One of Bollywoodโs most beloved singers, Arijit Singh, sent shockwaves across the music world and fans, by announcing that he is retiring from playback singing.
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โHello, Happy New Year to all. I want to thank you all for giving me so much love all these years as listeners. I am happy to announce that I am not going to be taking any new assignments as a playback vocalist from now on. I am calling it off. It was a wonderful journey,โ said Arijit via a social media post on Tuesday night.
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The 38-year-old artist, who has dominated the Bollywood music scene for over a decade, shared a heartfelt message on Instagram stating he will no longer accept new film assignments.
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The news of Singh stepping away from playback singing comes at the peak of his career as one of the most popular and in-demand voices in Hindi cinema.
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With fans and industry colleagues in disbelief, Singh clarified that he is not quitting music entirely. Instead, he intends to fulfill existing commitmentsโmeaning new releases will still appear throughout 2026โbefore shifting his focus toward independent music and creative exploration.
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โGod has been really kind to me. I am a fan of good music and in future will be learning more and do more on my own as a small little artist. Thanks again for all your support. I still have to finish some pending commitments, will finish them. So you might get some releases this year. Just to be clear that I wonโt stop making music,โ he added.
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Social media exploded soon after the news broke as fans and followers expressed their dismay. “Too soon sir, canโt be real,” wrote one fan in the comments section.
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Another said, “This cannot be true. Arreey but whyyyyyy??????? Why are you doing this to us??? Please donโt go man. We need you for atleast 20 more years,” read a comment.
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Singh’s rise in the Indian music industry has been nothing short of meteoric.
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He started out as a contestant on reality show โFame Gurukulโ in 2005 and made his playback debut in 2011 with โPhir Mohabbatโ from the Emraan Hashmi-starrer โMurder 2โ.
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He broke into the big league with the soulful hit โTum Hi Hoโ from โAashiqui 2โ in 2013. The success of the song made him a household name.
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After that, Singh quickly became the voice of many moods, be it love, heartbreak or happiness. He went on to deliver a string of chartbusters such as โChanna Mereyaโ, โAgar Tum Saath Hoโ, โRaabtaโ, โKesariyaโ, โGeruaโ, โAe Dil Hai Mushkilโ and โChaleyaโ.
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Over the years, he has lent his voice to nearly all of Hindi cinemaโs leading stars, including Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh. Singh recorded songs in multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi, and collaborated with leading composers and filmmakers.
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His work earned him numerous Filmfare Awards, including multiple Best Male Playback Singer honours.
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In July 2025, Singh edged past global pop stars Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran to emerge the most followed artist on music streaming platform Spotify with 151 million followers.