Yo Yo Honey Singh: I tried acting once, I was very bad at it and it’s the most difficult job - Hindustan Times
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Yo Yo Honey Singh: I tried acting once, I was very bad at it and it’s the most difficult job

ByMonika Rawal
Oct 18, 2022 01:04 AM IST

Music composer, rapper and singer, Yo Yo Honey Singh opens up about his latest song Together Forever, third album Honey 3.0, launching new talent, fitness journey and idea of his biopic.

Yo Yo Honey Singh doesn’t like to be labelled a singer, rapper, writer or a music producer. “I am a performer and an entertainer. Mujhe bas audience ko khush karna hai chahe kaise bhi ho,” says Yo Yo, as he sits down for a freewheeling chat after performing in Delhi recently at HT City Unwind food and music festival. From who should star in his biopic, his fitness journey to collaborating with new talent and his latest song Together Forever, Yo Yo gets candid like never before. And he also spills the beans about his third album, Honey 3.0, which he promises would make his fans forget everything else.

Yo Yo Honey Singh’s latest song, Together Forever, features a black model and it’s a first for any Indian music video.
Yo Yo Honey Singh’s latest song, Together Forever, features a black model and it’s a first for any Indian music video.

Excerpts from the interview:

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How was it performing for HT City audiences in Dilwalon ki Dilli?

It was very good. I’ve performed in Delhi after so long and I always enjoy performing in cities like Delhi, Jaipur, Indore, Hyderabad, Assam etc. Yeh saari jagah bahut wild aur crazy hai. People have a different level of energy at these places. Delhi, especially, is close to my heart because this is my hometown, I was born and brought up here. Log bahut amazing aur mazedaar hai, and I thoroughly enjoyed performing. I had to perform for 90 minutes but the crowd was getting out of control, some guys climbed the pillars and sat on poles risking their lives, so I could only be on stage for 45 minutes.

It was a very moving moment when you dedicated a song to Alfaaz. We know he has been going through a rough time after he was attacked and suffered injuries and you have been sharing his health update on Instagram. Was it difficult to perform without him for the first time?

People think that Alfaaz is an artist to me, a brother and a friend to me, but he is like a son to me. He is with me for last 14 years and has been sharing stage with me for last 11-12 years. Mostly, the first or second during any of my live shows would be Alfaaz’s track Haye Mera Dil. So, I missed him a lot during this performance but now he’s much better and out of danger. I missed him so much, so I thought Haye Mera Dil Alfaaz ke bina hi karte hain aaj.

Your life is nothing short of a masala potboiler be it personal or professional high and lows. If your biopic ever gets made, would you star in it yourself or want someone else to portray your life journey?

No, I wouldn’t want to do because I tried acting once, I was very bad at it. Bahut bakwas acting karta hoon main. Mere bass hi nahi hai acting karna. It’s a very tough job. In performing acts, the most difficult is acting, then writing and then comes singing. So, an actor would be better if my biopic is made. And if you ask me, some new actor, a fresh face should be cast, someone boy next door. But, I feel there’s still some time for a biopic to happen. Abhi namak, mirchi thodi kam hai, abhi kuch karna hai, uske baad masala aur badhega, phir mazaa ayega biopic banegi toh.

A few years ago, your physical transformation left everyone surprised as well as inspired. Is your fitness journey on track?

It’s still continuing... Basically, when I had fallen sick in 2014, I was at home for five years and couldn’t do much work. I had started to compose songs and when I started shooting my songs Saiyaan Ji, Makhna etc, I was very fat at that time, and fans didn’t like that someone who had a great body is out of shape. But, my medication was such that I couldn’t lose weight despite working out. Finally, I took it seriously and left a lot of work to focus only on my fitness.

From being a music composer to a rapper to now a writer and a singer, has this constant transition over the years been difficult?

I never wanted to sing. I didn’t know how to write. I started as a music producer, phir uske baad kaam aata gaya. Then I started to write for other people, then singing happened... so, all this has been a gradual process. In Brown Rang also, I did a bit of singing and rap. So I’m not a singer, rapper, writer or a music producer. I am a performer and an entertainer aur main bas audiences ko khush karna chahte hoon chahe kisi bhi tarah karun.

Tell us about your latest song, Together Forever that has just released, and what new you have brought for your fans this time?

It’s a love song that we shot in Hollywood, LA. It’s for the first time that a black model features in an Indian music video. I’ve always promoted brown girls in my videos because Indians were mostly obsessed with white skin, but since my first song, I have taken dusky girls in my songs. Black is one race that’s not considered beautiful in India and many other countries, but they are gorgeous women. So, I have cast a black girl in Together Forever.

Your last song, Paris Ka Trip has been getting such great response and it was the first time at HT City Unwind that you sang it for live audiences. How was the excitement?

It’s a crazy song. We shot the song in March but due to some reasons, the release kept getting delayed. Milind [Gaba, singer] had thought of collaborating with me for quite some time, and he had made he hear this song almost two years ago and I had told him that we’d definitely work on this together, gaana bahut zabardast hai. Then we wrote it, shot it and finally it’s out. It’s a very commercial yet simple song. When I performed it on stage, 50% audiences already knew the lines of the song, which released just four days ago, so it felt really nice.

Today, when you collaborate with new artistes, what is the sense of responsibility that comes along with it that you need to make them comfortable and a part of the project?

I don’t think I’m at a position yet that I can launch someone. Yes, I do try and give a chance to new talent because I’d never say that nobody gave me a chance. A lot of people gave me opportunities including (singer) Ashok Mastie paaji and (late singer) Raj Brar paaji when I was in Punjab. Then I came to Delhi and released Brown Rang and became a pan-India and eventually a worldwide artiste. So, my attempt is to always push new talent and never overshadow them instead complement one another. Collaborating is all about blessing each other.

What’s the next big thing that your fans should be waiting for?

I am very excited for my next, my third album Honey 3.0 that releases in January next year. It has some never-heard-before music. Until very recently when I was writing songs, some people said, ‘Purane Honey Singh wali baat nahi hai’. So, the new version that I’m, bringing for my fans, it’ll make you forget everything I’ve released so far, be it International Villager or Desi Kalakaar. Honey 3.0 will have a mix of some old flavour and lot of new music and my fans would get to see a different level of fitness.

Interact with the author on Twitter/@monikarawal

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