Hirdesh "Honey" Singh (born 15 March 1983), known professionally as Yo Yo Honey Singh, is an Indian singer and music producer. He commenced his career as a hip-hopmusic producer in 2003, working as a session and recording artist within the underground music scene until the release of his debut studio album, International Villager.
Honey Singh was born on 15 March 1983 to a Sikh family in Hoshiarpur, Punjab. He studied at the Guru Nanak Public School in New Delhi.[2] Given his interest in music, Singh travelled to the United Kingdom to study at the Trinity College Of Music. After graduating, he moved to Delhi in pursuit of better career opportunities. He began his career as a recording artist and a Bhangra music producer. His first claim to fame came when he received the ETC award for Best Sound for his song, Glassi in 2006.
Singh, known for his fusion of Punjabi and Hindi music, prefers to sing in his native languages rather than in English.[3] He made his mark on the music scene with the release of his Punjabi album International Villager on 11 November 2011. The album's track "Gabru", featuring J-Star, quickly climbed to the top of the Asian music charts, including the official BBC Asian charts.
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.[4] His collaborations with prominent artists, like Diljit Dosanjh, further cemented his position. Their song "Lak 28 Kudi Da" reached number one on the BBC Asian Download Charts in May 2011, serving as a promotional track for Dosanjh's film Lion of Punjab.
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.[5] 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 the success of "Brown Rang", Singh released "Angreji Beat" in collaboration with Gippy Grewal. This track further solidified his presence in the music industry, becoming a party anthem across India. In 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. In 2014, Singh released his second album, Desi Kalakaar, with the eponymous title track and "Love Dose".[6] The title track featured Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha in its accompanying music video. He released the song "Birthday Bash" in February 2015.
In 2024, Singh launched his album Glory, featuring 18 tracks, including "Millionaire", "Rap God", and "Jatt Mehkma". This album marked a significant milestone in his career and received widespread acclaim, with multiple songs trending on music streaming platforms.[7] In December 2024, a documentary titled Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous was released on Netflix. The documentary received mixed reviews.[8][9][10][11]
In 2025, Honey Singh announced his 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.[12]
Bollywood
His debut song in Bollywood films was "Shakal Pe Mat Ja", featuring Gagan Sidhu. Singh charged Rs.7million for a song in the film Mastan. This was the largest amount paid to a singer in Bollywood then, making Singh one of the highest-paid musical artists in Bollywood.[13][14]
In February 2015 he released the songs "Birthday Bash" with Alfaaz, followed by songs in films including Gabbar Is Back and Bhaag Johnny.[citation needed]
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.[15]
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. The following year, 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 2016, Singh starred in the Punjabi action film Zorawar, directed by Vinnil Markan, which was marketed as one of the most expensive Punjabi films to date. The film was critically acclaimed.
Personal life
On 23 January 2011, Singh married Shalini Talwar, a longtime friend. In November 2023, the couple were divorced after Talwar claimed she had suffered domestic violence. Singh denied the allegations, and Talwar withdrew them after the divorce was settled.[16]
2013 MTV VMAI Awards– Best Indie Artist (male) 2013 for the song "Brown Rang"[34]
2013 MTV EMA Awards– Best India Act 2013 for "Bring me Back"[35]
2013 BIG Star Entertainment Awards– Singh was co-winner of Most Entertaining Singer (Male), and "Lungi Dance" was nominated as Most Entertaining Song.[36]
Singh's work has been criticised as being vulgar, misogynist, offensive and racist promoting violence against women along with promoting alcohol abuse and drugs and a bad influence on youth.[38][39] There have been reactions in print to Singh, such as from Annie Zaidi, who wrote "An Open Letter to Honey Singh" in January 2013,[40] and Sandipan Sharma, who wrote "Thanks for the crassness: An open letter to Honey Singh from a parent" in July 2014.[41]
In the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, a song "Main Hoon Balatkari" (lit.'I Am A Rapist') became popular in the city, its lyrics glorifying rape. The song was attributed to Singh,[42] although he denied having sung[43] or written the song.[44] A first information report (FIR) was lodged against Singh for the song's lyrics, and a group of social activists filed an online petition demanding cancellation of his New Year performance at a Gurgaon hotel.[45] After the campaign, Singh's New Year concert was cancelled by the hotel.[43] A case was dismissed by Chandigarh High Court who found no proof that Singh was its singer.[46]
Singh's song "Party All Night" in Akshay Kumar's 2013 film Boss was at the centre of a controversy for a "vulgar" word in its lyrics, with a petition filed to stay the release of the film until the word or the song was removed. Producers of the movie submitted a petition in Delhi High Court claiming to have "muted" the word. Singh denied that the word was vulgar, saying that people "must have heard it wrongly".[47]
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".[48]
In 2015, a student of St. Stephen's College went viral for a rap that parodied Singh's problematic songs from a feminist perspective.[49][50]
In 2021, Honey Singh's wife Shalini Talwar filed a case against him in Tis Hazari Court for domestic violence.[51] Talwar accused Singh of "numerous incidents of physical abuse, verbal, mental abuse and emotional abuse", and accused him of adultery.[49]
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