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Sonu Nigam and Udit Narayan may be the top names in playback and AR Rahman and Anu Malik the biggest music directors, but this year certainly belonged to the dark horses.

Music directors Pritam, Vishal-Shekhar and Vishal Bhardwaj and singers Shaan, KK, Kunal Ganjawala, Rekha Bhardwaj, Zubeen Garg and James are the names that have emerged on top of the Bollywood playback list in 2006.

And the varitey they offered was astounding! Indeed it was never like this before. Pop, Sufi, qawwalis, rock, ballads, bhangra or lounge-music directors offered an eclectic mix of music scores that not only appealed to the youth but qualitatively were the best so far!

Right Mix
Variety simply rocked Bollywood in 2006. If there was a sufi inspired Mitwa from KANK, there was also a typical nautanki number Beedi from Omkara. And above all there was A R Rehman's Rang De Basanti compositions which had the youth swaying to the beats of Masti ki Paathshaala and Ru Ba Roo.

Besides these, Pritam's Ya Ali from Gangster, Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai from Woh Lamhe, Crazy kiya re from Dhoom 2, Vishal-Shekhar's Mumbai nagariya from Taxi No. 9211 and Golmaal from Golmaal offered a dynamic mix of foot-tapping songs which were quite popular with the masses.

On the vocal front, Zubeen's Ya Ali and Rabbi, KK's Tu Hi meri Shab Hai and Kya mujhe from Gangster, Shafqat Ali's Mitwa, Sunidhi Chauhan's Beedi, Rekha Bhardwaj's Namak Ishq Ka, Kunal Ganjawala's Dil na Laga and Tere bin, Shaan's Main hoon don, Where's the party tonight and Chaand sifarish and James' Na jaane Koi and Chal chale were a rage among the college-goers.

New Kids on the block
2006 also saw a number of new voices coming up which proved that they had the potential to be amidst the top-league singers. If Shafqat Ali swayed the nation with his voice in Mitwa, Zubeen's Ya Ali made him an over night star. Besides that there was James who rocked the nation with Na Janee Koi in Gangster.

Says Baabul director Ravi Chopra, "With so much talent around, you no longer have to hunt." There are more options now." Admits Pritam, who used Ganjawala, KK and other as the lead singers for his films, "Thanks to some new and talented singers success has been possible."

"Music directors have experimented and used fresh and distinct voices and that is what clicked in my case," says KK.

On the female front, Sunidhi Chauhan, Alisha Chinai and Shreya Ghosal continued to rule the roost. Rekha Bhardwaj proved her mettle yet again with Namak Ishq ka. From the top league singers Sonu Nigam had mixed success with Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Jaane-e-Mann and the Aaj ki raat from Don, whereas, Udit's biggest hit has been Khaike paan from Don. "Filmmakers were bold enough to bank on new singers and composers," says Shankar Mahadevan of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. "If such experiments happen, there won't be any first or second grade artists," says Zubeen.

Music-director-cum-singer Himesh Reshamiya had a terrific year with his songs from Aksar, 36 China Town, Aap Ki Khatir, Phir Hera Pheri, Humko Deewana Kar Gaye being featured among the Top 10 songs in the music countdowns.

Stiff Competition
Top music directors like A R Rahman (Rang De Basanti) and Shankar Ehsaan Loy (KANK and Don), Anu Malik (Jaan-e-Mann and Umrao Jaan) were the show stealers this year. But it was Pritam who proved to be the surprise package of 2006 with back-to-back hits like Gangster, Woh Lamhe, Dhoom 2 and Bhagam Bhag.

"We have the biggest musical hit of the year in the form of Gangster (Pritam). The year 2006 has been full of surprises with plenty of hits and mostly from second rung artists," says Subroto Chattopadhyay, CEO and president, RPG Enterprises, entertainment section.

Himesh Reshamiya was another music director who had back-to-back hits like Humko Deewana Kar Gaye, Mujhko yaad sataye teri and Ashiqui Main Teri. Says the Singer, "Today, the names don't matter. What appeals to the people is your music andf so if the msuic is good, it will be a hit."

Music steals the show
Overall, 2006 proved yet again that music helps sell a film. Says trade expert Komal Nahta, "Aksar was a success thanks to its music." Similarly, Gangster, Woh Lamhe and Aap Ki Khatir weren't as popular as their music.

All in all 2006 saw the Hindi film music back with a bang!