KK's first death anniversary: Why he is irreplaceable
Artists come and go, but their art continues to dazzle like a diamond—an immortal jewel in the fabric of time. When iconic singer KK passed away on May 31, 2022, it was almost as if a knife slashed through his ardent devotees' hearts. He may not be around, but his music continues to breathe, and there truly may not be anyone like him ever.
His ability to sing songs belonging to multiple languages
Carving a rock-solid career in the music industry is already a herculean task, and when you add to it the responsibility of crooning songs in multiple languages, the result is KK's stupendous career. While his Hindi songs catalyzed his nationwide acclaim, he also sang in Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, etc., and the fact that he delivered hits in all languages demonstrates his unbelievably broad range.
The jaw-dropping record of singing over 3,500 jingles
While India may have first properly heard the beloved singer through Ismail Darbar's Tadap Tadap, KK was already a big name in the advertisement circuit due to the sheer volume of jingles he sang. Reportedly, the number is as high as 3,500! Not just that, he also lent his voice to the theme songs of shows like Shaka Laka Boom Boom and Just Mohabbat!
His hit duets with the likes of Shaan and Shreya
While we love listening to solo songs, the charm and effervesce of duets allow us a different perspective and even enable our faith in the power of quality music. KK's duets with singers such as Shaan (Disco, Dus Bahane, HOLD), Shreya Ghoshal (Teri Yaadon Mein, Zehreeli Raatein), and Sunidhi Chauhan (Ding Dong, Ek Nazar) weaved captivating magic that's difficult to ever fade into nothingness.
His voice's texture would effortlessly put autotune to shame
The self-taught singer was blessed with a mellifluous voice that came to use in every scenario that one can think of—the passion of romance, the angst of heartbreak (his niche), the joys of celebration, the ecstasy of first love, and many more. It speaks volumes about a singer when they can embellish every imaginable human feeling in their voice, and KK didn't disappoint.
Matches made in heaven: Frequent collaboration with music composers
Most of KK's biggest hits were born out of his association with Pritam, and some of the most cherished ones are Dil Ibadat, Haan Tu Hai, Jannatein Kahan, among others. Similarly, with Vishal-Sheykhar, he worked on Ajab Si and Tu Aashiqui Hai, etc. All these songs are painted with an evergreen quality, and it's difficult to imagine a Hindi music connoisseur's playlist sans them.
Beyond singing: His personal life was untainted by controversies
It is quite unheard of to work in the glitzy world of showbiz and not be eclipsed in any controversy ever, but the Labon Ko singer led his life in such a way that controversy and KK cannot even be mentioned in the same breath. An admitted camera-shy person, he successfully maintained a low profile, simply letting his voice do all the talking.
