To commemorate Arijit Singh’s recent feat as Spotify’s third most streamed artist in the world trailing only behind Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran, here is a definitive ranking of India’s favorite balladeer’s greatest songs.
NOTE: I ensured that the list shows his versatility as an artist.
10. Sooraj Dooba Hain from Roy
One of Bollywood’s better EDM offerings, Sooraj Dooba Hain is a fun, beach-inflected dancefloor filler with a chorus you just can’t shake off. The track’s only letdown is its slightly tangible cheesiness.
09. Yeh Fitoor Mera from Fitoor
Riveting stuff.
08. Raabta from Agent Vinod
Singh’s breakthrough hit – a 70s AM Radio Rock-channeling, mellow ballad that pushes the boundaries of the often derided genre with an instant earworm of a chorus so deeply melodic and haunting that it fostered an entire film (2017’s Raabta) years after its release.
07. Tose Naina from Mickey Blue Virus
An unjustly overlooked dreamy synth-pop ballad (it was in a Maniesh Paul comedy film) that is gently carried by Singh’s warmest, most intimate vocals on record.
06. Judaai from Badlapur
Complex, stark, tender and intrinsically eerie – it was only a matter of time before India’s greatest living female vocalist, Rekha Bhardwaj, would collaborate with India’s greatest living male vocalist and the result is anything but pedestrian.
05. Dilli Wali Girlfriend from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
EDM dominated the global airwaves in the early 2010s but it rarely found its footing in India. Then Dilli Wali Girlfriend, an electro shaadi stomper, entered the chat and there was hope. The party track deftly fuses EDM synths with full-on Dilli Punjabi hedonism and thus, for years, it was deservedly played at every Indian social function. Dilli Wali Girlfriend also proved that not only can Singh have you reaching for the nearest tissue box but that he can also get you on the dance floor.
04. Binte Dil from Padmaavat
Ever the vocal chameleon, Singh successfully adopts Arabic musical microtones for the first time for Binte Dil, a pensive Mughal-inspired ballad that burns with eroticism.
03. Phire Faqeera from Paaglait
With Phire Faqeera, Singh proved that not only is he a master chanteur but that he’s also a noteworthy composer. The genre-bending track ebbs and flows with a temperament previously unheard in Bollywood. Quiet in parts and furiously psychedelic in others, Phire Faqeera is further bolstered by Indian American MC Raja Kumar’s deliciously serpentine delivery.
02. Tum Hi Ho from Aashiqui 2
A sharp contrast to Bollywood’s signature grandiose balladry, Tum Hi Ho’s beauty lies in its gorgeously spare structure and simple but deeply heartfelt lyrics. The ballad that single-handedly launched the careers of two A-list actors, Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor, lost a bit of its luster after years of being relentlessly played in every sangeet, anniversary party, wedding and funeral but it remains Arijit Singh’s magnum opus – his My Heart Will Go On. A song that transcends novelty, genre and generational time deserves to be cosseted.
01. Aye Dil Bata from Ishk Actually
A criminally underrated Singh ballad that sadly never got its due because of the little-known B film it’s attached to. The lush Seventies-channeling Soft Rock ballad replete with lilting Muzak piano chords, towering guitar interludes and Singh’s arresting vocals can contend with any Seventies record put out by Jefferson Starship, Carly Simon or, dare I say it, Don Henley.
