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Indian pop
Pop music produced in India
Pop music produced in India
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Indian pop |
| other_names | Indi-pop • I-pop |
| image | Euphoria perform at the Red Bull SoundClash Concert in Dubai in November 2014.jpg |
| image_size | 260 |
| caption | Euphoria performing at the Red Bull SoundClash concert in Dubai, November 2014 |
| stylistic_origins | |
| cultural_origins | 1960s—1990s, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, United Kingdom |
| subgenres |
India}}
Indian pop music, also known as Indi-pop or I-pop, refers to pop music produced in India that is independent from filmi soundtracks for Indian cinema. Indian pop is closely linked to Bollywood, Tollywood, Pollywood, Kollywood and the Asian Underground scene of the United Kingdom. The variety of South Asian music from different countries are generally known as Desi music.
History
Pop music originated in Pakistan with the playback singer Ahmed Rushdi's song "Ko Ko Korina" in 1966 and has since then been adopted in India, Bangladesh, and lately Sri Lanka, and Nepal as a pioneering influence in their respective pop cultures. Following Rushdi's success, Christian bands specialising in jazz started performing at various night clubs and hotel lobbies in various Southeast Asian cities. They would usually sing either famous American jazz hits or cover Rushdi's songs.
Pop music began gaining popularity across the Indian subcontinent in the early 1980s, with Pakistani singers Nazia and Zoheb Hassan forming a sibling duo whose records, produced by Biddu, sold as many as 60 million copies. Biddu himself previously had success in the Western world, where he was one of the first successful disco producers in the early 1970s, with hits such as the hugely popular "Kung Fu Fighting" (1974).
The term Indipop was first used by the British-Indian fusion band Monsoon in their 1981 EP release on Steve Coe's Indipop Records. Charanjit Singh's Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat (1982) anticipated the sound of acid house music, years before the genre arose in the Chicago house scene of the late 1980s, using the Roland TR-808 drum machine, TB-303 bass synthesizer, and Jupiter-8 synthesizer.
In the late 2000s, Indi-pop music faced increasing competition from filmi music. Major pop singers stopped releasing albums and started singing for movies. Recently, Indian pop has taken an interesting turn with the "remixing" of songs from past Indian movie songs, new beats being added to them.
In 2022, Jaimin Rajani, an Indian singer-songwriter, fused the sitar's Indian classical sound with Western rock sensibilities in "Something Here to Stay," a track from his debut album Cutting Loose.
I-pop is a new and emerging music genre in India, blending Indian sounds with global pop influences. It features a mix of Hindi and regional languages, with themes ranging from romance to social issues. Gaining popularity among youth, I-pop reflects a shift from traditional Bollywood music, driven by independent artists and digital platforms.
Lists
Best-selling albums
| Rank | Year | Album | Artist(s) | Sales (millions) | Ref | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1984 | Young Tarang | Nazia and Zoheb Hassan | 40 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 1995 | Bolo Ta Ra Ra.. | Daler Mehndi | 20 | ||||||||||
| 3 | 1995 | Billo De Ghar | Abrar-ul-Haq | 16 | title=Statistics | url=http://abraronline.com/statistics.asp | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326225201/http://abraronline.com/statistics.asp | archive-date=26 March 2009 | access-date=26 March 2009 | website=Abrar-ul-Haq Official Website}} | |||
| 4 | 1981 | Disco Deewane | Nazia and Zoheb Hassan | 14 | ||||||||||
| 5 | 1998 | "Mundian To Bach Ke" | Panjabi MC | 10 | last=Wartofsky | first=Alona | date=13 July 2003 | title=Rap's Fresh Heir | newspaper=The Washington Post | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A36325-2003Jul10¬Found=true | access-date=23 May 2012}} | |||
| 2002 | Assan Jana Mall-o Mall | Abrar-ul-Haq | 10 | |||||||||||
| 7 | 1999 | Bay Ja Cycle Tay | Abrar-ul-Haq | 6.5 | ||||||||||
| 8 | 1997 | Majajani | Abrar-ul-Haq | 6 | ||||||||||
| Only One | Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mahmood Khan | 6 | last=Ansari | first=Shahab | date=5 July 2017 | title=Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's 'lost tape recordings' found | work=The News International | url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/214544-Nusrat-Fateh-Ali-Khans-lost-tape-recordings-found | quote=The album sold 6 million units worldwide and broke his sound into World music stations across the US.}} | |||||
| 10 | 1992 | Thanda Thanda Pani | Baba Sehgal | 5 | ||||||||||
| 1995 | Made in India | Alisha Chinai | 5 | |||||||||||
| 12 | 1997 | Tum To Thehre Pardesi | Altaf Raja | 4 | ||||||||||
| 13 | 1993 | Tootak Tootak Toothian | Malkit Singh | 2.5 | ||||||||||
| 14 | 1996 | Sunoh | Lucky Ali | 2 | last=Kumar | first=Raj | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wwwX6DWfn3gC&pg=PA18 | title=Essays on Indian Music | date=2003 | publisher=Discovery Publishing House | isbn=9788171417193 | page=18 | language=en}} | |
| 1997 | Vande Mataram | A. R. Rahman (featuring Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) | 2 | |||||||||||
| 1998 | Sifar | Lucky Ali | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2004 | Me Against Myself | Jay Sean | 2 | |||||||||||
| 18 | 2004 | Nachan Main Audhay Naal | Abrar-ul-Haq | 1.8 | ||||||||||
| 19 | 1999 | Deewana | Sonu Nigam | 1.2 | last=Khatib | first=Salma | date=22 September 2000 | title=Indi-pop: Down but Not Out | url=http://www.screenindia.com/old/20000922/msw.htm | url-status=bot: unknown | journal=Screen | archive-url=https://archive.today/20080302212327/http://www.screenindia.com/old/20000922/msw.htm | archive-date=2 March 2008 | access-date=5 October 2013}} |
| Oye Hoye | Harbhajan Mann | 1.2 | ||||||||||||
| 20 | 1996 | Naujawan | Shaan | 1 |
Music video streams
| Year | Song | Artist(s) | Language | YouTube streams (millions) | Ref | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | "Butta Bomma" | Thaman S, Armaan Malik | Telugu | 820 | last=Aditya Music India | date=Feb 25, 2020 | title=#AlaVaikunthapurramuloo - ButtaBomma Full Video Song (4K) Allu Arjun Thaman S Armaan Malik - YouTube | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mDCVzruYzQ | access-date=2021-02-22 | website=YouTube}} |
| "Brown Munde" | AP Dhillon, Gurinder Gill, Shinda Kahlon | Punjabi | 605 | |||||||
| 2019 | "Rowdy Baby" | Yuvan Shankar Raja, Dhanush | Tamil | 1400 | title=Maari 2 - Rowdy Baby (Video Song) Dhanush, Sai Pallavi Yuvan Shankar Raja Balaji Mohan | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6Q7c9RyMzk | language=en | access-date=2021-02-22}} | ||
| 2017 | "Jai Deva Ganesha" | Abhay Jain | Hindi | 29 | ||||||
| "Lahore" | Guru Randhawa | Punjabi | 750 | title=T-Series | url=https://www.youtube.com/user/tseries/videos?flow=list&sort=p | access-date=19 April 2019 | website=YouTube | publisher=T-Series}} | ||
| "Bom Diggy" | Zack Knight and Jasmin Walia | Punjabi | ||||||||
| "High Rated Gabru" | Guru Randhawa | Punjabi | 1168 | |||||||
| 2014 | "Zaroori Tha" | Rahat Fateh Ali Khan | Hindi | 1427 | ||||||
| 2015 | "Dheere Dheere" | Yo Yo Honey Singh | Hindi | 625 | ||||||
| 2011 | "Why This Kolaveri Di" | Dhanush and Anirudh Ravichander | Tamil | 227 |
References
References
- Bora, Pranab. (15 November 1996). "Channel V and MTV create never-before market for global music". [[India Today]].
- Paracha, Nadeem F. (December 13, 2004). "Socio-political History of Modern Pop Music in Pakistan". [[Chowk.com.
- (April 11, 2012). "29th death anniversary of Ahmed Rushdi today". [[Duniya News]].
- (12 April 2010). "Remembering Ahmed Rushdi".
- (2008). "Asian Communication Handbook 2008". AMIC.
- (18 November 2005). "NRI TV presenter gets Nazia Hassan Award".
- Ellis, James. (27 October 2009). "Biddu".
- (1978). "The Listener, Volumes 100–101". BBC.
- Shapiro, Peter. (2006). "Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco". [[Macmillan Publishers]].
- [http://www.ladyslipper.org/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=53&upc=73145265272 Ladyslipper Music - Monsoon Featuring Sheila Chandra]
- "Discography".
- Rauscher, William. (12 May 2010). "Charanjit Singh – Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat". [[Resident Advisor]].
- Geeta Dayal. (6 April 2010). "Further thoughts on '10 Ragas to a Disco Beat'". The Original Soundtrack.
- Sinha, Ekta. (2025-11-21). "Meet The New Generation Of Indian Pop Artists Who Took Over 2025".
- (2025-05-04). "‘Indian music is a soft power with potential to woo global audiences’". The Times of India.
- "Young Tarang".
- Sheikh, M. A.. (2012). "Who's Who: Music in Pakistan". [[Xlibris Corporation]].
- "Daler Mehndi". [[In.com]].
- (2014). "More Than Bollywood: Studies in Indian Popular Music". [[Oxford University Press]].
- "Statistics".
- Lodhi, Adnan. (29 April 2016). "Abrar Ul Haq is back with a bangra". [[The Express Tribune]].
- Tunda, Franz. (19 September 2010). ""Disco Deewane", Nazia Hassan with Biddu and His Orchestra".
- Wartofsky, Alona. (13 July 2003). "Rap's Fresh Heir". [[The Washington Post]].
- Ansari, Shahab. (5 July 2017). "Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's 'lost tape recordings' found". [[The News International]].
- (2 October 2010). "Pop no more". [[Hindustan Times]].
- Jeffries, Stan. (2003). "Encyclopedia of World Pop Music, 1980-2001". [[Greenwood Press]].
- (1999). "Limca Book of Records". Bisleri Beverages Limited.
- Sabharwal, Gopa. (2017). "India Since 1947: The Independent Years". [[Penguin Group]].
- Kumar, Raj. (2003). "Essays on Indian Music". Discovery Publishing House.
- Mathai, Kamini. (2009). "A. R. Rahman: The Musical Storm". [[Penguin Group]].
- Bill Lamb. "Jay Sean". [[About.com]].
- Khatib, Salma. (22 September 2000). "Indi-pop: Down but Not Out". [[Screen (magazine).
- (19 February 2000). "Punjabi pop hits the jackpot!". [[The Tribune (Chandigarh).
- Aditya Music India. (Feb 25, 2020). "#AlaVaikunthapurramuloo - ButtaBomma Full Video Song (4K) {{!}} Allu Arjun {{!}} Thaman S {{!}} Armaan Malik - YouTube".
- {{YouTube. VNs_cCtdbPc. Brown Munde - Ap Dhillon {{! Gurinder Gill {{! Shinda Kahlon {{! Gminxr
- "Maari 2 - Rowdy Baby (Video Song) {{!}} Dhanush, Sai Pallavi {{!}} Yuvan Shankar Raja {{!}} Balaji Mohan".
- {{YouTube. RSSxcegAyWI. Jai Deva Ganesha {{! Abhay Jain {{! New Ganpati Song {{! Ganpati DJ Song
- "T-Series". [[T-Series (company).
- {{YouTube. lEgTtQFMjWw. Bom Diggy {{! Zack Knight {{! Jasmin Walia (Official Music Video)
- {{YouTube. yIIGQB6EMAM. Bom Diggy Diggy (VIDEO) {{! Zack Knight {{! Jasmin Walia {{! Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety
- {{YouTube. g7PP_gkcdgE. Bom Diggy Diggy (Video Song/Lyric Video)
- {{YouTube. hjWf8A0YNSE. Guru Randhawa: High Rated Gabru Official Song {{! DirectorGifty {{! Bhushan Kumar {{! T-Series
- {{YouTube. 6-n_szx2XRE. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - Zaroori Tha
- Jackson, Joe. (2011-11-30). "Nonsensical, Semi-English Music Video Goes Viral in India".
- Singh, Renu. (Dec 10, 2011). "B-schools hit by the Dhanush's Kolaveri di attack - Times of India".
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