No doubt, Sonu Nigam’s voice remains forever new. The singer dethroned Arijit Singh to get listed in the number-one-spot in India Today’s Mood of the Nation poll rankings of January 2026. It’s noteworthy feat because Singh, who has just announced his retirement from playback singing—and at the peak of his career—is the most followed Indian artiste on Spotify globally and has been consistently topping the Indian charts of the streaming app.
Notedly over the past six months, Sonu has been delivering one chartbuster after another. It started-off with his mellifluous rendition of Pardesiya (from Param Sundari), which reminded audiences yet again that he’s the OG king of romantic tracks.
Then, there was a new iteration of his popular ’90s track Bijuria, which had Gen Z tapping their feet. Nigam rounded off 2025 with another unforgettable rendition—Yeh Ishq Ishq for Dhurandhar soundtrack of which has been dominating the airwaves. He began 2026 with a bang with “Ghar Kab Aaoge”
and Mitti Ke Bete for Border 2.
Meanwhile, Pawan Singh’s entry in the top five of the rankings highlighted the widespread popularity of Bhojpuri music.
On the female front, Shreya Ghoshal maintained her numero uno status, albeit just about as giving the singer a run for her money was yet another evergreen voice in Alka Yagnik. The latter may not have sung a new song in 2025 because of health reasons, but Yagnik’s oeuvre still appeals across generations.
Another ’90s singer to have a strong showing was Sunidhi Chauhan, whose spate of sold-out shows recently reconfirmed her status as ‘India’s Beyonce’ for her ability to sing, dance and bring the house down. Making her top five debut alongside Yagnik was Shilpa Rao, who has been busier than usual for her ability to deliver earworms consistently in her deep husky voice.
News Edit KV Raman