Armaan Malik reacts to criticism around singing only ‘easy songs’: ‘In Bollywood, we don’t choose our songs’

Armaan Malik confronts backlash for his songs, stating that growth in artistry is a gradual process. equests fans to recognize his hard work.

Singer Armaan Malik, who is popularly known for his hit tracks like Bol Do Na Zara, Main Rahoon Yaa Naa Rahoon, Butta Bomma, and more, recently addressed the criticism surrounding his work and the requests from fans asking for the “old Armaan back.”

Armaan Malik reacts to people saying he only sings easy songs.

Armaan on working in silence

On March 12, in a series of tweets on X (formerly Twitter), Armaan responded to people criticising his song choices and commenting, “sirf easy gaane gaata hai” (only sings easy songs). He said, “Working in silence is tougher than it seems. It takes years of patience and resilience to prepare for the moment your talent and hard work are finally recognised. Until then, it's a quiet struggle – a personal battle fought within.”

He further recalled how he started singing when he was just eight, got his first song at 18, dreamed of singing in English at 14, and released his debut single a decade later at 24—citing how everything unfolds in its own time. Addressing the backlash over his song choices, Armaan spoke about adjusting to new things and said, “Everyone says: ‘Bring back the old Armaan Malik... the Bollywood one.’ But just like every app gets a software update, and it takes time to adjust, growth works the same way. With time, things only get better. Every artist evolves, shedding their old skin to become a better version of themselves.”

Armaan on ‘tu sirf easy gaane gaata hai’ comments

He then pointed out the versatility in his music, saying, “Har artiste ke alag alag rang hote hain just like rainbow” (Every artiste has different colours, just like a rainbow). He added, “People comment all the time, ‘Arey tu sirf low scale mein hi gaata rahega kya?’ (Oh, will you only keep singing in a low scale?) Meri binti hai un logon se ke pls Pehla Pyaar suniye” (I request those people to please listen to Pehla Pyaar). Log puchte hai ke tu sirf easy gaane gaata hai, pls listen to Humnawaa with AR Rahman sir & Ghalib Hona Hai with Sanjay Leela Bhansali sir.” (People ask if I only sing easy songs, so please listen to Humnawaa with AR Rahman sir and Ghalib Hona Hai with Sanjay Leela Bhansali sir.)

When a fan compared his song Control with Bol Do Na Zara, saying they were just worried that he’d lose his vibe while switching between genres, Armaan replied, “Zara filmmakers bhi waise gaane ke briefs dein composers ko toh humein waise gaane gaane ko milenge!” (If only filmmakers gave composers the brief for such songs, then we would get to sing those kinds of songs!) “In Bollywood, we don’t choose our songs; the songs choose us.”

Earlier, when Armaan started singing in English and released his song You, he faced criticism from people commenting, “English mein mat gaa, Hindi mein gaa, tu usme hi behtar hai” (Don't sing in English, sing in Hindi, you are better at that). However, the singer revealed that he took those comments with a pinch of salt.