect example of this is Vibha Saraf’s hit song ‘Khanmoj Koor’ for the film ‘Raazi’, the Hindi rendition of which is written by Gulzar, and won her an IIFA and Zee Cine award in 2019. Due to the fame of the song, even the Telugu film industry is looking into songs in the Kashmiri language for their movies!

Few local artists too have been recognised on the National stage. Singer Rasiq Imtiyaz Khan’s solo Kashmiri song ‘Lolan’ has been released by Zee Music Company, one of the top labels in the country.

Another artist, known as ‘Arijit Singh and Bryan Adams of Kashmir’ — Ishfaq Kawa from Bandipora district has redefined Kashmiri music in the last few years, creating a separate niche for himself without receiving any formal music training. His latest album has been highly regarded on online platforms with his biggest hit ‘Nund Bani’ crossing 7.3 million views on YouTube alone. And now he’s all set to make his Bollywood debut!

Music Composer Amit Kilam (Band – Indian Ocean) who has composed music for various blockbusters including ‘Black Friday’, ‘Swaraj’, ‘Peepli Live’, ‘Masaan’, and ‘Satyagraha’, is also joining the brigade to bringing music of the valley to the limelight. He is exploring the old folk musicians and young rap artists of Kashmir to bring them under one roof.

Few artists in the valley are doing their bit in helping the youngsters learn of their glorious roots. Harkishan Singh Sanam, a 20-something Sikh youngster from South Kashmir’s Tral region has opened a music academy to teach kids the nuances and style of Kashmiri Sufi and Bollywood music, while simultaneously working on his first Kashmiri recorded album — a unique blend of Punjabi-Kashmiri music.

With the improving situation in J&K and the Prime Minister’s inclusive brand of leadership that is changing the direction of winds in the Union Territory, there is a genuine interest among the people to take part in artistic activities because they foresee development and better quality of life. The music of this ‘Paradise on Earth’ has given expression to human tendencies, sentiments, and passions with its universal appeal and ability to enlighten the soul and it must be propagated and preserved at all costs.

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VENAM: A Malayalam song breaks boundaries to go viral

Venam, created by three IT friends – Shabeer, Adityan & Harish – is indeed a blend of western and south Indian music. It sounds different and is 6+ mins in length, which is not common … reports Asian Lite News

Venam (wanted), a recently released Malayalam song has managed to connect with music lovers worldwide with its catchy tunes, lyrics and theme. It’s not common for Malayalam songs composed by relatively unknown Indie artists to gain worldwide attention and listeners from other countries. Within a month, the song crossed 100,000 views on YouTube with overwhelmingly positive feedback.

 The song was composed by an indie music artiste, Shabeer aka Shabscraft who is based in Singapore. This is his first song in Malayalam and his previous releases which are mostly instrumental, are also available on all platforms today.

Venam is indeed a blend of western and south Indian music. It sounds different and is 6+ mins in length, which is not common. According to the composer, it’s experimental and they went for a different flow. Maybe that’s why it stands out and is connected with music lovers. YouTube release under Shabeer’s channel named ‘Shabscraft Music’ includes English subtitles for the lyrics and that has helped to further connect with non-Malayalam speaking audiences globally.

Lyrics were penned by Adityan, a poet based in Bangalore. His poems are published in both English & Malayalam across mainstream media. This was his first project for a Malayalam song. Lead singer – Harish, is a well-trained vocalist in Western and classical over years. Like Shabeer, he is also based in Singapore.

 All three are working in tech companies across different locations and music brought them together. Shabeer and Adityan had known each other since school days, while Harish and Shabeer connected in Singapore. They are passionate about music and always wanted to collaborate to create something fresh, different and connect with music lovers across the world.

 “To be honest, we never expected the song to reach across so many listeners. What is even more surprising is that non-Malayalam speakers including listeners from other countries are also enjoying the song and sharing their feedback. We feel extremely happy and truly humbled by all the feedback,” says Shabeer

 When ‘Venam’ was initially conceived by Shabeer, he approached his friend Adityan to collaborate on the lyrics. They wanted to create something that would represent the attitude of today’s youth and compose based on a theme that would connect with them.

Shabeer, who spend his schooling days in Kerala, said: “During previous generations, I noticed that they got used to shortcomings and issues around them. Some of that passed to us and we got used to making compromises without questioning the system and people around us. We don’t want that to continue. The new generation of youth should question everything, demand everything they are entitled to and not compromise on anything. Ask for a better system, society, environment, spread more joy, peace, love and not fall short. I wanted Venam to capture and represent that mentality, feel and attitude”.

If you listen to the song, you will notice that this essence is captured with the tunes and wonderfully crafted lyrics blending in together. The song starts with a tone of rebel, anger and transcends to bliss, hope and prayer. According to Shabscraft, it was composed that way to create a feel of a ‘better tomorrow’, towards the end.

What is also interesting is that the song is a fusion of rap, melody and south Indian classical. Shabeer had initially planned for two singers separately for the rap and classical. However, after working with Harish, who is trained in both Western and Classical, they were confident that the singer could deliver on both fronts.

“Harish is an amazing talent and made it so much easier for me as he understood the nuances of developing a new song. He nailed the entire song with the right tones while capturing the emotions perfectly. I also used few vocals of my 10-year-old Son (Eshan) for some background bits”, said Shabeer.

 Another interesting fact is that the song took six months to complete. The composer and lyricist had to work from Singapore and India. For mixing and mastering, Shabeer worked with sound engineers from a studio in the Netherlands primarily. Other technicians, instrumental sound experts were spread across India. World-Wide distribution and label was managed by a company based in London.

 “Yes, it was not easy working and coordinating with different studios, technicians and experts from around the world. Due to the pandemic and time zone differences, I faced many delays & challenges. But that also gave us a lot of creative freedom to develop and release something the way we wanted. I guess that’s the advantage you have when you are an Indie Music artist,” added Shabeer.

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US to help Lebanon with electricity

Negotiations are continuing with the World Bank to finance the cost of the gas, the presidency statement said…reports Asian Lite News.

The Lebanese presidency said on Thursday that the United States has decided to assist Lebanon with electricity provision as the country struggles with crippling fuel shortages.

It said the US ambassador informed President Michel Aoun of the decision through a phone call on Thursday. There was no immediate comment from the US Embassy in Lebanon.

The plan would provide Egyptian natural gas to Jordan for generation into additional electricity that can be transmitted to Lebanon via Syria, as well as facilitate the transfer of natural gas to Lebanon.

Negotiations are continuing with the World Bank to finance the cost of the gas, the presidency statement said.

Meanwhile, Aoun accused unnamed parties on Thursday of seeking to prevent the formation of a new government and to push the country into chaos.

Earlier this week Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati had expressed optimism that a government could soon be formed to steer Lebanon out of its two-year financial crisis, but the prospect of an imminent deal appears to have faded.

“Several forces are working to prevent the creation of a government and are determined to push the country toward chaos in order to fulfil their political aims,” the presidency said in a statement, citing Aoun.

The statement said Aoun was cooperating with Mikati but that other groups were increasing demands over positions in the future cabinet with the goal of forcing Mikati to quit, an outcome the president said he did not want.

Mikati later said in a statement cited by broadcaster Al-Jadeed that he would continue his efforts to form a government.

The formation of a government is a necessary first step to start pulling Lebanon out of a crisis that has deepened with crippling fuel shortages.

Lebanon has been managed by a caretaker government since the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s cabinet following a devastating explosion in Beirut port one year ago.

The formation of a cabinet has been greatly complicated by Lebanon’s sectarian and factional rivalries.

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Queen of remixes recalls her ‘humble journey’

“It’s been hard work, and honest work. The journey has been humbling and it’s so valuable for me to be able to measure how we have grown. My fans make my journey worth it, too!” she speaks with Durga Chakravarty.

Neha is one of the significant vocalist of the Bollywood town. Neha Kakkar is fast emerging a one-woman industry of sorts, belting out hits with astonishing regularity and currently ruling the roost. She says it is never a bad time to be a singer in the industry.

Over the past years, she has delivered back-to-back hits that include film songs such as “Garmi”, “Dilbar” and “O saki saki”.

Asked if it is a good time to be a singer in the industry, Neha told : “It’s never a bad time to be a singer in the industry, that’s for sure. How unique you are matters but most of all, it’s important to be a good human being. All our friends in the music industry are really nice and we wish them success.”

In a very short time, Neha has become the undisputed queen of remixes. Before making her debut in Bollywood, Neha and her siblings Tony and Sonu Kakkar sang at jagratas.

She looks back at her journey from singing at jagratas to being one of Bollywood’s top singers, and calls it a “humbling” one.

“It’s been hard work, and honest work. The journey has been humbling and it’s so valuable for me to be able to measure how we have grown. My fans make my journey worth it, too!” she said.

With success comes criticism. Neha, who recently got married to singer Rohanpreet Singh, has often been trolled on social media and has also been a material to memes and jokes. She is not much bothered by negative comments coming her way.

How does she not get affected by the heavy trolling on social media? “Work hard, stay honest, stay humble, be open to growing and never lose faith,” she replied.

What’s next for Neha? The 33-year-old singer said: “There are a lot of things in the pipeline, you will get to know very soon with a big announcement.”

Neha recently performed on the app MX Takatak, and she says: “To have such an extensive line-up across 52 weeks is unheard of in the digital space. I am super happy, excited and humbled that I am launching Takatak Manch.”

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