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Yo Yo Honey Singh
Indian singer and rapper (born 1983) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hirdesh Singh[a] (born 15 March 1983), known professionally as Yo Yo Honey Singh,[1] is an Indian singer, rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip-hop and rap with the mainstream Indian audience.[5][6][7] Much of his transgressive work during the late 2000s and early 2010s made him a controversial figure.
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Singh commenced his career as a hip-hop music producer with his underground album Desi By Nature (2003), subsequently working as a session and recording artist within the underground music scene for other artists until the release of his debut studio album, International Villager (2011).[8] In 2012, after the album's success and his mainstream breakout, he set a record as the highest paid Indian artist by charging 75 lakh INR for a track in Bollywood.[9] As of 2025, he is the richest Indian rapper.[10] He released further singles that charted and released his second studio album Desi Kalakaar (2014). After its success, Singh took a musical hiatus due in part to struggle with bipolar disorder with psychosis caused by alcoholism and drug abuse.[11] [12] [13]
After a brief recovery in 2016 followed by a relapse, he returned to the music industry with the release of his single "Makhna" (2018), which was well received.[14] He released his albums Honey 3.0 (2023) followed by Glory (2024), the latter accompanied by the lead single "Millionaire", which exceeded 300 million views on YouTube in less than 7 months and more than 150 million Spotify streams.[15]
Singh's nickname growing up was "Honey". "Yo Yo" came from Singh picking up the slang from his African-American hip-hop friends, which means "your very own" in African American Vernacular English. Singh added "Yo Yo" to his name professionally, after winning an award in Punjab during his early career.[16] He interpret's the name to mean "your very own Honey Singh". Singh stated that the name indicates that he is "one amongst the people and is the people's artist".[17][18]
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Early life and education
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Hirdesh Singh[a] was born on 15 March 1983 in Karampura, West Delhi to Sardar Sarabjit Singh and Bhupinder Kaur in a Sikh family. Karampura was originally a refugee settlement area after the 1947 India-Pakistan partition. Singh's family were Lahori Sikh refugees from Lahore, Pakistan.[19]
Singh used to play Tabla during his school days and initially wore a Turban as he is a Sikh, but his hair started forming dreadlocks naturally. Even after washing his hair thrice a week, his hair had no change, so his mother had to cut his hair when he was age 12 or 13. Singh narrates how the next day in school during the assembly, he wrapped a cloth on his head and the principal, after noticing him, pointed at him to get out. His father didn't talk to him for at least two years because of him cutting his hair and Singh left playing Tabla because of this incident and subsequently became an atheist.[20]
Singh states that he was only keen on gathering knowledge about religion but not practicing it. Throughout his life, he has been introduced to a variety of religions including Sikhism while growing up in a Sikh household, Hinduism from his spiritual guru, Abhinav Acharya Ji and Islam and Sufism during his youth days when he shifted to Mohali, Punjab in 2007.[21]
Singh did B.Sc. in I.T. in 2001 to get a computer from his family on which he could make beats and produce music while studying for his college.[22] He lived in a flat in Rohini rented to him by his Acharya Ji after his father kicked him out. Singh credits his father for the exposure he received to music despite his father being against the idea of Singh entering the music industry. His father is fond of Mohammed Rafi's music which Singh claims used to be played on loop during his childhood. His father also had an expensive music system at home due to his love for music despite not having a very high paying job. Singh's mother was also a singer and still sings. Singh in particular, liked Kishore Kumar as he believed Kumar's songs to be more notorious.[23]
Given his interest in music, Singh traveled to the United Kingdom to study at the Trinity College Of Music.[24] Singh is a self-taught music producer which he learnt by sampling music and beats from English songs during his college days. After graduating, he came back to Delhi. He began his career as a recording artist and a hip hop, bhangra music producer. His first claim to fame came when he received the ETC award for Best Sound for his song, Glassy in 2006.[25]
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Career
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Music
2003–2005: Early career, Desi By Nature and setbacks
Singh started as an underground hip-hop, bhangra music producer during his college days in 2003 with his album Desi By Nature. The opening track "Jhanjhar Kehndi", featured a fusion of Punjabi language and hip hop. The pirated CDs of the album gained popularity and started selling well in Birmingham, United Kingdom. In 2003, when Singh started making hip hop beats, he met with the Third Degree Originals (TDO), a group consisting of Pinaki (Phenom), Sean (Bonafide), Alistair (Koncept). Singh was also friends with Kelvin. According to Pinaki aka Phenom, Singh and him met through a common friend while Pinaki was rapping in a club. Singh liked the style of Pinaki's rapping, the two connected, went to a studio and started jamming. Alistair, Sean were friends with Pinaki and the trio with Singh, started jamming sessions together in studio as their vibes matched well. Alistair and Pinaki featured on the track "Sit Back" from Singh's Desi By Nature album. At that time, Singh used to carry his entire CPU cabinet with a handle attached to its top alongside him so he could connect it anywhere and start making beats.[26]
In 2004, a music company from Birmingham contacted Singh for potentially acting as a music producer for a Punjabi remix album which was later entitled Bollywood Rebirth, while establishing itself in India during a time when remixes were trending in India. At the age of 21, Singh visited Mumbai to work on the album for 10 months with several artists such as Babul Supriyo, Shweta Pandit, who were some of the singers featured on the album. A music video was shot for the track "Lekar Hum Deewana Dil (remix)" performed by Amitabh Bhattacharya and Shweta Pandit that showcased Singh's first on-screen appearance in a music video as Music Kid Honey Singh (stylized as Muzikidd Honey Singh). However, the album flopped. Singh rejected his pay of 5 lakh rupees because the album did not perform well.[27]
2005–2007: Glassy, Punjab and early success
In 2005, Singh worked on an album with Bill Singh titled Peshi and also made an appearance in the music video for the track "Thanedar". Circa 2005–06, Punjabi singer Ashok Masti contacted Singh to compose a song for him. Singh recalled in an interview with Star Verdict, that he met Masti when the latter was already working on an album and he was in Delhi for a recording session in 2005. During this time, Singh was struggling, as he wasn't able to get work in England, due to the remix album having flopped. Initially skeptical that the particular track might work in England but not in Punjab, due to its urban and futuristic sound, Masti was convinced by Singh that he was positive about the track's success. Singh initially wanted a female friend of his to do the vocals for the song however she couldn't come. Singh sung a dummy vocal which the others liked and went on with. The song released was "Glassy", and Singh, also featured on the track, with rap's lyrics by Sean (Bonafide) and Alistair (Koncept). Singh also appeared in the music video with Masti. The track became a blockbuster even as far as going to BBC World Charts. "Glassy" became a part of Masti's album Clap On The Beat on which Singh did engineering and mastering.[28]
After the success of "Glassy", Singh shifted to Mohali, Punjab in 2007, work related as he was suggested by a friend that he would get work easily in Punjab music industry due to its sheer size as a regional music industry. Singh became known for his fusion of Punjabi and Hindi music, and thus preferred to sing in his native languages rather than in English.[29]
2007–2010: Rebirth, The Next Level and multi time award winner
In February 2008, Rebirth by Raj Brar was released with music by Honey Singh. This was Singh's first album that he produced while in Punjab. During the album's development in 2007, Singh grew frustrated with the writers hired for the album, as the music and the beats for the album were ready by Singh however, the writers were slow in comparison. Brar subsequently, taught Singh how to write songs as prior to this, Singh was primarily only a music producer. On its release, the album was a success and won Singh many awards in Punjab. The album's lead single "Chandigarh De Nazaareiyan Ne Pattiya" became an instant hit with Brar's solid and impactful voice alongside a featured Punjabi rap from Singh in the music video.[30]
Singh's collaborations with prominent artists, like Diljit Dosanjh, further cemented his position. In 2008–09, Singh worked with Diljit for his sixth studio album titled The Next Level, for which Singh composed the music and also made key rap appearances on tracks such as "Panga" and "Los Angeles (LA)", while also being the lyricist for the track "Ru Ba Ru", Diljit's only Urdu track till date. The album was a mainstream hit with people enjoying the duo's chemistry. The title of their song Lak 28 Kudi Da reached number one on the BBC Asian Download Charts in May 2011,[31] and served as a promotional track for Dosanjh's film Lion of Punjab.[32]
Singh subsequently produced the music for several other Punjabi artists' albums, most notably, The Lock Up by Preet Harpal on which the track "Vanjaarey" featured Harpal as the lead singer with Singh as the rapper. In December 2009, The Crown by Raja Baath released with the lead single "Chaska", which became a huge hit with the audience and also featured Singh. In 2010, the album The Folkstar by Nishawn Bhullar released with tracks like "Hummer" and "Bhagat Singh" also featuring Singh. Unlike "Hummer", the track "Bhagat Singh" which was a tribute to the late great Bhagat Singh, did not perform as well as expected from a track of its calibre. However, the track has stood the test of time, showcasing Singh's wide range in terms of music aside from just making party bangers with many considering the track underrated and ahead of its time.[33]
2010–2014: International Villager, mainstream breakout, singles and Desi Kalakaar
In late 2010, Singh returned to Delhi after being an award-winning music producer in Punjab for 3 years, to complete the mixing and mastering process of his own debut studio album, just a few months before his wedding. A year prior, Singh and Badshah had shot the music video for their track "Get Up Jawani" which later on became a part of Singh's album.[citation needed]
In November 2011, Singh made a mark on the music scene with his debut studio album International Villager on 11 November 2011, containing 14 tracks. The track "Gabru", ft. J-Star, quickly climbed to the top of the Asian music charts & official BBC Asian charts.[34] "Brown Rang" became YouTube's most trending video of 2012 while Singh was praised for the music, lyrics, singing, rap and an internationally shot music video in Dubai by American director, David Zennie, for Brown Rang and garnered over 10 million views in 2012 and 350+ million views ever since.[35][36][37] The album has since been cherished by many with other noteworthy tracks such as; "Angreji Beat" by Singh and Gippy Grewal, "Dope Shope" by Singh and Deep Money, "Goliyaan" by Diljit Dosanjh and Singh and "Get Up Jawani" by Badshah and Singh.
During the early 2010s, Singh became popular in the Indian music industry, performing at numerous college festivals such as Ansal Institute of Technology and Ramjas College in Delhi.[38]
By 2012, Singh set a record for the highest fee ever paid to an artist for a Bollywood song, reportedly receiving ₹7 million rupees (US$84,000) for tracks in the movies Cocktail and Mastan. He sang his first Hindi song in Mastan.[39] His popularity surged on YouTube with two of his videos— "Brown Rang" and "High Heels" (a collaboration with Jaz Dhami)—ranking among the top trending videos that year. Following it's success, Singh released "Angreji Beat" in collaboration with Gippy Grewal. This track further solidified is presence in the music industry, becoming a party anthem across India.
In 2013, Singh alongside MTV, released the track "Bring Me Back" on Singh's official YouTube channel. The track was a response to the controversy he was engulfed in at the time. Singh was also nominated for 2013 MTV EMA alongside his longtime childhood inspiration and music guru, AR Rahman in the "Best Indian Act" category which he won over Rahman.[40]
In April of the same year, Singh again partnered up with Alfaaz, for the party banger "Bebo", which was also released on Singh's own channel. The duo had previously worked together on Alfaaz's debut album titled Alfaaz - The Boy Next Door in 2011, for which Singh was the music producer with Alfaaz as the lead singer. The tracks "Haye Mera Dil" and "Yaar Bathere" from the album, featured Alfaaz as the main vocalist and lyricist, with featured raps from Singh. The two tracks became massive hits.[41]
Desi Kalakaar, August 2014
In November 2013, Singh released another song, "Blue Eyes". The song, known for its sleek production and catchy hook, became an instant hit, showcasing his versatility in blending Hindi and English lyrics with an international sound. The single is arguably Singh's biggest single; being the most viewed track of Singh on YouTube with 730+ million views.[42]
In August 2014, Singh released his second studio album, Desi Kalakaar, with the eponymous title track starring Sonakshi Sinha, Gulshan Grover and Singh, while the track "Love Dose" featured Urvashi Rautela and Singh. The album containing 8 tracks was released on 26 August 2014. The album received positive reception among the audience with people liking both of the aforementioned tracks' music videos and tracks such as "One Thousand Miles" from the album.[43] The music video for the track "Desi Kalakaar" was shot in Los Angeles, California starring Singh and Sonakshi as lovers with Grover as Sonakshi's father and the villain.[44] The music video's duration is about 9:58 mins involving a long car chase scene between Singh and Los Angeles Police, which glued the viewers to their screens to figure out about what will happen to the two lovers while an extended version of the track played.[45] The music video for "Love Dose" was shot at Westfield Stratford City in London, United Kingdom with Rautela as Singh's love interest. There were plans to shoot music videos for other tracks from the album however, Singh's health started deteriorating.[46]
2014–2016: SLAM! The Tour, Bipolar Disorder and musical hiatus
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In September 2014, during the SLAM tour alongside Shah Rukh Khan in the United States, Singh started developing serious mental health issue symptoms. A rumor started floating around that SRK slapped Singh due to his bad behavior during the tour and therefore the show got cancelled. In reality, according to Singh, when they took him to Chicago for the show, he started feeling uneasy and told that he did not want to perform as he was sure that he was going to die during that show. Everyone told him to get ready for the show but he refused. His managers came over, and told him to get ready. Singh again denied. He then went to the washroom, took a trimmer, and shaved off some of his hair, in a way for them to back down and accept his request of not doing the show. However, they said that they'll make him wear a cap instead to do the show. Singh frightened and uneasy, took up a coffee mug, smashed it on his head, got injured and subsequently, hospitalised.[47][48]
According to Singh, few big and influential names from Bollywood introduced him to drugs in 2012. They teased him that he being a Punjabi, easily consumes alcohol. But if he has guts, he would try Charas / Hashish. Singh said what's the problem and smoked several joints of it until it became an addiction.[49]
prior to his brief appearance at the PTC Punjabi Music Awards in May 2015
In March 2015, after several months of absence from the music scene, Singh released "One Bottle Down" as a single on official YouTube channel of T-Series which became an instant hit amongst the audience.[50]
Despite facing health issues that forced him to take a break from his career, Singh continued to contribute to the music industry. During this period, he wrote the hit track "Dheere Dheere" in 2015, a recreation of the song from the movie Aashiqui which he recorded on his iPhone 6 due to his Bipolar Disorder. The track featured Hrithik Roshan and Sonam Kapoor in the music video and was the first Indian song to exceed 200 million views on YouTube.[51]
2016–2018: Brief recovery, Zorawar and relapse
In February 2016, Singh made his first public appearance after almost 18 months of absence at Mirchi Music Awards 2016, where he also did a stage performance which alone crossed over a 100 million views on its YouTube upload. Singh had previously made a brief appearance at the PTC Punjabi Music Awards in May 2015, before his symptoms returned.[52]
During interviews that followed, Singh recounted how the last 18 months were the "darkest phase" of his life and the fact that he wasn't in a state to talk to anyone. There were rumors that Singh had checked himself into rehab, which he clarified were not true and instead stated that he was residing at his Noida residence throughout. Singh told that he was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder with psychosis during which he had to change four doctors as the medication wasn't working and crazy things were happening to him. He further added about that at one point he thought that he would never come out of the darkness. He had cut himself off from everyone, didn't step out of his own room, forget his house. During this period, he had also grown a long beard and hadn't cut his hair for many months. Singh recalled that for someone who had performed in front of a crowd of 20,000 people, he was scared of facing 4-5 people which were his own family members. That's what Bipolar Disorder does to a person, Singh added.[53]
In May 2016, Singh's Punjabi action film Zorawar, released with a critical acclaim from the audience along with being one of the most expensive Punjabi films. The film was partly filmed in Durban in 2014 and released after a long delay on 6 May 2016 due to Singh's bipolar. The EP for the film featured four tracks namely; "Raat Jashan Di" by Singh and Jasmine Sandlas, "Superman" and "Call Aundi" by Singh and "Kalley Rehen De" by Alfaaz, garnering over more than 400 million views collectively.[54][55][56][57][58]
However, the recovery was short lived as when Singh got back to work, he relapsed. Singh's musical hiatus continued until the year 2018.[59] Singh's medications for his bipolar disorder were heavy on Sodium, which caused water retention and subsequent weight gain. As a result, Singh gained a lot of weight during his hiatus as he was confined to his room.[60]
2018–2022: Comeback and singles
After overcoming significant health challenges while still being on heavy medication, Singh made a comeback from his musical hiatus in 2018 with the track "Makhna", featuring Neha Kakkar, Singhsta and a reunion with his long time friends from The Third Degree Originals (TDO) featuring Pinaki (Phenom), Alistair (Koncept) and Sean (Bonafide). The track re-established him as a prominent figure in the Indian music scene. The song was well-received, showcasing his ability to blend contemporary sounds with vibrant visuals.[61]
Following this, Singh released "Urvashi" later that same year, featuring Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani. The track is a remake of A.R. Rahman's original track by the same name.[62]
official cover, 2020
In 2019, he collaborated with Malkit Singh on "Gur Nalo Ishq Mitha - The YOYO Remake", demonstrating his versatility. Singh had previously collabed with Malkit for the track "Beautiful", a part of his International Villager album in 2011.[63]
The year 2020 marked a significant milestone with the release of "Loca", featuring Simar Kaur [64]
"Moscow Mashuka", featuring Neha Kakkar, both of which garnered substantial popularity.[65]
He also featured in "Billo Tu Agg Ae", a track by Singhsta, which garnered popularity.[66] In December 2020, Hommie Dilliwala and Singh dropped the track "Jingle Bell", which was a hit amongst the fans, expanding Singh's musical repertoire.[67]
In 2021, Singh released "First Kiss", featuring Ipsitaa Khullar, followed by "Saiyaan Ji", a collaboration with Neha Kakkar, which became a superhit. That same year, he was also part of the song "Kanta Laga", featuring Tony Kakkar and Neha Kakkar, and "Boom Boom", showcasing his ongoing presence in the music industry.[68]
2022–2024: Honey 3.0, Glory and the return to the throne
In 2022, Singh recuperated while losing a ton of weight as a result of intense workout, strict diet and reduction of his medication due to his gradual recovery and subsequently returning to a leaner and healthier body which took the internet by storm. Mr. Asia 2022 and Singh's fitness coach Arun Kumar, revealed Singh's workout and diet plan which yielded the result of Singh losing over 17 kg of weight in a single month, dropping from 95 kg to 77 kg.[69]
Singh continued to build on to his success with tracks like "Ka Kha Ga", "Pankhudi (The Ride Song)", "Designer", and "Casanova" featuring Lil Pump.[70]
In March 2023, Singh released several tracks over a span of an year, as part of his album Honey 3.0, including "Naagan", "Tujh Pe Pyaar", "Savage", "Vigdiyan Heeran". Singh collaborated with Apache Indian who was also one of Singh's childhood rap inspirations, on the track "Kuley Kuley", garnering positive reviews and crossing 100+ million views on YouTube. Singh on his Europe tour also performed with Apache notably on latter's track "Arranged Marriage", which was released in 1993, one of Singh's favorite songs of Apache even as far as Singh remembering the entire rap and singing along during their performance for which he was praised by the latter. Singh also released the track "Kalaastar" as part of the Honey 3.0 album. The track is the sequel to his 2014 blockbuster track "Desi Kalakaar", starring Sonakshi Sinha and Singh, reprising their roles after a 9 years time-skip and broke multiple streaming records and was well received by audiences.[71]
In August 2024, Singh launched his album Glory, featuring 18 tracks, including "Millionaire", "Payal", and "Jatt Mehkma". The album released on 26th August 2024, marking the 10 year anniversary of Desi Kalakaar. It saw Singh's return as a music producer, with Leo Grewal as the primary lyricist and marked a significant milestone in his career receiving widespread acclaim, with multiple songs trending on all platforms. The album consists of 10 languages including Hindi, Punjabi, English, Haryanvi, Bhojpuri, Spanish, French, Arabic, Sindhi, and Balochi, six out of the ten languages being native to the Indian subcontinent. The album has since shattered many streaming records. The lead single "Millionaire" crossed 350+ million views on YouTube and 150+ million streams on Spotify."Jatt Mehkma" saw Singh's debut as a director and was praised. Singh was also praised for his music production and performance on the track "Payal" alongside Paradox, who was acclaimed for his lyricism. The music video starring Nora Fatehi was shot in Tbilisi,Georgia and has crossed over 270+ million views on YouTube alone. A bonus track from the album, "Maniac" also became a huge hit as Singh was critically praised for his music production and composition for his way of blending Bhojpuri with Punjabi with appreciation for representing Bhojpuri on such a grand scale. The music video was shot in Dubai, starring Singh and Esha Gupta, and has since crossed over 130+ million views on YouTube. The second bonus track "Teri Yaadein" released, starring Nargis Fakhri consisted of both Arabic & Hindi. With Hindi verses written and performed by Singh while Arabic verses by Grini. The only exception being towards the end of the track where the latter sings the Hindi verse and the former sings the Arabic verse.[72]
2024–present: Millionaire India Tour, Spotify Top-10 and 51 Glorious Days
In December 2024, Singh released the track "Hitman" alongside Bollywood actor Sonu Sood, for his film Fateh. The track was sung and composed by Singh and written by Leo Grewal and Paradox who had previously collaborated with Singh on Glory.[73]
In 2025, Singh announced the Millionaire India Tour in association with Aaj Tak, where he visited 10 cities across India, namely, Mumbai, Lucknow, Delhi, Indore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Kolkata. The tour was a big success with tickets being sold out in minutes and the size of venues being increased at several locations. Singh had a unique and grand entry at every venue with notably him ascending from the top through a cable during his Mumbai show opener.[74]
Yo Yo Watches in Mumbai, 2025
In March 2025, Leo Grewal released "Shopping List" from his album Leonization featuring Singh. Both have collaborated before back in 2012 for the chartbuster "Breakup Party", written and composed by Singh. Then in 2023, for "Can't Find Me" and "Sports Gaddiyan". Leo then worked as lyricist for Glory and featured on "Shamaan De Vele" and "Fuck Them" with Singh.[75]
In June 2025, Singh overtook American rapper and record producer Ye / Kanye West, on Spotify's list of top 10 most followed hip-hop artists globally and subsequently entered the top 10 list at 30 million followers and is currently gaining a record 400,000 new followers on a weekly basis, which is more than any other artist in the hip hop genre on Spotify.[76]
In July 2025, Singh launched his own luxury watch brand titled "Yo Yo Watches" in collaboration with Titan.[77]
Bollywood
Singh received one of his first calls from Bollywood, that being a token of appreciation, when Himesh Reshammiya called him, appreciated his work stating that he belonging to a Gujarati, was surprised to see his son vibing to the former's track "Chaska" which was in Punjabi language, depite the fact that nobody in their family actually knew Punjabi. Singh felt deeply that someone so huge from Bollywood music industry, that being Himesh, understood and appreciated him for his work.[78]
His debut song in Bollywood films was "Shakal Pe Mat Ja", featuring Gagan Sidhu in 2011.[79] In 2011, Singh sung the opening verse on the track "Subha Hone Na De" featuring Mika Singh and Bohemia, for the soundtrack album of the film Desi Boyz. Singh charged Rs. 7 million for a song in the film Mastan. This was the highest amount paid to a singer in Bollywood then, gradually making Singh one of the highest-paid musical artists in Bollywood.[80][81]
In 2012, Singh featured on the track "Lonely" from Akshay Kumar's film Khiladi 786 alongside Himesh Reshammiya who also composed the song.[82] Singh and Akshay have since collaborated many times, the former even crediting Kumar for giving him a chance to work in Bollywood. Following the success of "Angreji Beat" and its usage in the Bollywood film Cocktail, Singh sung the track "Party All Night" in 2013, for Kumar's film Boss. The music video of the track featured Singh, Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha. He also featured on the film's title track "Boss".[83]
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SLAM! The Tour, 2014
In 2013, Singh dropped the track Lungi Dance, alongside Shah Rukh Khan for Khan's film Chennai Express. Khan explained the movie's plot to Singh in order for him to compose a track relevant to the movie. After pitching the track, the song was initially rejected by Khan as he wanted a song similar to the former's track "Angreji Beat". Singh sat in the office with his label director Bhushan Kumar and asked whether he was convinced that the song was going to be a superhit or not to which Bhushan agreed. Singh proposed to shoot the song's music video in Hyderabad and release it as a single. Khan and Rohit Shetty after hearing the news agreed to accept the song for the movie. The track became a blockbuster hit and has since crossed 470+ million views on YouTube.[84]
Celebrity Cricket League, 2014
In January 2014, Singh released "Sunny Sunny" for the movie Yaariyan on T-Series' official YouTube channel. The track has since crossed 450+ million views on YouTube.[85]
In March 2014, Singh released "Party With The Bhoothnath" alongside Amitabh Bachchan for the film Bhoothnath Returns. The track has since crossed 300+ million views on YouTube. Netizens not only enjoyed the track, but also cherished the duo's on screen presence together despite having such different personalities.[86]
Later in the same year, Singh dropped "Aata Majhi Satakli" alongside Ajay Devgn for the film Singham Returns,[87] while also dropping "Manali Trance" with Lil Golu and Neha Kakkar and "Alcoholic" for Akshay Kumar's film The Shaukeens.[88]
In February 2015, he featured on the song "Birthday Bash" with Alfaaz for the film Diliwali Zaalim Girlfriend,[89] followed by songs in films including "Aao Raja" in Gabbar Is Back and "Aankhon Aankhon" in Bhaag Johnny.[90][91]
Mumbai Saga's first song, "Shor Machega", was released on 28 February 2021. It was composed by Singh, with lyrics and vocals by Singh and Hommie Dilliwala.[92]
Acting
Singh made his acting debut with a cameo appearance in Baljit Singh Deo's Punjabi film Mirza - The Untold Story (2012), performing the role of Deesha, a mad gangster. The role won him the PTC Punjabi Film Award for Best Male Debut.
In 2013, Singh appeared in another Punjabi film, this time a comedy by Amit Prasher, Tu Mera 22 Main Tera 22, as Rolly, a childish and spoilt brat, alongside Amrinder Gill. This was Singh's first main role in a film.
In 2014, Singh appeared in his first Hindi film, this time a period thriller film directed by Anant Mahadevan and produced by Vipin Reshammiya, The Xposé, as Kenny Damania, a music director alongside Himesh Reshammiya.
In 2016, Singh starred in the Punjabi action film Zorawar as Agent Zorawar Singh, directed by Vinnil Markan, which was marketed as one of the most expensive Punjabi films to date. The film was critically acclaimed.
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Mafia Mundeer
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Ft; Money Aujla, Singh, Alfaaz, J Star
Mafia Mundeer was a platform pioneered and created by Singh. His initial thought regarding the platform was to incorporate different artists who would come together to sing, perform, record and release their tracks with nobody being legally bounded. The name was coined by Singh and Raj Brar in 2007. Brar was also the person who taught Singh about how to write songs. Singh asked Brar to suggest him a Punjabi name for a non-violent gang like how the youngsters group up together in places like Delhi to which Brar replied with "Mundeer". Singh also took the inspiration from the style of "Mafias" and how mafias act and control the gangsters in the streets. Hence, Mafia Mundeer came into existence.[93]
The platform has since become notable as it included today's huge artists from Delhi such as Raftaar, Ikka (formerly Young Amli), Lil Golu and allegedly Badshah. While it also included Alfaaz, Money Aujla, J Star, Leo Grewal and Ninja from Punjab.[94]
The involvement of Badshah as a member of "Mafia Mundeer" has been a matter of great discussion. Badshah started working with Singh after his track Soda Whiskey turned out to be a hit in 2006. Badshah's stage name at that time was Cool Equal. It was Honey Singh who gave him the name "Badshah" as according to Badshah, Singh thought that he lived like a Badshah i.e. he would wake up, eat or sleep whenever he wanted to and according to his own liking. Hence, the name "Badshah" was given by Singh. Singh and Badshah worked closely since 2006 as Singh was paid by Badshah's father to do music for Badshah's English album. The duo recorded several tracks out of which "Begani Naar", "Khol Botal" and "Dilli Ke Deewane" released in 2007–08.[95] In 2009, the music video for the track "Get Up Jawani" was shot which later became a part of International Villager in 2011. In 2011, "Main Aagaya" was also released featuring Badshah, with Singh's music. Badshah split from Singh and "Mafia Mundeer" in 2012 citing credit related issues.[96]
Badshah claims he, Ikka, Lil Golu, Raftaar and Honey Singh were part of the original Mafia Mundeer. Singh has denied these claims clarifying that Badshah was not a talent picked up from the streets and was instead just a client for him.[97] Singh instead stated that Raftaar, Ikka (formerly Young Amli), Lil Golu indeed were part of Mafia Mundeer as all three of them were chosen by him. In 2009, Singh heard a track on Orkut which was uploaded by The Black Wall Street Desi's, the group which included Raftaar, Ikka and Lil Golu. Singh reached out to the three youngsters on Orkut and invited them to his studio in Okhla, Delhi. Ikka recalls on his track "Interview", that the very first day the three of them met him, Singh showed them the music video of "Get Up Jawani". Ikka further states that he was shocked and mesmerized at what the two had created while comparing it to what the three of them were doing at that time. Singh also spoke to the youngsters, appreciating their talent, while also pointing out their rawness during recordings and subsequent room for improvement and learning. According to Ikka, Singh worked on the three youngsters while also giving them names; "Young Amli" for Ikka, "Raftaar" for Dilin who went by the name OniMaxxx and "Lil Golu" for Sahil who had the nickname Golu. Ikka quit the group after 6 months, being told by Raftaar that he had been kicked out by Honey Singh which was not true. While Lil Golu stood with Singh, Raftaar left the group in 2011, citing credit issues.[98]
Singh has been known to rename and rebrand artists who are near and dear to him, in order to give them a unique identity which is different from the rest who share the same name. Ninja recalled in interviews, that during their first meet for a recording session, Singh gave him the name "Ninja Jatt" after hearing Amit's vocals. He later shortened it to "Ninja" which he still uses as his stage name.[99] Aside from the aforementioned Mafia Mundeer members, Singh also gave the name "Deep Money" to Amandeep, recalling that before the release of the track "Dope Shope" for International Villager album in 2011, Singh asked what stage name would he use. Deep replied with his actual name which was "Amandeep Singh" to which Singh suggested that in the music space, there are many Amandeeps, so there needs to be a name which stands out from the rest. Singh asked the youngster whether he has any nicknames to which he replied that his parents call him "Money". Singh took the "Deep" from Amandeep and added "Money" which was his nickname, hence giving another artist a stage name.[100]
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During this time, several people from Punjab also became a part including Alfaaz, Money Aujla, J Star, Leo Grewal, Ninja. Money Aujla and J Star featured on the tracks "Aashke" and "Gabru" respectively from Singh's International Villager album. Money Aujla also did another track with Singh titled "Siftaan" in 2012 with Alfaaz as the lyricist. Singh and Alfaaz first collabed together for the track "Haye Mera Dil" which featured a rap from Singh, in 2011 from Alfaaz's debut album Alfaaz – The Boy Next Door for which Singh composed the music and also did a feature rap on the tracks "Haye Mera Dil" and "Yaar Bathere" with Alfaaz as the lyricist. Singh also partnered up with Leo Grewal for Leo's debut single "Breakup Party" alongside Singh, which was written and composed by Singh. The group later disbanded.[94][101]
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Personal life
On 23 January 2011, Singh married Shalini Talwar, a longtime girlfriend who Singh met during his tuition days. In November 2023, the couple were divorced after Talwar claimed she had suffered domestic violence. Singh denied the allegations, and Talwar withdrew the allegations after a settlement outside the court.[102] Reportedly, Singh paid over more than 1 crore rupees as alimony to his ex-wife.[103]
Singh later became a devotee of Hindu deity Lord Shiva during his recovery from Bipolar disorder.[104]
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Documentary
In December 2024, a documentary titled Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous was released on Netflix. The documentary received mixed reviews.[105][106][107][108]
Discography
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Perspective
Albums
Singles
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Appearances on film soundtracks
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Production discography
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Filmography
Movies
Television
Awards
- 2010 PTC Punjabi Best Music Director 2010 for the song "Desi Daroo"[119]
- 2011 PTC Punjabi Best Music Director 2011 for album The Folkstar[120][121]
- 2012 PTC Punjabi Best Music Director 2012 for album I.V. (International Villager)[122]
- 2012 BritAsia TV Music Awards 2012 – Best International Act[123]
- 2012 UK Asian Music Awards Best International Album 2012 for Album album I.V. (International Villager)[124]
- 2012 PTC Punjabi Film Award – Best Music Director 2012 for Mirza – The Untold Story[125]
- 2012 PTC Punjabi Film Award – Best Debut (Male) for Mirza – The Untold Story[125]
- 2013 MTV VMAI Awards – Best Indie Artist (male) 2013 for the song "Brown Rang"[126]
- 2013 MTV EMA Awards – Best India Act 2013 for "Bring me Back"[127]
- 2013 BIG Star Entertainment Awards – Singh was co-winner of Most Entertaining Singer (Male), and "Lungi Dance" was nominated as Most Entertaining Song.[128]
- 2014 Zee Cine Awards 2014 for International Icon Male[129]
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Controversies
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Perspective
In the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, the lyrics to some of his songs, which depict supposed misogyny caused controversy.[130] [131] [132] [133] A first information report (FIR) was lodged against Singh for his offensive lyrics, and a group of social activists filed an online petition demanding cancellation of his New Year performance at a Gurgaon hotel.[134] After the campaign, Singh's New Year concert was cancelled by the hotel.[135] Singh denies writing offensive lyrics.[136] Chandigarh High Court dismissed cases against Singh in 2013.[137] [138] [139]
Singh's song "Party All Night" in Akshay Kumar's film Boss was at the centre of a controversy. Producers of the movie had to submit a petition in Delhi High Court claiming that they had 'muted' an alleged abusive word in Singh's song. The court heard a petition filed by lawyer Sanjay Bhatnagar seeking a stay on the film, contending that without the censor board's approval, the song could not be released with such a word. The petitioner had sought a stay on the release of the film until either the word or the song was deleted from the film.[140]
His work has been criticised as being vulgar, promoting misogyny, offensive, promoting alcohol abuse and being a bad influence on youth.[141][142] There have been reactions in print to Singh, such as from Annie Zaidi, who wrote "An Open Letter to Honey Singh" in January 2013,[143] and Sandipan Sharma, who wrote "Thanks for the crassness: An open letter to Honey Singh from a parent" in July 2014.[144]
In 2014, Singh and fellow rapper Raftaar were in dispute over whether Raftaar should receive credit for the lyrics of the song "Yeh Fugly Fugly Kya Hai".[145]
In 2015, a student of St. Stephen's College went viral for a rap that parodied Singh's problematic songs from a feminist perspective.[146][147]
In 2021, Shalini Talwar, Honey Singh's wife filed a case against him in Tis Hazari Court on grounds of domestic violence, physical and mental torture caused by Singh's parents and sister, along with Singh's several extra-martial affairs (adultery). The case was settled by a settlement outside court with Singh supposedly paying over more than 1 crore rupees.[148]
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See also
Notes
- Singh confirmed that his name on passport is Hirdesh Singh while clarifying that Honey is his childhood nickname in The Lallantop interview.[3] While Yo Yo is a slang which Singh picked up from his African-American friends which means "your very own".[4] Wikipedia's introduction uses only the legal name.
References
External links
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