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Kishore Kumar threatened to quit playback singing in the early 1980s, being disillusioned by the quality of songs he was getting. Lata Mangeshkar decided to curb her assignments from the mid-1980s and she was barely recording, especially from the millennium’s second decade.
But no one actually announced that he was quitting the lucrative, fulfilling and fan-suffused arena of playback singing. Until Arijit Singh, who has quit “playback” at his peak.
Taking to his Instagram handle, he shared an emotional note with his fans: “Hello, Happy new year to all. I want to thank you all for giving me so much of love all these years as listeners. I am happy to announce that I am not gonna be taking any new assignments as a playback vocalist from now on. I am calling it off. It was a wonderful journey.”
The announcement came as a shock to his fans. A user commented, “Kehdo account hacked hai (Tell us your account has been hacked).” Singh is the undisputed top singer in films today, after the legendary big names in the last 30 years.
In a move that has sent shockwaves across the music industry, he added, “It was a wonderful journey. God has been really kind to me. I am fan of good music and in future will be learning more and do more on my own as a small little artiste. Thanks again for all your support. I still have to finish some pending commitments, will finish them. So, you might get some releases this year. Just to be clear that I won’t stop making music.”
Singh’s career has spanned numerous acclaimed film soundtracks and collaborations, earning recognition across the music industries in Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Assamese and South Indian languages in over 700 songs.
The announcement came days after the release of Maatrubhumi, his latest song from Battle of Galwan, composed by Himesh Reshammiya. Singh does not operate an official X account, and the message was shared from a private handle known to be used by him. While he did not spell out the reasons behind this decision, he has left behind the option of “Who now?” as the playback arena has always been strobe-lit by market leaders like Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, Abhijeet, Sonu Nigam, KK and Shaan.
Singh shot to overnight fame with Tum hi ho from Aashiqui 2 (2013), a song that cemented his status as the voice of a new generation of romance. To be completely impartial, he began the unhealthy trend of pronouncing the Hindi Tasound as Th, a trend vicariously picked up by mimics as well as ‘trendy’ music makers and the filmmakers. Arijit has the maximum number of mimics among newer voices.
His other blockbusters include Ae dil hai mushkil (the film’s title-track), Kesariya (Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani), among many others for composers Pritam, Himesh Reshammiya, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Vishal-Shekhar, Amit Trivedi, Mithoon, Amaal Malik and more. A standout song remains Aayat from Bajirao Mastani composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansalu.
Singh’s career has been marked by critical acclaim as well as popular success. He won two National Film Awards for Best Male Playback Singer — for Binte dil from Padmaavat (2018) at the 66th National Film Awards, and for Kesariyafrom Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva (2022) at the 70th edition.
In January 2025, he was also conferred the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honor, for his contribution to Indian music.
Born on April 25, 1987, in Jiaganj, West Bengal, to Kakkar Singh, a Punjabi Sikh father, and Aditi, a Bengali Hindu mother, he began by taking part in a reality television show (he was one of top six contestants in reality-singing series, Fame Gurukul, in 2005) and gained a fan following. Singh married Koel Roy, a childhood friend, shortly after both divorced their former partners. He has a stepdaughter from Koel’s first marriage and two sons.
He subsequently worked as a music programmer and producer with composers including Pritam and made his singing debut under Mithoon in Phoir mohabbat karne laga hai tu in Murder 2 (2011). In 2021, he composed music for a film for the first time in Pagglait.
Many credited his songs for becoming the soundtrack to their most personal moments, from heartbreak and healing to love and hope. Composer-singer Amaal Mallik, who has collaborated with Arijit on several tracks, shared a heartfelt message expressing both confusion and respect for the decision. He noted that film music would “never be the same” without Arijit Singh, while adding that he feels grateful to have been born in the singer’s era.
The only controversy in his career was his spat with actor Salman Khan due to his real-time remark on stage at an awards show some years ago. The star refused to have his voice as a playback for him until they patched up with Tiger 3 and Sikander. The Battle of Galwan song is his latest for the superstar.
Spotify declared Singh the most-streamed Indian artiste for seven consecutive years (2019–2025). As of January 2026, he is their most-followed artiste globally on Spotify, with over 169 million followers.
He has made investments in real estate as well. Singh reportedly owns four luxury apartments in Mumbai’s Versova, each valued at around Rs 9 crore. His car collection includes a Range Rover Vogue, a Hummer H3, and a Mercedes-Benz. He is valued at Rs. 414 crores as per a Times of India report.
