Famous Classical & Pop Indian singers who are made their mark globally

There are many genres of music. The various types of people globally have led to the growth and development of different music styles and genres.  

As such, there is no universally accepted way of classifying music. It is almost impossible to create an exhaustive list of music genres from all over the world. The top recorded music genres globally include – classical, rock, techno, pop, hip-hop, country, electronic dance music (EDM), metal, rap, jazz, rhythm & blues (R&B) etc.  

Indian music takes different forms, such as – folk, classical, and pop music. Many Indian artists have enthralled listeners from across the globe with their musical performances.  

Let’s look at famous Classical & Pop singers from India that have made their mark globally. 

Shujaat Husain Khan  

Among the greatest North Indian classical musicians, Shujaat Husain Khan belongs to the Imdad Khan gharana of the sitar. Khan’s style of playing the sitar – gayaki ang – is imitative of the subtleties of the human voice.  

Born in Calcutta in May 1960, Shujaat has recorded over 60 albums.  

Beginning his musical career at the age of 3, Khan gradually was recognized as a child prodigy. By the age of 6 years, Khan was giving public performances. 

Shujaat Husain Khan is the disciple and son of Ustad Vilayat Khan, the great sitarist. His grandfather, Ustad Inayat Khan, and his great-grandfather, Ustad Imdad Khan, were all leading artists in their generations.  

Shujaat Khan has performed throughout Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa. Khan has performed at all the prestigious music festivals in India.  

The Rain, a collaboration featuring Shujaat Khan and Ghazal, an Indo-Persian ensemble, was nominated under the “Best Traditional World Music Album” category of the Grammy Awards in 2004.  

Atif Afzal 

A New York-based singer-songwriter, songs by Atif Afzal have featured in various American television series.  

Originally from Mumbai, Atif Afzal moved to the U.S. in February 2018. Before this, Afzal had been to the U.S. to explore the market and meeting with others in the industry.

Mumbai-bred Atif Afzal goes with the nickname A-Zal.  

With an impressive filmography, most recently Afzal has composed the soundtrack for the Marvel series Loki. Titled “Adhaan Maghribi”, the soundtrack by Afzal is the music score to which the climax of the season finale unfolds. 

Jay Sean 

The South-Asian singer that made Indian hip-hop popular on the world stage, Jay Sean has broken many stereotypes along the way.  

On March 26, 1981, Jay Sean was born as Kamaljit Singh Jhooti in London to Indian immigrant parents in a Punjabi Sikh family. Sean was raised in South Hall’s Asian community.  

At the age of 11 years, Jay Sean formed a hip-hop duo Compulsive Disorder.  

Brilliant academically, Sean won a scholarship at the Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry to train as a doctor. Sean dropped out in 2003 to pursue singing as a career.  

In his own words, choosing Jay Sean as a stage name came naturally enough, “Jay comes from my last name Jhooti and my grandmother used to call me shaan which is where Sean comes from”. 

Indian singer Jay Sean won 3 awards at the 2009 U.K. Asian Music Awards. Sean performed with Akon at the Grammy in 2009. 

Sean was placed at #35 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Artists of the year.  

Jay Sean became the first South Asian artist to perform at the Madison Square Garden in New Work.  

In 2015, Sean reunited with Juggy D and Rishi Rich.  

In 2020, Sean came out with Eyes on You 2 that reached No. 1 on BBC Asian Chart.  

Tesher 

Known for innovative remixes and merging tracks, Tesher has the unique ability of picking up English songs and incorporating Bollywood tracks or simply Eastern beats into the same.  

A Canadian-born Indian, Tesher has managed to balance his South Asian heritage with the Western culture that he grew up in. Born in 1995 as Hitesh Kumar in a Punjabi family in Canada, Tesher grew up in Saskatchewan.  

A blend of the 2 cultures, Tesher’s music reflects the same.  

Transcending the boundaries with his mash-ups, the 28-year old Tesher is making waves in the international music industry.  

Tesher started making music as early as 11 years of age. However, he had to wait for many years for gaining recognition.  

A self-taught musician, what began as a hobby for Tesher turned him into an international music artist. Uploading mashups to YouTube, Tesher did it all, from bhangra mashups to country remixes.  

Sony Music India asked Tesher for an official Bhangra remix of Kar Gayi Chul from the Bollywood movie Kapoor and Sons. A year later, Alia Bhatt performed on stage on the remix.  

In 2019, another remix Old Town Road vs Ramta Jogi went viral on TikTok, leading his audiences to uncover his previous discography. It was this song that put Tesher on the global map.  

A year later, Tesher had launched Young Shahrukh. The single by Tesher claimed the #1 spot on BBC Radio Official Asian Music Chart in the U.K., reaching #4 on Billboard’s Top Thriller Global Chart. 

The global music industry is intensely competitive. Many international artists in Indian Musicthat have made their mark are with Indian roots or claim an Indian-origin.