"The Jhoom Barabar Jhoom dance-medley version, Darde Disco, Chak De India and Dil Mein Baji Guitar are some of the songs that have pulsating rhythms with loads of energy. I think Swanand Kirkire and Ajay Jhingran's title song from that album is most appealing." Recently I heard the songs from Khoya Khoya Chaand. "Deewangi and Main Agar Kahoon from the film Om Shanti Om are vibrant and fun to listen to. Among my own efforts, I liked Jabse Tere Naina from Saawariya and Yeh Pyar Kya Hai – the romantic ballad from Marigold." "I loved the title-songs of Johnny Gaddar, Aankhon Mein Teri, Om Shanti Om and the romantic duet – Bol Na Halke from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. I also sang Chale Aao Sainya, which was a good classical number." In Khoya Khoya Chaand, I enjoyed singing Thirak Thirak, a duet with Sonu Nigam, where I received specific instructions not to go overboard. "Luckily, this year I managed to sing quite a few good songs such as the title song of Cheeni Kum, the slow version of Tara Rum Pum, the item number Yeh Ishq Haaye and the semi-classical Chhand Re. I am happy to explore different music genres on different soundtracks." As a singer, I enjoyed singing its title song. "I think our work, as composers,in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (he was a part of the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy composer-trio for JBJ) was appreciated, even though the film did not do well at the box-office. The singer Sukhvinder Singh, who also had a major role in Beedi's success, has thus received top of the year honours twice.Īmidst largely similar-sounding songs, a few songs made a difference. This year, Chak De India's anthem was by far the best song of the year. Its trendy folk-flavour floored everyone in 2006. Last year's top song was definitely Beedi Jalai Le. In short, this trend is a lesser of the two evils. Now, composers include remixed versions on the original albums before anyone else has a chance to manipulate the tunes.
The painful glut of remixes has slowed down, though not stopped entirely. The trend in global fusion music is here to stay and synthesizers, advanced mixing technology and Hinglish lyrics are now permanent fixtures in today's music. The veteran singers Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik seem to have lost their premier status. But, like last year, the top spots were cornered by Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Shreya Ghoshal and Sunidhi Chouhan. Names such as Hamsika Iyer (Khushboo Se), Shail Hada (Saawariya), Soham (In Dinon), Mustafa Zahid (Toh Phir Aao) and Shiraz Uppal (Roya Re) often make it to the FM charts. Recently, new unconventional voices have been making their presence felt. After all, how long one can repeat (and tolerate) the same formula.Īmong non-film albums, only a few such as The Ustad & The Divas (Ustad Sultan Khan with Sunidhi, Shreya and Chitra), Kisi Din (Adnan Sami) and Saadgi (Lata Mangeshkar) were worth listening to. Apart from Aap Ka Surroor and Namastey London, his soundtracks in albums like Good Boy Bad Boy, Red, Fear and Darling found no takers. Last year's craze, Himesh Reshammiya didn't do too well. The scores of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Hey Babyy proved popular but Marigold and Johnny Gaddaar weren't very well received. The top guns Shankar-Ehsan-Loy had a mixed year. Vishal- Shekhar (Tararumpum, Om Shanti Om, Honeymoon Travels, Cash) were the busiest composers of the year and besides routine fillers, they managed to dish out a few good songs as well. Pritam (A Life In Metro, Jab We Met, Kya Love-story Hai) and This year, among hundreds of releases, only a few stood out for their originality and were the ones that made money.Ĭomposers such as Monty Sharma (Saawariya) Shantanu Moitra (Khoya Khoya Chand), Rabbi Shergil (Delhi Heights), Ilaiya Raja (Cheeni Kum), Mithoon (Train), Lesley Lewis (Apna Aasman) and Anand Raj Anand (Chhodo Na Yaar) had a good year. Illegal MP3 downloads are eating into their sales, but mediocre releases aren't helping the situation either. Music company executives complained about bad reviews and diminishing sales, but we won't blame them. So let's check how Indian popular music fared this year. Most people will agree that analysing the past year to list what rocked and what didn't is great fun. We review this year's Indian pop music scene. Himesh was mediocre, Pritam was the busiest, Shantanu Moitra's Khoya Khoya Chand score was brilliant.