MUMBAI: Indian Idol 12's judge and Indian singer Neha Kakkar is pretty renowned for being an eminent Bollywood playback singer, along with her two other siblings -elder brother Sonu Kakkar and younger brother Tony Kakkar, who are also established singers in the same industry.
She rose to prominence by singing Bollywood part songs in a spree like 'Second Hand Jawaani' from Cocktail, 'Sunny Sunny' from Yaariyan and 'London Thumakda' from Queen, following which she gradually began dominating the industry by releasing other types of chartbusters like 'Aao Raja' from Gabbar Is Back, 'Tu Isaq Mera' from Hate Story 3, 'Humne Pee Rakhi Hai' from Sanam Re, 'Kar Gayi Chull' from Kapoor & Sons, 'Aankh Maarey' from Simmba, 'Dilbar' from Satyameva Jayate, 'Badri Ki Dulhania' from Badrinath Ki Dulhania, 'Cheez Badi' from Machine, 'Kala Chashma' from Baar Baar Dekho and the private single 'Nikle Currant', all of which crossed over six hundred million views.
She proved her versatility in musical range with the release of 'Mile Ho Tum' from Fever which topped the list of most-viewed Bollywood songs on YouTube.
In December 2020, she appeared on the list of Asia's 100 Digital Stars by Forbes and in January 2021, she became the first Indian singer to win a YouTube Diamond Award.
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However, Neha has achieved all these accolades after struggling over a really long time, to leave her prominent mark in the industry.
For the unversed, Neha and her entire family shifted from Rishikesh (Uttarakhand) to Delhi in the early '90s, for Neha to try her luck in singing as the family was burdened with a financial crisis. Hence, as a 4-year-old kid, started performing at local gatherings and religious event with her siblings, which apparently 'boosted her self-confidence, such that she continued in this line straight till the age of sixtreen!
In 2004, she and her brother Tony moved to Mumbai. Therein, in the year of 2006 and at the age of eighteen, Kakkar auditioned for Indian Idol 2, wherein she unfortunately faced an early elimination from the show. However, she was pampered on the sets of the show for being the youngest participant.
However, Neha kept struggling to get recognised in the industry for five years after Indian Idol 2, still she failed to claim a secured position therein. Hence, she became more occupied with the concerts and event performances that took her 'across the world'. According to her, during this phase, she started getting recognised publicly as the 'Jai Mata Di girl'.
In 2008, for the very first time, she collabed with Meet Bros. Anjjan and launched her debut album 'Neha The Rockstar', which comprised of some romantic songs that were performed by her. Simultaneously, she got a chance to record a music album named Romeo Juliet, which was composed by her brother - Tony Kakkar.
The following year, she was featured in the theme song of Akshay Kumar starrer Blue (2009), which was composed by A.R. Rahman and wherein she provided the chorus vocals for the song. She then lent her voice for the title track of the Hindi-language soap opera Na Aana Is Des Laado (2009), which holds a special place in her heart for being women-centric. This is how Neha finally got her golden ticket into Bollywood and eventually, became a prominent figure therein, such that in the present scenario, she is one of the active judges on the same reality show she had got eliminated from - Indian Idol's 12th instalment.
Apart from her remarkable journey, the other factor about her that has stunned her fans and the listeners is her drastic and impressive transformation over time. Who could have thought that the very same 'Jai Mata Di girl' would evolve into India's one of the leading head-turning singing sensation and diva at the prime of her career!!
Now, scroll down below to catch up with the singer and the judge's STUNNING transformation pics:
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Source: Internet and Instagram