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Indian pop

Pop music produced in India


Pop music produced in India

FieldValue
nameIndian pop
other_namesIndi-pop • I-pop
imageEuphoria perform at the Red Bull SoundClash Concert in Dubai in November 2014.jpg
image_size260
captionEuphoria performing at the Red Bull SoundClash concert in Dubai, November 2014
stylistic_origins
cultural_origins1960s—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

RankYearAlbumArtist(s)Sales (millions)Ref
11984Young TarangNazia and Zoheb Hassan40
21995Bolo Ta Ra Ra..Daler Mehndi20
31995Billo De GharAbrar-ul-Haq16title=Statisticsurl=http://abraronline.com/statistics.aspurl-status=deadarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326225201/http://abraronline.com/statistics.asparchive-date=26 March 2009access-date=26 March 2009website=Abrar-ul-Haq Official Website}}
41981Disco DeewaneNazia and Zoheb Hassan14
51998"Mundian To Bach Ke"Panjabi MC10last=Wartofskyfirst=Alonadate=13 July 2003title=Rap's Fresh Heirnewspaper=The Washington Posturl=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A36325-2003Jul10&notFound=trueaccess-date=23 May 2012}}
2002Assan Jana Mall-o MallAbrar-ul-Haq10
71999Bay Ja Cycle TayAbrar-ul-Haq6.5
81997MajajaniAbrar-ul-Haq6
Only OneNusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mahmood Khan6last=Ansarifirst=Shahabdate=5 July 2017title=Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's 'lost tape recordings' foundwork=The News Internationalurl=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/214544-Nusrat-Fateh-Ali-Khans-lost-tape-recordings-foundquote=The album sold 6 million units worldwide and broke his sound into World music stations across the US.}}
101992Thanda Thanda PaniBaba Sehgal5
1995Made in IndiaAlisha Chinai5
121997Tum To Thehre PardesiAltaf Raja4
131993Tootak Tootak ToothianMalkit Singh2.5
141996SunohLucky Ali2last=Kumarfirst=Rajurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=wwwX6DWfn3gC&pg=PA18title=Essays on Indian Musicdate=2003publisher=Discovery Publishing Houseisbn=9788171417193page=18language=en}}
1997Vande MataramA. R. Rahman (featuring Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan)2
1998SifarLucky Ali2
2004Me Against MyselfJay Sean2
182004Nachan Main Audhay NaalAbrar-ul-Haq1.8
191999DeewanaSonu Nigam1.2last=Khatibfirst=Salmadate=22 September 2000title=Indi-pop: Down but Not Outurl=http://www.screenindia.com/old/20000922/msw.htmurl-status=bot: unknownjournal=Screenarchive-url=https://archive.today/20080302212327/http://www.screenindia.com/old/20000922/msw.htmarchive-date=2 March 2008access-date=5 October 2013}}
Oye HoyeHarbhajan Mann1.2
201996NaujawanShaan1

Music video streams

YearSongArtist(s)LanguageYouTube streams (millions)Ref
2020"Butta Bomma"Thaman S, Armaan MalikTelugu820last=Aditya Music Indiadate=Feb 25, 2020title=#AlaVaikunthapurramuloo - ButtaBomma Full Video Song (4K) Allu Arjun Thaman S Armaan Malik - YouTubeurl=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mDCVzruYzQaccess-date=2021-02-22website=YouTube}}
"Brown Munde"AP Dhillon, Gurinder Gill, Shinda KahlonPunjabi605
2019"Rowdy Baby"Yuvan Shankar Raja, DhanushTamil1400title=Maari 2 - Rowdy Baby (Video Song) Dhanush, Sai Pallavi Yuvan Shankar Raja Balaji Mohanurl=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6Q7c9RyMzklanguage=enaccess-date=2021-02-22}}
2017"Jai Deva Ganesha"Abhay JainHindi29
"Lahore"Guru RandhawaPunjabi750title=T-Seriesurl=https://www.youtube.com/user/tseries/videos?flow=list&sort=paccess-date=19 April 2019website=YouTubepublisher=T-Series}}
"Bom Diggy"Zack Knight and Jasmin WaliaPunjabi
"High Rated Gabru"Guru RandhawaPunjabi1168
2014"Zaroori Tha"Rahat Fateh Ali KhanHindi1427
2015"Dheere Dheere"Yo Yo Honey SinghHindi625
2011"Why This Kolaveri Di"Dhanush and Anirudh RavichanderTamil227

References

References

  1. Bora, Pranab. (15 November 1996). "Channel V and MTV create never-before market for global music". [[India Today]].
  2. Paracha, Nadeem F. (December 13, 2004). "Socio-political History of Modern Pop Music in Pakistan". [[Chowk.com.
  3. (April 11, 2012). "29th death anniversary of Ahmed Rushdi today". [[Duniya News]].
  4. (12 April 2010). "Remembering Ahmed Rushdi".
  5. (2008). "Asian Communication Handbook 2008". AMIC.
  6. (18 November 2005). "NRI TV presenter gets Nazia Hassan Award".
  7. Ellis, James. (27 October 2009). "Biddu".
  8. (1978). "The Listener, Volumes 100–101". BBC.
  9. Shapiro, Peter. (2006). "Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco". [[Macmillan Publishers]].
  10. [http://www.ladyslipper.org/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=53&upc=73145265272 Ladyslipper Music - Monsoon Featuring Sheila Chandra]
  11. "Discography".
  12. Rauscher, William. (12 May 2010). "Charanjit Singh – Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat". [[Resident Advisor]].
  13. Geeta Dayal. (6 April 2010). "Further thoughts on '10 Ragas to a Disco Beat'". The Original Soundtrack.
  14. Sinha, Ekta. (2025-11-21). "Meet The New Generation Of Indian Pop Artists Who Took Over 2025".
  15. (2025-05-04). "‘Indian music is a soft power with potential to woo global audiences’". The Times of India.
  16. "Young Tarang".
  17. Sheikh, M. A.. (2012). "Who's Who: Music in Pakistan". [[Xlibris Corporation]].
  18. "Daler Mehndi". [[In.com]].
  19. (2014). "More Than Bollywood: Studies in Indian Popular Music". [[Oxford University Press]].
  20. "Statistics".
  21. Lodhi, Adnan. (29 April 2016). "Abrar Ul Haq is back with a bangra". [[The Express Tribune]].
  22. Tunda, Franz. (19 September 2010). ""Disco Deewane", Nazia Hassan with Biddu and His Orchestra".
  23. Wartofsky, Alona. (13 July 2003). "Rap's Fresh Heir". [[The Washington Post]].
  24. Ansari, Shahab. (5 July 2017). "Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's 'lost tape recordings' found". [[The News International]].
  25. (2 October 2010). "Pop no more". [[Hindustan Times]].
  26. Jeffries, Stan. (2003). "Encyclopedia of World Pop Music, 1980-2001". [[Greenwood Press]].
  27. (1999). "Limca Book of Records". Bisleri Beverages Limited.
  28. Sabharwal, Gopa. (2017). "India Since 1947: The Independent Years". [[Penguin Group]].
  29. Kumar, Raj. (2003). "Essays on Indian Music". Discovery Publishing House.
  30. Mathai, Kamini. (2009). "A. R. Rahman: The Musical Storm". [[Penguin Group]].
  31. Bill Lamb. "Jay Sean". [[About.com]].
  32. Khatib, Salma. (22 September 2000). "Indi-pop: Down but Not Out". [[Screen (magazine).
  33. (19 February 2000). "Punjabi pop hits the jackpot!". [[The Tribune (Chandigarh).
  34. Aditya Music India. (Feb 25, 2020). "#AlaVaikunthapurramuloo - ButtaBomma Full Video Song (4K) {{!}} Allu Arjun {{!}} Thaman S {{!}} Armaan Malik - YouTube".
  35. {{YouTube. VNs_cCtdbPc. Brown Munde - Ap Dhillon {{! Gurinder Gill {{! Shinda Kahlon {{! Gminxr
  36. "Maari 2 - Rowdy Baby (Video Song) {{!}} Dhanush, Sai Pallavi {{!}} Yuvan Shankar Raja {{!}} Balaji Mohan".
  37. {{YouTube. RSSxcegAyWI. Jai Deva Ganesha {{! Abhay Jain {{! New Ganpati Song {{! Ganpati DJ Song
  38. "T-Series". [[T-Series (company).
  39. {{YouTube. lEgTtQFMjWw. Bom Diggy {{! Zack Knight {{! Jasmin Walia (Official Music Video)
  40. {{YouTube. yIIGQB6EMAM. Bom Diggy Diggy (VIDEO) {{! Zack Knight {{! Jasmin Walia {{! Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety
  41. {{YouTube. g7PP_gkcdgE. Bom Diggy Diggy (Video Song/Lyric Video)
  42. {{YouTube. hjWf8A0YNSE. Guru Randhawa: High Rated Gabru Official Song {{! DirectorGifty {{! Bhushan Kumar {{! T-Series
  43. {{YouTube. 6-n_szx2XRE. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - Zaroori Tha
  44. Jackson, Joe. (2011-11-30). "Nonsensical, Semi-English Music Video Goes Viral in India".
  45. Singh, Renu. (Dec 10, 2011). "B-schools hit by the Dhanush's Kolaveri di attack - Times of India".
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