Aalap Raju
| Aalaap Raju | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Aalaap Raju |
| Born | 6 June 1979 |
| Occupation(s) | Playback singer, musician |
| Years active | 2010–present |
Aalaap Raju (born 6 June 1979) is a playback singer and a bass player from Chennai, India. His rendition of Enamo Aedho from the movie Ko composed by Harris Jayaraj topped the music charts for several months in 2011 and won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer – 2011. He has sung for music directors like Harris Jayaraj, Thaman, G.V Prakash, Deepak Dev, D.Imman, and Sreekanth Deva. His other noticeable songs include Vaaya moodi summa iru da from Mugamoodi, Engeyum Kadhal from Engeyum Kadhal, Endhan Kann Munnae from Nanban, Kadhal Oru Butterfly and Akila Akila from Oru Kal Oru Kannadi, Anjana Anjana from Vandhan Vendran, Kuthu Kuthu from Ayyanar, Endhuko Yemo from Rangam, Nenjodu Cherthu from Yuvvh, Theeyae Theeyae from Maattrraan, Jal Jal Osai from Manam Kothi Paravai, and Maya Bazaar from Ennai Arindhaal.
Music was something that was natural to him since he hails from a musical family. His parents, J. M. Raju and Latha Raju, are playback singers in Malayalam while his grandmother, late Smt. Santha P. Nair and grandfather, late K. Padmanabhan Nair were well known names in the Malayalam music industry in 60s and 70s. Though in his school days he wanted to become a professional cricketer and represent India in the International level, his under graduation days at Loyola College (Chennai) had other plans for him. His college mates inspired him to take up singing and bass guitar in parallel in his 1ast year. Months of practice made Aalaap a self-taught musician in playing bass guitar and singing, Aalaap's name spread through the most prestigious cultural events in India especially 'Saarang' (hosted by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai) where he was awarded 'Best Instrumentalist' for his bass playing. And that was the starting point of numerous recording sessions and live performances in India and abroad. His singing took more prominence once Ennamo Yedho and "Engeyum Kadhal' released in 2011, composed by Harris Jayaraj. Aalaap now concentrates on singing and bass playing equally in Studios and Live.
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