The Top Five Male Singers. Review on Ten Best Male Singers of Bollywood

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” - Victor Hugo Music has been an integral part of our lives from times immemorial. Here I am putting my thoughts into writing on “The Top 5 Male Vocalists”. I was at first hesitant regarding the choice of the topic basically because unlike females, there are wide variations in listening interests as far as male singers are concerned. In females only a few divas rule. But that’s not the scene in the male arena. I am well aware of the fact that my listing is going to disturb many and in many cases it is may just force people to think and rethink. But the opinions expressed here are of my own. They are based on how I think males fare or I should say, still faring in the music spectrum. There may be wide variations from an average layman’s perspective, but I’ll still go on with what I think. My review is based solely on the richness of the voice, the classical depth and the intensity one puts in the background while singing a particular song. So based on these observations I would rate the top 5 male vocalists of the country as: 1. K.J.Yesudas I know that this choice would be disagreed by many, but as per my standards of scaling, there is none other than Yesudas for this prestigious post. Yesudas has been in the music industry for so long and is still going on. Although Yesudas has sung a major part of his songs for South Indian films, he also has a good share in Bollywood. Many of his Hindi songs are blockbusters. Personally I would say that Yesudas has got the sweetest voice among male singers. No one can match the standards that he has set. He is more interested in singing the songs in his way than how the composer tells him to sing. That factor has worked wonders. He is a real musical excellence. 2. Mohd. Rafi The apt choice for the second slot. Mohd. Rafi has given us huge blockbuster songs which we enjoy even today with the same fervor with which he sang years back. Rafi Saab was technically a very correct singer. He did not believe in singing songs just flat. He introduced great variations in his songs and that’s why I really admire him. Moreover during his time there were no retakes again and again for a song and not even advanced sound equipments. But even then his sound quality was superb. His romantic songs are really a pleasure to listen to. 3. Mukesh He is the ultimate choice for this slot. Mukesh has redefined the way in which emotional songs have to be sung. His songs had so much pain, so much trauma in them that it is next to impossible to have someone who can sing such sentimental songs with such an intense feeling in them. Although he was stereotyped as a singer only for Raj Kapoor, his songs have been masterpieces in themselves. 4.Hariharan Another singer who has a unique style of his own. Classically very sound and my personal favorite. I just enjoy listening to his songs. He is blessed with a very sweet voice and the way he expresses the feelings behind the song are just marvelous. He is the master of fusion. His drowning career was reincarnated by A.R.Rahman and he is a regular singer in Rahman’s movies and no doubt he has done wonders. The way he sings catchy tunes in pure Hindustani classical is noteworthy. A talented singer to the core. 5. Udit Narayan Udit Narayan can be called the singer of the masses. He has a great fan following and by any standards he is a very talented singer. He has worked eventually with all the composers and has the potential to sing all types of songs. A singer who is great to watch when he sings. He seems to enjoy his music like anything. That’s what makes his music unique and also brings out the best in him. The only thing that bothers me is that he has a tendency to sing even substandard songs. I feel that a singer like him should be a bit choosy regarding what he sings. CONCLUSION I know for sure that there are many singers who are missing from this list. The reasons more to do with my personal choices than anything else. There may be a lot of people who may find singers like Kishore Kumar  worthy to be part of the list as they have a mammoth fan following. But the truth is that this is my personal review. But there are also other singers whom I really admire but they couldn’t make it to the top 5. They are Sonu Nigam, A.R.Rahman himself, Kay Kay, Sukhwinder Singh and Srinivas. But the thing was that I had to choose my best as much as possible and they missed out. Hope you enjoy this review. Comments are always welcome.