Sonu Nigam eyes Chinese, Japanese and Spanish as next singing frontiers
Synopsis
Sonu Nigam has sung in Kashmiri, Khasi, Garhwali, Dutch, and Latin — and he’s not done. The veteran playback icon has now set his sights on Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish, a move that would make him one of the most linguistically versatile vocalists in Indian music history.
Key Takeaways
Sonu Nigam has expressed his desire to sing in Chinese , Japanese , and Spanish in the future.
He has already performed in Latin , English , and Dutch on stage.
Nigam honed his multilingual skills recording 16 to 17 jingles daily in Delhi before moving to Mumbai.
His Indian-language catalogue includes Odia , Bengali , Khasi , Dogri , Garhwali , Kumaoni , Konkani , Manipuri , and more than a dozen others.
The singer described each new language as ‘a chance to learn something new.’
Veteran playback singer Sonu Nigam has revealed his ambition to extend his multilingual musical repertoire to international languages, naming Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish as his next aspirations. The singer, celebrated for his versatility across Indian languages, shared the revelation in an exclusive interview, underscoring a career-long fascination with linguistic diversity in music.
The Languages He Has in His Sights
Nigam confirmed he has already performed in Latin, English, and Dutch on stage, making the leap to East Asian and Latin American languages a natural progression in his view. “I would like to attempt some international languages, like Chinese and Japanese, probably. It will be fun. I will get a chance to learn something new, maybe Spanish. Let’s see,” he said.
Roots in Delhi’s Jingle Circuit
Nigam traced his multilingual fluency back to his pre-Mumbai years in Delhi, where he cut his professional teeth on the jingle recording circuit. By his own account, he was recording as many as 16 to 17 jingles in different voices every single day, an experience that introduced him to the breadth of India’s regional languages long before he arrived in Mumbai.
“I started very early, so I got a chance to sing in different languages when I was still in Delhi. I was doing jingles at that point. I hadn’t come to Bombay yet, and I was recording in Delhi. I used to record 16-17 jingles in different voices every day. So, I got a chance to become acquainted with different languages of India, from Kashmiri to Haryanvi, Rajasthani, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Manipuri, Assamese, and many others,” Nigam recalled.
A Career Spanning Dozens of Indian Languages
The ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ singer listed an expansive catalogue of Indian languages he has sung in over the decades: Odia, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Rajasthani, Gujarati, Marathi, Haryanavi, Khasi, Manipuri, Konkani, Garhwali, Kumaoni, Kashmiri, and Dogri, among many others. He noted that his Haryanavi work, which previously featured in films, has now shifted to private recordings.
“Because it has been such a long career, I have had lots of opportunities to learn newer styles and sing in different languages,” he added. Notably, this breadth of linguistic range is rare even among India’s most prolific playback singers, placing Nigam in a distinct category of cross-regional vocal artists.
What This Signals for His Musical Journey
Nigam’s interest in Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish is not merely aspirational — it reflects a broader trend of Indian artists seeking global audiences through language-native performances rather than English-language crossovers. With the global spread of Indian diaspora and the rising international profile of Bollywood-adjacent music, a Nigam foray into Mandarin or Spanish could carry genuine commercial and cultural weight. Whether studio recordings or live stage experiments, his next linguistic chapter appears to be a matter of when, not if.
Point of View
But the detail deserves closer attention. In an era when Indian artists typically chase global reach through English-language collaborations or Western genre fusions, Nigam’s instinct is to go native in the target language — the same approach that built his unmatched regional depth across India. His Delhi jingle years, recording in Kashmiri and Manipuri before he was a star, were not incidental; they were the foundation. If he applies that same rigour to Mandarin or Spanish, the outcome could be genuinely significant — and a model other Indian artists would do well to study.
NationPress
25 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Which international languages does Sonu Nigam want to sing in?
Sonu Nigam has expressed interest in singing in Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish. He described the prospect as an exciting opportunity to learn something new, and noted he has already performed in Latin, English, and Dutch.
How many Indian languages has Sonu Nigam sung in?
Nigam has sung in a wide range of Indian languages including Odia, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Rajasthani, Gujarati, Marathi, Haryanavi, Khasi, Manipuri, Konkani, Garhwali, Kumaoni, Kashmiri, and Dogri, among many others. He attributes this breadth to his early career recording jingles in Delhi.
How did Sonu Nigam develop his multilingual singing ability?
Nigam developed his multilingual skills during his pre-Mumbai years in Delhi, where he recorded 16 to 17 jingles in different voices and languages every day. This exposed him to regional Indian languages ranging from Kashmiri to Assamese before he transitioned to mainstream Bollywood.
Has Sonu Nigam sung in any foreign languages before?
Yes, Nigam has previously performed in Latin, English, and Dutch on stage. His planned foray into Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish would further extend his already rare international linguistic range.
Why is Sonu Nigam’s multilingual range significant?
Very few playback singers in India have performed across as many languages — both Indian regional and international — as Nigam. His linguistic versatility, built over a decades-long career, sets him apart in an industry where most artists work primarily in Hindi or one or two regional languages.
