Why Arijit Singh is king of Bollywood playback

livemint.com:

Hindi cinema has lost all originality. Another factor for some, put simply, is that there is far too much of Arijit Singh on offer today. To be sure, the voice behind multiple hits over the past few years (including recent chartbusters like Apna Bana Le and Kesariya) is popular and has an army of fans across the globe.

But some listeners are tired of hearing him sing just about every other Bollywood song. Singh is the highest paid singer in the industry today, making upwards of ₹25 lakh just on a single (that isn’t a part of a film). He is also among the rare playback singers to get a share in the profits that labels earn from digital and other sales.

A reality show find, the 36-year-old didn’t even win when he first appeared as a contestant on Fame Gurukul (Sony Entertainment Television) in 2006. He began his career in Mumbai as a music producer, composing pieces for ads and radio stations, and as a music programmer working with composers such as Pritam, Vishal Shekhar and Shankar Ehsaan Loy. His first big hit as a playback singer—Tum Hi Ho from the film Aashiqui 2—came only in 2013.

He has dominated the playback world of Bollywood ever since. The perception that Singh is everywhere is partly true, conceded Rahul Balyan, head of music, Spotify India. The gap between him on the one hand, and all other voices, on the other, is huge, he pointed out.

Late in August, Spotify’s list of top 50 tracks (which is updated daily) in India, for example, was peppered with Singh’s hits: Heeriye; What Jhumka?; Chaliya; Phir Aur Kya Chahiye and so on. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t enough singers vying for attention. While around half of all trending tracks are sung by Singh, the other half has more of a mix than ever before—from