Alka Yagnik

She was honoured with Padma Bhushan by the Government of India for her contribution to Indian music and playback singing in 2026. Alka is cited as 'Voice Of A Generation' and is known as 'Melody Queen' of Indian cinema. Yagnik has sung maximum female solo songs in her Bollywood career along with Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. Several of her soundtracks were included in the BBC "Top 40 Bollywood soundtracks of all time". Yagnik is the most popular music artist of all time on YouTube, with the mention in the Guinness Book of World Records of 17 billion streams in 2021 and 16.6 billion in 2020.

• Name — Alka Yagnik • Born — 20 March 1966 • Birthplace — Kolkata, West Bengal, India • Occupation — Playback singer • Awards — Full list • Honours — Padma Bhushan (2026) • Children — 1

Yagnik was born in Kolkata on 20 March 1966 to a Gujarati family. Her father's name is Dharmendra Shankar. Her mother Shubha was a singer of Indian classical music. In 1972 at age six, she started singing for Akashvani (All India Radio), Calcutta. At age 10, her mother brought her to Mumbai as a child singer. She was advised to wait until her voice matured, but her mother remained determined. On a subsequent visit, Yagnik got a letter of recommendation to Raj Kapoor from his Kolkata distributor. Kapoor heard the girl and sent her with a letter to noted music director Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar. Impressed, Laxmikant gave her two alternatives – an immediate start as a dubbing artist or a later break as a singer; Shubha chose the latter for her daughter. Yagnik mentioned that she was a bright student but didn't like studies.

Alka Yagnik began singing at the age of four and was trained in classical music. She has sung romantic, sad, peppy, and item number songs across a career spanning more than four decades. Yagnik frequently sang duets with Kumar Sanu, followed by Udit Narayan and Sonu Nigam, and is regarded as a leading female playback singer of the 1990s. She has credited veteran composers Lakshmikant-Pyarelal and Kalyanji-Anandji for mentoring and shaping her voice.

Yagnik married Shillong-based businessman Neeraj Kapoor in 1989, with whom she has a daughter named Syesha. In 2024 she was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss.

Besides singing, Yagnik also judged several singing reality shows on television. • Year — Name — Notes — Channel — Ref • 1992 — Sapne Sajan Ke — Yagnik also appeared in film Sapne Sajan Ke in a song 'Yeh Dua Hai Meri' with co-singer Kumar Sanu. • 2006 — Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs — She made her first television debut with the show. — Zee TV • 2014 — Comedy Nights with Kapil — On 25 May 2014 she appeared as a special guest along with Kumar Sanu for the popular TV show Comedy Nights with Kapil. — Colors TV • Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs 2014 — She had done Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs as a judge in first Season and fifth Season as a Maha Guru (also in previous 2 seasons). — Zee TV • 2016 — Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain! — In November 2016, she appeared in a Hindi comedy serial Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain! with Kumar Sanu in a special one hour episode. — &TV • 2017 — Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai — Yagnik also appeared as a guest in Hindi serial 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai' — STAR Plus • Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs 2017 — She came with her co-singer Udit Narayan and sung many duets of the 1990s. — Zee TV • 2018 — Rising Star — She appears as a guest and gave a special tribute to late actress Sridevi — Colors • Indian Idol — She appeared in 10th season of Indian Idol with co-singer Kumar Sanu. — Sony Entertainment Television • 2019 — The Kapil Sharma Show — She appeared in The Kapil Sharma Show with other two judges for the promotion of her show 'Superstar Singer'. • Superstar Singer — In 2019, she appeared in Superstar Singer as a Judge in Sony TV. • 2020 — Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs 2020 — Besides Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan and Kumar Sanu appeared as judges after 30 years. — Zee TV She also appeared in Star Voice of India as a judge. She appears as a guest with Udit Narayan in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs.