Sonu Nigam was born on 30th July 1973 to Mr.Agam Kumar Nigam and Mrs. Shobha Nigam in the city of Faridabad, Haryana. Sonu performed on stage for the very first time at the age of three and a half when he joined his father on stage to sing Late Mohammed Rafis popular song Kya Hua Tera Vaada from the film Hum Kisise Kam Nahin. Then on, he accompanied his father for his various singing assignments. He spent his childhood in Delhi and did his schooling at J.D.Tyler School,Delhi and his graduation from Delhi University. He always gave due importance to academics and was a topper at school. He worked as a child artist for several movies like Pyaara Dushman, Kaamchor, Ustaadi Ustad Ke, Hum se hai Zamaana, Taqdeer and Betaab between 1980 and 1983. In his teenage years, he participated in several music competitions and won them all. During one of these competitions he was judged by the renowned music director of Bollywood, Anu Malik who pronounced him the winner and also gave a word of encouragement to work towards being a playback singer in Bollywood. He moved to Mumbai with his father on 23rd September 1991 to begin his singing career. His initial years in Mumbai proved to be a struggle, and he started by singing covers of Mohammad Rafi songs, mainly for the Rafi Ki Yaadein album series. These albums contributed to his label for some time as a Rafi clone.His first movie song as a playback singer was in the movie,Janum(1990), which was never officially released. He got a break as a playback singer in Gulshan Kumars movie, Aaja Meri Jaan(1993). He then sang the song,Accha Sila Diya, for the album,Bewafa Sanam(1995), which went on to become a hit and gave him the recognition as an established playback singer.
The rest is history. Yeh Dil Deewana from Pardes and Sandese Aate Hai from Border catapulted Sonu to fame, and soon he became the most sought after playback singer in Bollywood with innumerable hits under his belt. He received the prestigious National Award in 2003 for his song Kal Ho Na Ho. Even on the indipop front, he delivered one chartbuster after another over the years with his album Deewana breaking all records in 1998. Sa Re Ga Ma, the singing talent show on Television, which Sonu hosted for a few years made him a loved face in all households. Today, Sonu is an international icon. From being the best Indian live act to being a celebrity RJ to hosting and judging TV shows to acting in films to walking the ramp to featuring on the cover of magazines to collaborating with some of the biggest International musicians, hez done it all. He has sung in every genre and in almost every language. He has represented the country at several prestigious forums and inspired people al over the world with his talent and charm. For the man who gives full justice to his talent with sheer dedication and hard work, we say, this journey has just begun!
