Yo Yo Honey Singh

Early life

Honey Singh was born in Delhi, India, on 15 March 1983 to a Sikh family from Hoshiarpur, Punjab. He studied at the Guru Nanak Public School in New Delhi.

Career

Music

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. 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.

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".

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.

In December 2024, a documentary titled Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous was released on Netflix. The documentary received mixed reviews.

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.

Bollywood

His debut song in Bollywood films was "Shakal Pe Mat Ja", featuring Gagan Sidhu. Singh charged Rs. 7 million 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.

In February 2015 he released the songs "Birthday Bash" with Alfaaz, followed by songs in films including Gabbar Is Back and Bhaag Johnny.

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.

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.

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.

Selected discography

Albums

Singles

Appearances on film soundtracks

Production discography

Filmography

Movies

Television

Awards

• 2010 PTC Punjabi Best Music Director 2010 for the song "Desi Daroo"
• 2011 PTC Punjabi Best Music Director 2011 for album The Folkstar
• 2012 PTC Punjabi Best Music Director 2012 for album I.V. (International Villager)
• 2012 BritAsia TV Music Awards 2012 – Best International Act
• 2012 UK Asian Music Awards Best International Album 2012 for Album album I.V. (International Villager)
• 2012 PTC Punjabi Film Award – Best Music Director 2012 for Mirza – The Untold Story
• 2012 PTC Punjabi Film Award – Best Debut (Male) for Mirza – The Untold Story
• 2013 MTV VMAI Awards – Best Indie Artist (male) 2013 for the song "Brown Rang"
• 2013 MTV EMA Awards – Best India Act 2013 for "Bring me Back"
• 2013 BIG Star Entertainment Awards – Singh was co-winner of Most Entertaining Singer (Male), and "Lungi Dance" was nominated as Most Entertaining Song.
• 2014 Zee Cine Awards 2014 for International Icon Male
• 2014 Stardust Awards – Best Music Director for Yaariyan
• 2016 Hindustan Times India's Most Stylish Awards – Most Stylish Singer
• 2018 Mirchi Music Awards – Listener's Choice Album of the Year for Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety and Listener's Choice Song of the Year for "Dil Chori"
• 2019 IIFA Award for Best Music Director for Best Performance by a music director for Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety

Controversies

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. There have been reactions in print to Singh, such as from Annie Zaidi, who wrote "An Open Letter to Honey Singh" in January 2013, and Sandipan Sharma, who wrote "Thanks for the crassness: An open letter to Honey Singh from a parent" in July 2014.

In the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, a song "Main Hoon Balatkari" () became popular in the city, its lyrics glorifying rape. The song was attributed to Singh, although he denied having sung or written the song. 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. After the campaign, Singh's New Year concert was cancelled by the hotel. A case was dismissed by Chandigarh High Court who found no proof that Singh was its singer.

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".

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".

In 2015, a student of St. Stephen's College went viral for a rap that parodied Singh's problematic songs from a feminist perspective.

In 2021, Honey Singh's wife Shalini Talwar filed a case against him in Tis Hazari Court for domestic violence. Talwar accused Singh of "numerous incidents of physical abuse, verbal, mental abuse and emotional abuse", and accused him of adultery.

References

References

1. "Delhi-based singer Yo Yo Honey Singh forays into Bollywood".
2. (15 January 2025). "Musician Profiles - Honey Singh".
3. (29 January 2014). "Honey Singh performs at Ramjas College fest in Delhi University". The Times of India.
4. "Honey Singh set to conquer Bollywood".
5. (5 September 2014). "Honey Singh's Desi Kalakaar launched on Hungama.com".
6. (16 August 2024). "Honey Singh to collaborate with Pakistani folk singers Wahab Bugti and Sahib".
7. (20 December 2024). "Netflix's Yo Yo Honey Singh Famous: Rapper's documentary leaves internet divided".
8. (21 December 2024). "Yo Yo Honey Singh Famous review: Lacking the rapper's edge, this documentary has nothing much to offer". Hindustan Times.
9. (20 December 2024). "Netflix's 'Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous' Movie Review: From glitter to dark hole and a comeback; nothing is permanent".
10. (20 December 2024). "Yo Yo Honey Singh – Famous movie review: Honey Singh spits venom, bares his soul in faintly damning Netflix documentary".
11. "Yo Yo Honey Singh's Millionaire Tour Begins This Month: Check Dates And Ticket Details".
12. [http://www.hindustantimes.com/Punjab/Chandigarh/Honey-Singh-paid-highest-fee-for-song/SP-Article1-849513.aspx Honey Singh paid the highest fee for song] {{Webarchive. link. (3 September 2013 . ''Hindustan Times'' (2 May 2012). Retrieved 4 May 2012.)
13. [http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/ENT-yo-yo-honey-singh-becomes-the-costliest-bollywood-singer-3203076.html Yo-Yo Honey Singh becomes the costliest Bollywood singer] {{Webarchive. link. (17 August 2013 . ''Daily Bhaskar'' (2 May 2012). Retrieved 4 May 2012.)
14. Hungama, Bollywood. (25 February 2021). "Mumbai Saga's first song 'Shor Machega' composed by Yo Yo Honey Singh to release on February 28: Bollywood News – Bollywood Hungama".
15. (6 September 2024). "Honey Singh on his divorce with Shalini Talwar: I started getting better after the separation".
16. (13 May 2024). "The Rise and Evolution of India's Rap Sensation". The Times of India.
17. "Yo Yo Honey Singh Clubs in with Sonakshi Sinha for Desi Kalakaar". indialive.today.
18. (26 August 2025). "Honey Singh is the 'Mafia' in his upcoming album 51 Glorious Days: Watch teaser". The Indian Express.
19. (27 January 2021). "Neha Kakkar, Yo Yo Honey Singh release new song Saiyaan Ji, featuring Nushrratt Bharuccha".
20. (25 August 2021). "Kanta Laga: Get ready for Yo Yo Honey Singh, Neha Kakkar & brother Tony's big music collaboration".
21. (21 July 2013). "Honey Singh's Lungi dance not part of SRK, Deepika's Chennai Express". The Indian Express.
22. "Music Review: 'Dedh Ishqiya' music classic, romantic – ''The Times of India''". [[The Times of India]].
23. (26 February 2014). "Ragini MMS 2 song Chaar bottle vodka: Yo Yo Honey Singh overshadows baby doll Sunny Leone!".
24. "Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety song Dil Chori: Yo Yo Honey Singh is back with a peppy track". Indian Express.
25. (24 April 2019}}{{Dead link). "पागलपंती फिल्म – 200 बैकअप डांसर्स के साथ एक टाइटल सॉन्ग है.". INFOok.
26. [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100310/jplus.htm#4 PTC Punjabi Music Awards 2010] {{Webarchive. link. (15 May 2010 . ''The Tribune''. Retrieved 3 January 2012.)
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29. [http://ptcpmusicawards.com/winners.html PTC 2012 music award Winners List] {{Webarchive. link. (6 November 2012 Ptcpmusicawards.com. Retrieved 25 March 2012.)
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31. [http://www.chakdey.com/lebara-mobile-uk-asian-music-awards-ukama-results Lebara Mobile UK Asian Music Awards (UKAMA 2012) Results] {{Webarchive. link. (30 October 2012 chakdey.com. Retrieved 1 December 2012.)
32. [http://www.ptcpunjabifilmawards.com/winers.html PTC Punjabi Film Award (PTCPFA 2013) Results] {{Webarchive. link. (4 August 2013 . Retrieved 22 March 2013.)
33. [http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/news/pritam-sonu-rahman-win-mtv-video-music-awards Yo Yo Honey Singh bagged an award for best Indie Artiste male for Brown Rang] {{Webarchive. link. (24 March 2013 . Retrieved 22 March 2013.)
34. [http://www.desi-box.com/music/desi/yo-yo-honey-singh-wins-mtv-ema.html Yo Yo Honey Singh wins MTV EMA]. Retrieved 14 January 2014
35. Rajput, Satender. (19 December 2013). "BIG Star Entertainment Award 2013 Nomination and Winners List". The Filmy Guide.
36. (9 February 2014). "Zee Cine Awards 2014: Dhanush, Priyanka Chopra, Honey Singh Clinch Trophies; Complete List of Winners – International Business Times". IB Times.
37. Phartiyal, Sankalp. (31 December 2012). "Yo Yo Honey Singh: A vulgar obsession or our own creation?".
38. Chintamani, Gautam. (1 January 2013). "The biggest problem with Yo Yo Honey Singh: Bollywood's embrace of him".
39. Zaidi, Annie. (5 January 2013). "An open letter to Honey Singh". The Sunday Guardian.
40. Sharma, Sandipan. (23 July 2014). "Thanks for the crassness: An open letter to Honey Singh from a parent". The Hindustan Times.
41. "The nadir of all depravity?". The Times of India.
42. "Honey Singh denies writing offensive lyrics, his lawyer says he is considering legal action". CNN-IBN.
43. "Gurgaon hotel cancels rapper Honey Singh's concert, FIR in Lucknow over offensive lyrics". [[The Times of India]].
44. "Anger wave washes away Honey Singh show". Hindustan Times.
45. (5 July 2013). "HC dismissed cases against Honey Singh over 'Balatkaari' song". The Times of India.
46. "Muted word from Honey Singh's song is not vulgar : Akshay Kumar". Hindustan Times.
47. (8 May 2014). "Yo Yo caught in a fresh controversy with Punjabi rapper Raftaar".
48. Joshi, Shamani. (4 August 2021). "One of India's Biggest Rappers Accused of Domestic Violence".
49. (4 February 2015). "Meet the "socially relevant rapper" who shot to fame with 'An Open letter to Honey Singh'".
50. "Delhi Court Lists Domestic Violence Case Involving Singer Honey Singh For Sept 28".