KK

He was born in Delhi in 1968 to Malayali parents, studied at Kirori Mal College, sold in marketing for a few months, and came to Bombay in 1994 to sing jingles — he recorded thousands. A.R. Rahman gave him his first film songs in Tamil and in Hindi (Kallooori Saaley; Strawberry Aankhen in Sapnay, 1997); Pal (1999), for Sony, made him a pop star; and Tadap Tadap, for Ismail Darbar, made him a film singer. Pritam, Vishal-Shekhar, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Salim-Sulaiman gave him the 2000s' best brooding songs: Gangster (Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai), Life in a Metro, Jannat (Zara Sa), Bachna Ae Haseeno (Khuda Jaane), Om Shanti Om (Aankhon Mein Teri).

He sang in several languages, kept out of the publicity side of the industry, and performed constantly. He collapsed after a college concert in Kolkata on 31 May 2022 and died the same night.

KK's voice was a bright, slightly husky tenor with a natural break at the top that he used as expression rather than hid; untrained, it was always in tune and always sounded as if it meant it. The rock-ballad song of the 2000s — long build, open-throated chorus — was written around that sound.