Hirdesh Singh (born 15 March 1983), better known by his stage name Yo Yo Honey Singh or Honey Singh[1] is an Indian people rapper, music producer, singer and film actor. He started as a session and recording artist, and became a Bhangra music producer. He has also begun to produce music for Bollywood films, and gone on to become one of the highest-paid music producers in b0llywood.
It is reported that Singh prefers to sing in his native language Punjabi and Hindi rather than English.[19] The Punjabi album International Villager was released on 11 November 2011.[20] The track "Gabru" from International Villager featuring singer J-Star topped Asian music charts (including the official BBC Asian charts).
Singh has become widely popular in Bollywood. He was first noticed after his debut song in a Bollywood film featuring Gagan Sidhu for the film Shakal Pe Mat Ja. He charged Rs. 7 million for a song in the film Mastan. It is the biggest amount paid to a song artist in Bollywood to date, making Singh one of the highest-paid musical artists in Bollywood.[23][24]
Also, a song named Angreji Beat from Singh's album International Villager featuring Gippy Grewal, was featured in Saif Ali Khan's film Cocktail.
Singh, also launched his single track "Bring Me Back ft. Spoken Word" at Video Music Awards India which aired on MTV India. The award show was packed with many films and independent artists throughout the world including India. After the end of the show, his song was also premiered at the channel.
He rose to strong fame and high popularity in Bollywood in late 2013, after producing songs in mainstream big-budget films such as Chennai Express and Boss. He also has popular songs in smaller-budget films such as Mere Dad Ki Maruti, Bajatey Raho & Fugly. In late 2014, Singh suddenly disappeared from Bollywood and didn't release any music for months. Many theories rose about his sudden disappearance, but the majority were fake.[citation needed] In March 2016 he later clarified that he had been suffering from Bipolar disorder and was under medical supervision for 18 months at his Noida based house.
After being absent in the Bollywood music scene around the end of 2014, Singh made a comeback in February 2015 with his first song of the year, "Birthday Bash".
Singh made his acting debut with Baljit Singh Deo's Punjabi film Mirza - The Untold Story (2012), performing the role of Deesha, a mad gangster. Despite only being a cameo appearance, the role went on to win Singh PTC Punjabi Film Award for Best Male Debut. The following year, Singh appeared in another Punjabi film, this time a comedy film byAmit Prasher, Tu Mera 22 Main Tera 22, as Rolly, a childish and spoilt brat, alongside Amrinder Gill. This was Singh's first lead role as an actor in a film.
Singh has also started acting in Bollywood films, making his debut with the 2014 musical-thriller film The Xpose alongside Himesh Reshammiya. The film released on 16 May 2014, to mixed reviews from critics, though became a box office flop. After a failed Bollywood acting debut, Singh will be returning to Punjabi cinema in mid 2015, with the action film Zorawar, directed by Vinnil Markan.
In the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, the lyrics to some of his songs, which depict violence against women and rape positively have caused controversy.[25] An FIR was lodged against Singh for his offensive lyrics while a group of social activists filed an online petition demanding cancellation of his New Year performance at a Gurgaon hotel.[26] After the campaign, Singh's New Year concert was cancelled by the hotel.[27] Singh denies writing these offensive lyrics.[28]
On 4 July 2013, Punjab and Haryana High court dismissed all the cases filed against Singh, which said that he has sung the Balatkaari song. The first information report (FIR) and the public interest litigation (PIL) filed against him were dismissed completely by the court stating that there is no proof that he has sung the song and that YouTube is such a medium where any one can upload any content under anyone's name. In this case also, a derogatory song against women was uploaded on YouTube under Singh's name by an imposter and then reports were filed against him.[citation needed]
Singh's song "Party All Night" in Akshay Kumar's film Boss was at the centre of controversy. Producers of the movie had to submit a petition in Delhi High Court claiming that they have 'muted' the alleged vulgar word in Singh's song. The court was hearing a petition filed by lawyer Sanjay Bhatnagar seeking a stay on the film, contending that without censor board's approval, the song could not be released with such a vulgar word. The petitioner had sought a stay on the release of the film till either the word or the song is deleted from the film.[29] His work has been perceived as being vulgar, misogynist, promoting violence against women and a bad influence on youth.[30][31] There have been reactions in prose to Singh, such as from Annie Zaidi, who wrote her own "An Open Letter to Honey Singh" in January 2013,[32] and Sandipan Sharma, who wrote "Thanks for the crassness: An open letter to Honey Singh from a parent" in July 2014.[33]
Another controversy took place between him and singer Raftaar in 2014. The controversy was about Raftaar not getting credit for lyrics of the song "Yeh Fugly Fugly Kya Hai".[34]The controversy went away without making a major effect. But both rappers started targeting each other in their songs. Raftaar's "Swag Mera Desi" had a line which was already used in Singh's "Party With The Bhoothnath" song. Singh also replied with song "Stardom" from his album Desi Kalakaar.[citation needed]
Singh is reportedly in rehab in Chandigarh, says Jasbir Jassi.[35] However Jasbir denies this.[36]
