About The People We Know 3, By Vishesh Oberoi

Welcome Ladies And Gentlemen, Namaste And Salaam. Welcome back to About The People We Know.

The Special Person we are going to talk about today is

The Often Called Elvis Presley Of India

Sonu Nigam

He was born in Faridabad. His family moved to Delhi when he was still young. He attended J.D. Tytler School. His father Agam Kumar is a singer too. He has two younger sisters. He started singing at the age of four-and-a-half years singing a Mohammad Rafi number at a concert where his father was due to perform. He was discovered and promoted by Gulshan Kumar of T-Series, who gave him his first major recording opportunities. He moved from Delhi to Mumbai to seriously pursue his singing career, at the age of 19.

He got his big break as a playback singer in Gulshan Kumar's film Aaja Meri Jaan and then "Accha Sila Diya Tune" (also sung in Gujarati) from Bewafa Sanam (1996). At this time, he also started hosting Sa Re Ga Ma, a television singing talent competition that became one of the most popular shows on Indian television. Thereafter, the offers poured in, albeit slowly at first. He shot to fame with the song "Sandese Aate Hai" from Border (1997). In the initial stages, he was type-cast as a Rafi-sound-alike. The image was transformed after his brilliant rendition of "Yeh Dil, Deewana" in the film Pardes (1997). Since then, he has created a unique trademark style of his own.

Over the years, Sonu Nigam has become a major force in the music industry. He has released a number of pop albums including Mausam, Sapnay Ki Baat, Kismat, Deewana, Jaan, Yaad, Chanda Ki Doli and Colours of Love, as well as a Punjabi album 'Pyar'. Besides SaReGaMa, he has also hosted Kisme Kitna Hai Dum and been a judge on Indian Idol. Sonu has also acted in a couple of films as well, namely Jaani Dushmaan alongside Sunny Deol, Manisha Koirala and Akshay Kumar as well as other actors, Kash Aap Hamare Hote where he plays the lead opposite Juhi Babbar daughter of Raj Babbar who too is in this movie and lastly Love in Nepal with Flora Saini and Sweta Keswani, where he plays the lead again but opposite Flora. However it is to be said that all three films have done terribly at the box-office. Recently though, he started hosting his own radio programme called Life Ki Dhun With Sonu Nigam on Radiocity 91 FM, where he has had the opportunity of interviewing industry greats, including the legendary Lata Mangeshkar. This radio show is available on the net. He is due to release a semi-classical album as well as an English album in the near future.

Sonu has sung playback for countless Hindi movies. As well, he is a popular playback singer for many regional movies, singing effortlessly in many languages from Punjabi to Bengali to Telugu, and many more.He is very famous in South Indian movies especially in Kannada.

Sonu will be touring North America in May/June 2007 in a star-studded show with singing legend Asha Bhonsle, as well as current singing sensations Kunal Ganjawala and Kailash Kher
For Me, Sonu Nigam is classified as the best of the best or as i like to call it "Perfection Personified" Says Vishesh Oberoi