Harshdeep Kaur (born 16 December 1986) is an Indian playback singer known for her Bollywood Hindi, Punjabi,English and Sufi songs. She is popularly known as "Sufi Ki Sultana" because of her soulful Sufi renditions. After winning titles in two reality shows, Kaur established herself as a lead singer in
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
soundtracks. Kaur was sixteen years old when she released her first Bollywood song, "Sajna Mai Haari".
Kaur has recorded songs for film music in multiple Indian languages, including
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
Indian cinema
The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...
. She has worked with leading music directors(including A R Rahman,
Pritam Chakraborty
Pritam Chakraborty (born 14 June 1971), also known mononymously as Pritam, is an Indian composer, instrumentalist, guitarist, and singer. After working as an ad jingles composer, he debuted as a co-composer in the 2001 Hindi film Tere Liye (fi ...
,
Vishal–Shekhar
Vishal–Shekhar are an Indian music composer, production, singing and songwriting duo consisting of Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani from Mumbai. Known predominantly for their work as music composers in Hindi cinema, Vishal–Shekhar have a ...
,
Salim–Sulaiman
Salim–Sulaiman is an Indian score composer duo consisting of siblings Salim Merchant and Sulaiman Merchant. The duo compose music predominantly for Hindi films.
Life and early career
Salim–Sulaiman's ancestral town is Mundra, Kutch, Gujar ...
,
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy () is an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. They have composed music for over 50 soundtracks across five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and English. Amongst t ...
,
Amit Trivedi
Amit Trivedi (born 8 April 1979) is an Indian music director, singer and a lyricist who works primarily in Hindi films. After working as a theatre and jingle composer and composing for non-film albums, he debuted as a film composer in the 2008 ...
,
Shantanu Moitra
Shantanu Moitra (born 22 January 1968) is an Indian score composer, musician and pianist who has composed songs for the Hindi film industry, and is most known for his scores in the films '' Parineeta'' (2005), ''Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'' (200 ...
,
Tanishk Bagchi
Tanishk Bagchi (born 23 November 1980) is an Indian music producer, composer, singer and lyricist in Hindi films. He is known for tracks like "Bolna", "Ve Maahi", "Aankh Maarey"(recreated), " Dilbar" (recreated), "Jehda Nasha" (recreated) and "L ...
,
Himesh Reshammiya
Himesh Reshammiya (born 23 July 1973) is an Indian playback singer, music director, songwriter, film & music producer and actor in Hindi cinema. He started his career as music director in the film '' Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya'' in 1998 and made ...
,
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Sanjay Leela Bhansali (; born 24 February 1963) is an Indian filmmaker, director, screenwriter, and music composer who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards, ten Filmfar ...
,
Sohail Sen
Sohail Sen (born 24 June 1984) is an Indian film composer, musician and singer who works in Bollywood. He debuted as a film composer with the Hindi film ''Sirf'' (2008), which went majorly
unnoticed. Later, he gained fame as a Hindi film compose ...
. She's one of the very few Indian singers to have sung for a Hollywood film. Her track R.I.P., composed by
AR Rahman
Ar-Rahman ( ar, الرحمان, ; The Merciful) is the 55th Chapter (''Surah'') of the Qur'an, with 78 verses ('' āyāt'').
The title of the surah, Ar-Rahman, appears in verse 1 and means "The Most Beneficent". The divine appellation "ar-R ...
, was a part of Oscar-winning director
Danny Boyle
Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including ''Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', '' 28 Days Later'', '' Su ...
's film ''
127 Hours
''127 Hours'' is a 2010 biographical psychological survival drama film co-written, produced and directed by Danny Boyle. The film stars James Franco, Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn and Clémence Poésy. In the film, canyoneer Aron Ralston must find a ...
''. She has also sung a few songs for the Pakistani film and television industry.
Some of her popular songs include ''Katiya Karun'' from Rockstar; Dilbaro from Raazi; ''Heer'' from Jab Tak Hai Jaan; ''Ik Onkar'' from Rang De Basanti; ''
Zaalima
"Zaalima" () is an Indian Hindi song from the Bollywood film '' Raees''. The song is written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, composed by JAM8 and sung by Arijit Singh and Harshdeep Kaur. The music video of the song is picturised upon actors Shah Ruk ...
'' from Raees; ''Nachde Ne Saare'' from Baar Baar Dekho; ''Bari Barsi'' from Band Baaja Baaraat; ''Kabira'' from Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani; ''Jugni ji'' from Cocktail; and ''Twist Kamariya'' from Bareilly ki Barfi.
In 2019, Kaur received the
IIFA Award for Best Female Playback Singer
The IIFA Award for Best Female Playback Singer given to chosen by the viewers and the winner is announced at the ceremony. The first recipient of the award was Alka Yagnik, who was honoured at the 1st IIFA Awards in the year 2000. The most re ...
award at the 20th IIFA Awards for the song "Dilbaro" from the film ''Raazi.'' She also won the Star Screen Award, Zee Cine Award for the same song Dilbaro.
Early life
Kaur was born on 16 December 1986 to Savinder Singh in Delhi. She is from a musical background. Her father, Savinder Singh, owns a factory of musical instruments. She attended Springdales School in New Delhi. Apart from studying, she started learning music at the age of six. She learned
Indian classical music
Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...
from Mr. Tejpal Singh, popularly known as the Singh Brothers, and
Western classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
from George Pullinkala, Delhi Music Theatre. Later, at the age of twelve, to explore the world of music, she joined the Delhi School of Music to learn piano.
Career
Television
Kaur won the singing competition '' MTV’s Video Ga Ga'' in 2003. In 2008 she won '' Junoon – Kuch Kar Dikhaane Ka''. She competed from the Sufi Ki Sultan genre with
Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan ( Punjabi, ; born 9 December 1974) is a Pakistani Singer, primarily of Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music. Khan is one of the biggest and highest paid singers in Pakistan. He is the nephew of Nusrat Fateh Ali Kh ...
as her mentor.
She sang the title song of TV series '' Bani – Ishq Da Kalma'' in 2013. Kaur is the only singer who has appeared on all four seasons of
Coke Studio (India)
Coke Studio India, officially titled Coke Studio @ MTV is an Indian television programme, which features live studio-recorded music performances by various artists. Coke Studio combines myriad musical influences, from Hindustani, Carnatic an ...
from 2011 to 2015.
Harshdeep Kaur became a "Coach" on
StarPlus
StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of Soap opera, family dramas, ...
Adnan Sami
Adnan Sami Khan (born 15 August 1971) is an Indian singer, musician, music composer and pianist. He performs Indian and Western music, including for Hindi, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil movies. He has been awarded with Padma Shri (India's fourth hi ...
,
Kanika Kapoor
Kanika Kapoor (born 21 August 1978) is an Indian singer. She was born and raised in Lucknow. In 2012, she relocated to Mumbai to become a singer. Kapoor's first song "Jugni Ji" (2012) was for a music videowhich became a commercial success. In 2 ...
and
Armaan Malik
Armaan Malik (born 22 July 1995) is an Indian singer, songwriter, record producer, voice-over, performer, dancer and actor. He is known for his singing in multiple languages, including Hindi, Telugu, English, Bengali, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, G ...
as the other coaches and by "Super Guru"
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
.
Personal life
Kaur married her childhood friend Mankeet Singh in a traditional Sikh wedding ceremony on 20 March 2015 in Mumbai. The couple's first child, Hunar Singh was born on 2 March 2021.
Television appearances
*
Coke Studio (India)
Coke Studio India, officially titled Coke Studio @ MTV is an Indian television programme, which features live studio-recorded music performances by various artists. Coke Studio combines myriad musical influences, from Hindustani, Carnatic an ...
on MTV :
**Season 1 – Hoo (Music recreated by Leslie Lewis) in 2011
**Season 2 – Nirmohiya (Music by Amit Trivedi) & Hey Ri (Music by Hitesh Sonik) in 2012
**Season 3 – Dinae Dinae with Papon in 2013
**Season 4 – Teriyan Tu Jaane (Amit Trivedi) in 2015
*As a judge on ''The Voice'', a singing reality show on
StarPlus
StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of Soap opera, family dramas, ...
in 2019.Her team won the reality show.
*The opening ceremony of
IPL
The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...
in 2017.
*Special performance at the
Global Indian Music Academy Awards
The Global Indian Music Academy Awards (also known as the GiMA Awards) are presented annually by Global Indian Music Academy to honour and recognise Music of India, Indian music. The nominees are voted by GiMA's jury, who have some of the most ...
in 2016.
*
MTV Unplugged
''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
: Aaj din Chadeya with
Pritam
Pritam Chakraborty (born 14 June 1971), also known mononymously as Pritam, is an Indian composer, instrumentalist, guitarist, and singer. After working as an ad jingles composer, he debuted as a co-composer in the 2001 Hindi film Tere Liye. A ...
Concerts and tours
2013
* In April she headlined the Southbank Centre Music Festival in London, alongside Soul/Bollywood singer Ash King.
* In August she headlined the Mosaic Festival held in Mississauga, Canada.
* In September she performed at the London Mela in Gunnersbury Park.
2014
* AAS Concert at Purana Qila with Attaullah Khan.
* MTV Unplugged Concert with Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan
* Live in Concert with Pritam at Wembley Arena, London, Dubai & Singapore
* Infinite Love Concerts with AR Rahman in Singapore and Malaysia
2015
* Performed with her band at the Stardust Concert held at the Royal Festival Hall in London in September 2015
2016
* Performed at the Heart of Asia Conference held in Amritsar in the presence of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
and other Asian leaders in 2016
* Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi with
Shekhar Ravjiani
Shekhar Ravjiani is an Indian singer, music director, record producer and actor. He is one half of the Bollywood composing/producing duo Vishal–Shekhar, since 1999.
Personal life
Ravjiani was born in a Kutchi family. He lives in South Mumbai ...
at The Esplanade in Singapore in September 2016
2017
* First Indian singer to become a headliner at the Manchester International Festival in June 2017.
* Headlined "Sounds Of Sufi" Concert at the Esplanade in Singapore in November 2017
* Leading performers of the
AR Rahman
Ar-Rahman ( ar, الرحمان, ; The Merciful) is the 55th Chapter (''Surah'') of the Qur'an, with 78 verses ('' āyāt'').
The title of the surah, Ar-Rahman, appears in verse 1 and means "The Most Beneficent". The divine appellation "ar-R ...
Encore tour in India 2017
* Her Solo UK tour in March 2018 was a huge success and garnered a lot of appreciation from the music industry and her fans.
* She has performed with the Legendary Punjabi singer "Gurdas Mann" in 2015 & 2018 in New Delhi.
2018
* She was the leading performer on Pritam's First-ever North American Tour in April 2018.
* She opened for
Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
' on his India tour on 12 October(Mumbai) and 14 October (Delhi) in 2018.
*Performed for Ranveer Singh & Deepika Padukone's Wedding in Lake Como, Italy.
2019
*Headlining performer at the "Jashn-e-Rekhta" Festival held in Delhi.
*Headlined Konark Festival in Orissa
Discography
Film songs
Other songs
Awards and nominations
Reality competitions
*Winner, MTV Video GaGa Contest (2001)
*Winner, NDTV Imagine's JUNOON Kuchh Kar Dikhane Ka (2008)
*Winner, Aao Jhoomein Gaayein (SAB TV)
*Winner, SAREGAMA Punjabi (Alpha TV)