KK or Krishnakumar Kunnath is a prominent and versatile Indian playback singer who has enthralled the Indian film industry with his soulful renditions over years. He has voiced numerous songs for Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil films. With his immensely appealing voice and diverse renditions, this gifted singer has established himself amongst the leading playback singers of the country even without any formal training. Inspired by the works of legendary singer Kishore Kumar and noted music director R. D. Burman, KK exhibits expertise in several musical genres.
Early Life of KK
KK was born on 23rd August 1968 to a Malayali family in Thrissur, Kerala. His parents are C. S. Nair and Kanakavalli. KK grew up in Delhi and did his schooling from Mount St. Mary School. He graduated in Commerce from Kirori Mal College, Delhi University. After completing his education, he worked in the hotel industry for a brief period of eight months as a marketing executive. Later, in 1994, he moved to Mumbai to follow his dreams in the music industry.
Career of KK
In the year 1994, in an attempt to step into the music arena, KK handed his demo tape to Leslie Lewis, Ranjit Barot and Louis Banks. Following this he was called for singing a jingle for Santogen Suiting advertisement by UTV. He marked his debut as a playback singer with A. R. Rahman`s hit song `Hello Dr` and `College Styley` from Kadir`s Kadhal Desam. Later in the year 1997 he sang the song `Strawberry Kannae` for the AVM Productions`s musical film Minsara Kanavu. KK made his Bollywood debut with the song `Chhod Aaye Hum` from the film Maachis. He sang a small portion in the song. However he shot to fame with the song `Tadap Tadap Ke Is Dil` from the 1999 flick Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. In the same year, during the Cricket World Cup, he also appeared in the `Josh of India` song for supporting the Indian cricket team.
KK rocked the Bollywood with his enchanting renditions. His songs like `Tu Aashiqui Hai` from Jhankaar Beats, `Awarapan Banjarapan` from Jism,
`It`s The Time To Disco` from Kal Ho Naa Ho, `Khuda Jaane` from the film Bachna Ae Haseeno, `Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai` from Woh Lamhe, `Ajab Si` from Om Shanti Om, `Alvida Alvida` from Life in a Metro, `Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai` from the movie Gangster, `Soniye Soniye` from Aksar and many more garnered huge popularity and earned him a prominent place in the music industry. Through his clear voice and heart touching renditions he became the favourite of famed music directors like Vishal-Shekhar and Pritam. He was also tagged as the new voice of India. Apart from Bollywood, KK also sang a number of songs for the south Indian film industry.
Other Musical Ventures of KK
In the year 1999, KK was selected by the Sony Music for launching his album titled Pal for which Leslie Lewis composed the music. The title song of the album became a chartbuster rendering much fame to the singer. The songs `Yaaron` and `Aap ki Dua` from the same album also became huge hits. KK released his second album in 2008 titled Humsafar. The songs `Rain Bhai`, `Yeh Kahan Mil Gaye Hum` and `Aasmaan Ke` from the album became quite popular. He has also sung an English Rock Ballad Cineraria. Out of the 10 songs of the album, 8 have been composed by KK himself. KK has also lent his voice to the television serial songs such as Kavyanjali, Kuch Jhuki Si Palkein, Shaka Laka Boom Boom, Just Mohabbat etc. He also appeared as a jury member in the talent hunt show Fame Gurukul. He has been a part of the musical venture of MTV India called Coke Studio and Surlie Baat aired on Aaj Tak Channel. He has been a performer at Sony Mix TV Show and MTV Unplugged Season 3. Apart from these KK has performed at a number of music concerts worldwide.
Achievements of KK
KK has been honoured with the National Film Award for the song `Tu Aashiqui Hai` from the movie Jhankaar Beats. In the year 1999 he won Screen Awards for Best Playback Singer - Male (Non-Film Music) for the song `Pal` from his album Pal. In 2009 he received Screen Awards for Best Playback Singer - Male for the song `Khuda Jaane` from Bachna Ae Haseeno.
Personal Life of KK
KK is married to Jyothy Krishna since the year 1991. The couple has a son named Nakul and daughter named Taamara. In his album Humsafar, his son sang the song `Masti` with him.