Veteran playback singer Sonu Nigam has opened up about the challenges of singing in unfamiliar languages, revealing that he looked to the late legendary vocalist S. P. Balasubrahmanyam as his guiding reference when he first ventured into South Indian film music. The singer spoke candidly about the dual effort required — personal preparation and reliance on a knowledgeable language coach — to deliver authentic multilingual performances.

The Art of Sounding Authentic

Nigam explained that singing in a language one does not natively speak demands a layered approach. “First of all, it depends on the singer’s capability to imbibe a style. When I first sang songs in the South Indian languages, I kept S. P. Balasubrahmanyam in my mind,” he said.

The singer noted that authenticity in an unfamiliar tongue is not something that comes from effort alone. The quality of the person guiding the singer through phonetics and pronunciation plays an equally critical role. “If that person is not well-versed in the language, which is very much possible, then we will obviously sing in incorrect language,” Nigam added.

Why the Guide Matters as Much as the Singer

Nigam’s insight points to a lesser-discussed aspect of the Indian film music industry: the role of language coaches and music directors in shaping cross-regional recordings. For a playback singer working across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and regional folk traditions, the margin for phonetic error is narrow and can affect audience reception significantly.

He stressed that the responsibility is shared — “some efforts we have to put from our side and some we have to rely on the person teaching us.” This collaborative dynamic, he suggested, is what separates a passable multilingual recording from a genuinely immersive one.

Reconnecting with Roots: The Haryanvi Track 'Chunni'

The conversation comes as Nigam has recently released a Haryanvi track titled 'Chunni', marking a return to his regional roots. The song is a joint effort with singer Renuka Panwar, scored and penned by Aamin Barodi. The music video features Charmee Zaveri.

The release of ‘Chunni’ is notable in the context of Nigam’s multilingual career — it demonstrates the same principle he articulated: genuine engagement with a language’s cultural texture, rather than a surface-level rendering.

A Career Built on Linguistic Range

Over a career spanning more than three decades, Sonu Nigam has recorded songs in over a dozen languages, including Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Nepali, and Haryanvi. His ability to adapt tonal and phonetic registers across these languages has made him one of the most versatile voices in Indian playback singing.

His reference to S. P. Balasubrahmanyam — who himself recorded in multiple languages and was widely regarded as one of India’s greatest multilingual vocalists — underscores the depth of cross-regional musical influence that has shaped Nigam’s approach. As regional music continues to gain mainstream streaming traction, the craft of multilingual singing is likely to draw renewed attention.