Akasa Singh is an Indian singer who is well known for her songs Naagin (2019) and Kheech Meri Photo (2016).
Wiki/Biography
Akasa Singh was born on Saturday, 2 April 1994 (age 27 years; as of 2021) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Her zodiac sign is Aries.
Childhood picture of Akasa Singh with her mother and brother
Born to a singer father and a dancer mother, she was intrigued by performing arts since childhood. She grew up watching her father giving stage performances and made up her mind to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Thereafter, accompanied by her mother, she started auditioning for various acting roles. She attended Mithibai College, Mumbai. During her college days, she actively participated in various youth fest activities like anchoring, singing, and dancing.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 5”
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Akasa Singh’s father, Arvinder Singh, is a singer. Her mother, Ameeta Singh, is a trained Kathak dancer. Her brother, Aasa Singh, is also a musician and singer.
Akasa Singh with her family
Religion/Religious Views
Akasa Singh belongs to a Sikh [1] Namdhari [2] family.
Career
When Akasa was 17, Indian singer Mika Singh, a family friend of Akasa, introduced her to the industry by including her in his band. In the band, she was the only girl among 10 male members who were above the age of 40. With the band, she extensively travelled throughout the world for live shows and concerts.
Akasa performing with Mika Singh in 2012
Her career took off when her YouTube videos went viral after which she was cast in a singing reality show. At the beginning of her career, she was signed by the record label Sony Music India through a reality show.
Television
At 15, Akasa Singh started her career as an actor; she played the lead role in a Punjabi daily soap. She pursued acting for a year during which she also appeared in a couple of teenage shows on Channel V and other channels. She came into the limelight with the 2014 Indian singing reality show ‘India’s Raw Star,’ where she was mentored by the popular Indian playback singer Himesh Reshammiya. Impressed by her voice, Himesh Reshammiya promised to give her a break in Bollywood. She made it to the top five of the show, but she did not win.
Akasa in India’s Raw Star (2014)
In 2016, she appeared in MTV’s ‘Angels of Rock’ in which she travelled across India, meeting women with inspiring stories, along with other Bollywood singers Jasmine Sandlas, Shalmali Kholgade, and Anusha Mani. For the women empowerment oriented show, Akasa wrote and composed two songs.
In the same year, she played the role of Piya in an episode of the romance anthology series ‘Yeh Hai Aashiqui.’ The episode follows an orphan named Nick, who makes ends meet by working in a garage and winning biking competitions, and a girl named Piya, who is planted by her boyfriend and Nick’s arch-rival Adi to distract Nick from winning an upcoming race.
Akasa Singh in Yeh Hai Aashiqui (2016)
In 2018, she made her debut as a TV host with MTV Beat’s ‘Secret Side.’ While talking about the opportunity to host a TV show, she said,
I have always loved talking and interacting with people (and apparently I ask a lot of questions), so the hosting makes it legit.”
In 2021, she appeared as a contestant in the popular Indian reality game show ‘Bigg Boss 15.’
Playback
As promised in the show ‘India’s Raw Star’ (2014), Himesh Reshammiya gave Akasa the opportunity to voice the song “Kheech Meri Photo,” which was featured in the film ‘Sanam Teri Kasam’ (2016). Dubbed as the selfie anthem, the song earned Akasa immense popularity.
Kheech Meri Photo (2016)
Thereafter, she lent her voice for the songs “Kudi Gujarat Di” from the film ‘Sweetiee Weds NRI’ (2017), “Aithey Aa” from the film ‘Bharat’ (2019), and “Prem Pujari” from the film ‘Drive’ (2019). She worked as a playback singer for the web series ‘Maaya: Slave of Her Desires’ (2017) for the songs “Take Me Higher” and “Rafta Rafta.” For the Indian erotic thriller web series ‘Twisted 2’ (2017), she lent her voice to the song “Raat Ki.” Another prominent song of her career is “Dil Na Jaaneya” from the film Good Newwz (2019) for which she collaborated with American pop artist LAUV.
Singles (Label- Sony Music Entertainment India)
In 2018, she released her debut pop single “Thug Ranjha.” Most-watched Indian video worldwide on YouTube in 2018 [3], “Thug Ranjha” garnered immense popularity, crossing 27 million views in one month. The song was composed and written by Vayu.
In 2019, she released the party song “Maaserati.” In the same year, she struck stardom with the chartbuster song “Naagin,” which garnered over 180 million views within three months of its release.
In 2020, she released a song titled “Naiyyo” in collaboration with Indian rapper-singer Raftaar. The light-hearted quirky song is about relationship drama and heartbreaks. Another hit song titled “Shola” by Akasa, in collaboration with Nepali actor Rohit Saraf, was released in 2021.
Others
In 2017, she collaborated with the global star Ricky Martin for the English version of his Spanish single “Vente Pa’ Ca.” While other singers sang their parts in English, Akasa added Hindi lyrics to the song, along with an alap.
In 2018, she created a mashup of Ed Sheeran’s song “Shape of You” and Badshah’s song “Mercy.” She was also the composer and lyricist for the song “Naiyyo” (2020).
OTT/Web Series
In 2018, she appeared in Amazon Prime’s reality show ‘The Remix’ as a contestant, alongside DJ Skip.
In the same year, she made an appearance in Amazon Prime’s dating show ‘Hear Me. Love Me.,’ hosted by Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. Each episode of the show follows a different girl who goes on three virtual dates, where she can see the world through her date’s perspective, but she cannot see her date. Akasa starred in the episode titled “Perfect Pitch” in which she went on virtual dates with a celebrity manager, a commercial pilot, and a fashion photographer.
Favourites
- Actress: Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra
- Food: Panipuri
- Singer(s): Sunidhi Chauhan, Beyoncé, Adele, John Mayer
- Music Genre: Punjabi Folk Music
- TV character: Joey (from the television series Friends)
- Cities: Mumbai, New York
- Film(s): Pretty Woman (1990), The Notebook (2004)
Bike Collection
- Royal Enfield Classic 350
Akasa Singh riding her Royal Enfield
Car Collection
- Volkswagen Polo
Akasa Singh standing beside her car Volkswagen Polo
Facts/Trivia
- She is a street food junkie and loves to eat Panipuri. In an interview, she claimed that she could eat Panipuri three times a day.
- She is also known by her stage name AKASA. [4]
- While talking about her onstage persona in an interview, she revealed that while growing up with brothers, she did not give any thought to the code of conduct set by society for girls. She said,
I grew up with only brothers. While growing up, I never hesitated for anything, thinking whether it would be inappropriate to behave in a way since I’m a girl. I did what I saw my brothers do. So, with that confidence I never hesitate onstage about how I’d look while rapping, or whether I have to behave/perform in a particular way since I’m dressed in a lovely ghagra choli.”
Akasa Singh’s Instagram post
- Apart from singing, she is fond of dancing, reading, and riding bullets.
- She is an animal lover who has a pet turtle named Swagger and a Maltese (dog) named Treble.
Akasa Singh with her dog Treble
- In 2014, she did the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
Akasa Singh undertaking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
- She has two tattoos, a musical note inked on the back of her neck and “you are enough” inked on the inside of her left arm.
