Debut Singers Make it Work in 2012

Music is an integral part of every Bollywood movie, giving the flick a unique feel and a soundtrack for the characters to play their story on. Heck, the music of a film can even hold the power to make or break a movie! 2012 has been a great year for music in Bollywood with music directors churning out chart-topping hits by taking risks with new trends and new voices. BollyCurry brings to you a few of these fresh voices that stole our hearts in 2012. While a few of the following names may have been popular even before they stepped into B-Town, they are in this list because they made their playback singing debut this year!

The first in the list is the man with many talents, Mr. Ayushmann Khurrana. Since winning the MTV Roadies Season 2 in 2004, there has been no looking back for this talented man. He started out as a MTV VJ, quickly moving on to being a much in demand anchor and most recently stepping into Bollywood as an actor and a singer with the much successful Vicky Donor. This Punjabi lad made his singing debut with "Paani da Rang", a song primarily in Punjabi that he helped write and compose. Apparently, he wrote and composed this song with a college friend almost a decade earlier. This soft, romantic song was quite popular and even received the "Hottest Song of the Year" award at the 2012 Global Indian Music Awards.

Shakthisree Gopalan is an established South Indian singer who made her B-Town debut with the title song of the most recent YRF release Jab Tak Hai Jaan. The song was composed by A.R. Rahman and features Javed Ali on the male vocals. Shakthisree has been around in the music industry for a few years as a vocalist for the bands 'Off the Record' and 'Pyjama Conspiracy'. She has also lent her voice to numerous Tamil songs since her Tamil playback debut in 2008 and has even won two awards for the same. However, the biggest feather in her hat has been the fact that she managed to capture the attention of Rahman, the music maestro himself. She has served as a backing vocalist for Rahman for numerous years and even performed alongside him in a recent episode of the MTV Unplugged show.

Miss Pooja is perhaps the most popular female Punjabi singer of our time. Known as the 'Queen of Duets', she has featured in dozens of Punjabi songs since 2006. She even has numerous awards to her name including the Best International Act in the UK Asian Music Awards in 2009 and again in 2011. However, despite her vast success in regional music, Miss Pooja only stepped into Bollywood this year. She gave her voice to the much popular song "Second Hand Jawaani" from Cocktail. 

Neeti Mohan first showed her singing mettle by being one of the winners in the 2003 season of Popstars on Channel V. She became a member of the pop group Aasma with the other 3 winners of that season. While the group failed to last for long, Neeti managed to make a niche for herself. She is seen frequently in A. R. Rahman's live shows. However, in 2012, she finally made her Bollywood debut and managed to deliver not 1, but 2 widely popular songs. She sang the popular "Jiya Re" from Jab Tak Hai Jaan. She also lent her voice for the female vocals of the very popular "Ishq Wala Love" from Student of the Year.

Shalmali Kholgade is definitely here to stay! This talented 22 year old made her Bollywood playback debut this year and already has 3 widely popular songs under her belt with another one lined up for early 2013. She comes from a musical family with her mother being a classical singer and theater personality. Shalmali started her education in music at the tender age of 8 and was already performing at the age of 16. She sings both in English and Hindi and has even featured in a Latvian Cabaret troupe. Even in Bollywood, she has shown her versatility in playback singing by lending her voice to 3 very different types of songs:"Pareshaan" from Ishaqzaade, "Daaru Desi" from Cocktail, and "Aga Bai" from Aiyyaa. She is also the female vocalist in the song "Lat Lag Gayee" in the upcoming Race 2.

Aman Trikha's claim to fame was the current singing reality show Sur Kshetra on Colors. He was an Indian contestant. His team captain, Himesh Reshammiya, took him under his wing and gave Aman his break into Bollywood. Aman debuted with "Go Go Govinda" from OMG! Oh My God!, which features music directed by Reshammiya. The song gained much popularity and catapulted Trikha to success. Aman solidified his position as a good playback singer by delivering another hit in the form of "Po Po" from Son of Sardaar. Finally, he has also featured in two more successes in another of Reshammiya's albums, Khiladi 786. He is heard in "Hookah Bar", "Khiladi (Title Track), and their respective remixes. 

Honey Singh, also known as Yo Yo Honey Singh, is perhaps the most popular Punjabi rapper and singer currently. He reached unparalleled popularity in the Punjabi music realm with his album International Villager (2011). One of the songs from the album, "Angreji Beat", was featured in the movie Cocktail in the opening credits. He also gave his voice to another song on the album, "Main Sharabi". Not only did he rap in the song, he also sung a huge portion of the song, giving it even more of a club-like feel. You can also hear him rap in the popular "Rani Tu Mein Raja" from Son of Sardaar. Honey Singh's signature rapping, albeit in Hindi, can be heard in "Kikli Kalerdi" from Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana as well. His rap opens up and sets the tempo for "Lonely" from Khiladi 786. Yo Yo can also be seen sharing easy camaraderie with Akshay Kumar and Himesh Reshammiya in the remix video of the same song. Finally, he was also heard crooning away in the club favorite "Party on My Mind" from the upcoming Race 2. However, the biggest proof of his vast popularity is the fact that he recently charged Rs. 70 lakh for 1 song in an upcoming movie titled Mastaan. This hefty fee is the highest ever charged by a singer for one Bollywood song!