Neha Kakkar

Neha Kakkar is an Indian pop star and Bollywood vocalist whose career blossomed during the 2010s. She was born on June 6, 1988, in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, and raised in a family that included playback singer Sonu Kakkar and composer Tony Kakkar. Neha Kakkar auditioned for the second season of Indian Idol in 2006 and enjoyed a short run on the show before being eliminated, then released her debut album, Neha The Rockstar, two years later. She also began working as a playback singer, contributing her vocals to Bollywood films like 2008's Meerabai Not Out, 2010's Thamassu, and 2012's Cocktail. Thamassu's title track earned Neha Kakkar a Filmfare Awards South nomination for Best Female Playback singer, while "Second-Hand-Jawaani" — her popular dance track from the Cocktail soundtrack — topped the charts in India. She continued having success with dance numbers throughout the remainder of the 2010s, collaborating with Yo Yo Honey Singh on the 2014 hit single "Sunny Sunny" (from the film Yaariyan) and recording Bollywood's first trance song with "Manali Trance" (from the 2014 Indian comedy The Shaukeens). She also collaborated with her brother, Tony Kakkar, on successful releases like 2016's "Mile Ho Tum." Written for the movie Fever, "Mile Ho Tum" became the highest-viewed Bollywood number on YouTube. Many of Neha Kakkar's subsequent releases enjoyed similar success on YouTube, including the wedding song "Kala Chashma" (from 2016's Baar Baar Dekho), "Badri Ki Dulhania" (from 2017's Badrinath Ki Dulhania), and a wildly popular remake of "Aankh Maarey" (from 2018's Simmba). She also released hit singles outside of the film market, topping the BBC Asian Network chart with her Number 1 Punjabi hit "Nikle Currant" in 2018 and teaming up once again with Yo Yo Honey Singh for 2021's "Saiyaan Ji."