KK or Kay Kay (1968-2022) was an Indian singer, known for recording songs in various languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati. He is known for his popular soulful songs “Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai” from Woh Lamhe… (2006), “Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai” from Gangster (2007), “Aankhon Mein Teri” from Om Shanti Om (2007), “Khuda Jane” from Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008”) and “2Tu Jorangi Bhai”. On 31 May 2022, he died of a suspected heart attack at the Nazrul Mancha auditorium in Kolkata.
Wiki/Biography
Krishna Kumar Kunnath was born on Friday, 23 August 1968 (age 53 years; at time of death) in Delhi. His zodiac sign is Virgo. He attended Mount St Mary’s School, Delhi. After that, he followed a course in commerce at Kirori Mal College, Delhi. After his graduation, he moved to Mumbai, Maharashtra, where he started his career as a singer. KK was a vocalist since childhood and grew up participating in competitions and rock bands in school and college. In an interview, he revealed that he enrolled in music classes for a while during his childhood, but since he never felt the need to study music, he stopped. He said,
I went there for three days only. I hate it because for me music has no boundaries and I don’t understand why one should learn to sing. So I left, and I never came back.”
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 5″
Eye Color: Black
Hair Color: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
KK belongs to a Malayali family hailing from Thrissur district in Kerala. His father name is CS Nair and mother name is Kunnath Kanakavalli.
Wife & Children
In 1991, KK married his longtime girlfriend Jyothy Lakshmi Krishna. He is a professional painter.
KK and Jyothy Krishna on their wedding day
Together, they have a son, Nakul Krishna Kunnath, and a daughter, Tamara Kunnath. Both are singers, music composers, and music producers.
KK with his wife, Jyothy, and children
Relationships/Affairs
KK proposed to his girlfriend, Jyothy Lakshmi, in 10th standard. In an interview, he revealed that he sang “Pyaar Deewana Hota Hai” for Jyothy at his colony’s annual function. While talking about the same, he said,
Uss time mummy papa bhi baithe hote the, toh aise direct bhi nahi ho sakte the, toh beech beech mein teen chaar baar steal kar liya gaate gaate”
(At that time, our mother and father were also there, so we couldn’t be very direct. So, we used to steal glances while singing)
At the time, he was unemployed, so he got a job in sales to marry her. He went on to work in sales for six months to become an eligible groom. Humorously recounting her love story during an interview, she said,
Job karni zaroori thi, nahi toh main agar bolta ki main gaata hun, toh vo bolte gaata toh main bhi hun, kaam kya karte ho?”
(It is necessary for me to take a job if they will ask me what I do, and they will ignore me if I say I sing)
KK and Jyothy Krishna
KK and Jyothy Krishna
Career
Before entering the music industry, he worked in the marketing department in the hospitality industry for a while, and then he moved to Mumbai. After many disappointing attempts to break into the Bollywood music circuit, KK got a chance to work as a jingle singer when he presented his demo tape to Louis Banks, Ranjit Barot and Lesle Lewis in 1994. Soon, he got a break from UTV, and he sang a one-minute jingle for Santogen Suitings.
He has sung over 3,500 jingles in eleven Indian languages including Pepsi’s Yo Frooti and Yeh Dil Mange More. KK also lent his voice for the song ‘Josh of India’ in support of the Indian Cricket Team during the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
Dubbed Songs
KK was introduced as a playback singer with the songs “Gaya Kolej” and “Hello Dr” composed by AR Rahman, which was featured in the film Duniya Dilwalon Ki (1996), the Hindi version of which was titled Kadhal Desam (1996). KK also voiced the Telugu version of the song. The following year, she voiced the song “Strawberry Kannae” for the Tamil film Minsara Kanavu and its Hindi version “Strawberry Ankhein” for the version titled Sapnay. In 2004, entered the Kannada film industry when she voiced the songs “Elu Bannada” and “Maargayare” in the film Love (2004). He also voiced the songs “Yedu Rangula Prema” and “Maargayare” in the Telugu version of the film titled ‘Prema Nagar.’
Music Albums
In 1999, she came into the limelight with her debut album, Pal, released through Sony Music India and composed by Lesle Lewis. The songs “Pal” and “Yaaron” from the album gained huge popularity among 90’s teenagers and were commonly played at school and college graduations during that time.
KK Sahabat’s Debut Album
Although KK gained massive recognition with her debut album, she chose to pursue a career in playback singing instead of producing independent music to gain the fame that Bollywood had to offer. While talking about the same in an interview, he said,
For me both ‘Pal’ and ‘Tadap tadap’ from ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ happened at the same time. Suddenly there were two roads in front of me. I feel that one cannot beat the popularity that the film route can give. To make your own music, one has to disconnect from the environment, which I have no intention of doing.”
In 2008, he released his second album, Humsafar, featuring the song Raina Bhai Kaari, a mix of Bengali Baul with rock and SD Burman tones.
Bollywood
KK made her Bollywood debut as a playback singer with Indian music composer Vishal Bhardwaj’s song ‘Chhod Aaye Hum Galiyan Chhod Aaye Hum’ in the action drama film Maachis (1996). The song is sung collaboratively by Hariharan, Suresh Wadkar, Vinod Sehgal, and KK. In 1999, KK gained popularity with AR Rahman’s chart-topping soundtrack ‘Tadap Tadap,’ which was featured in the film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Another crowd-puller sung by him was “Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe” from the upcoming 2001 film ‘Dil Chahta Hai;’ the song is collaboratively sung by Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, and KK. He has many popular playback credits under his belt including ‘Such Keh Raha Hai’ from Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein (2001), ‘Zara Sa’ and ‘Dil Ibaadat’ from Jannat (2008), and ‘Piya Aaye Na’ from Aashiqui 2 (2013). His last released song was ‘Yeh Hausle’ from the movie 83 (2021).
Other languages
In the 2000 Assamese music album ‘Mann,’ he lent his voice to the songs “Man Dilo” and “Kajol Tumi.” His song “Cineraria,” from the album Humsafar (2008) is an English rock number. He rendered his first Malayalam song “Rahasyamay” in 2009 for the film Puthiya Mukham. He rendered his Bengali song, Akasher Nile, in 2011 for the film Faande Poriya Boga Kaande Re. In 2013, KK lent her voice to the song “Rose of My Heart” for the international album “Rise Up (Colors of Peace),” by Turkish poet Fethullah Gülen. The album contains songs sung by different artists from 12 countries. The song “Ved Lagale Hey” from the film Friendship Dot Com (2014) marked KK’s debut in the Marathi film industry. After that, she lent her voice to various Marathi songs like “Hi Tarunai” from Spandan (2017). Her debut Gujarati song was “Tari Mari Vato,” which was featured in the film Order Order Out Of Order (2018).
Television
He was a member of the jury for the talent search show Fame Gurukul (2005). He also appeared in the MTV Coke studio where he recreated a version of his song ‘Tu Aashiqui Hain’. Other TV shows in which he appeared include Sony Mix TV Show and MTV Unplugged Season 3. He has voiced the title track in various TV series like Just Mohabbat, Shaka Laka Boom Boom, Kuch Jhuki Si Palkein, Hip Hip Hurray, Kkavyanjali and Just Dance. In 2008, KK sang a song called “Tanha Chala” for the Pakistani TV show The Ghost. Additionally, he collaborated with Shreya Ghoshal for the theme song for Star Parivaar Awards (2010).
Award
- Best Singer in the Non-Film Music category at the Screen Awards (1999) for the album Pal
- National Award for “Tu Aashiqui Hai” from the movie “Jhankaar Beats” in 2003
- Goldie Film Award, US for Best Male Playback Singer for the song “Chalte Jaana Hain” from the movie “Life! Camera Action…” in 2012
- Best Playback Singer (Male) at Screen Awards (2009) for the song “Khuda Jaane” from the film Bachna Ae Haseeno
- Hub Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 2005
- Filmfare South (Kannada) Award 2010 in the category of Best Playback Singer- Male
- Eenam-Swaralaya Best Singer Award (2012)
Death
On 31 May 2022, he died of a suspected heart attack after arriving at his hotel, following a performance at the Nazrul Mancha auditorium in Kolkata. Reportedly, at about 10.30pm, when the singer arrived at his hotel, he complained of feeling unwell following which he was rushed to the city hospital, where he was pronounced dead. However, the Kolkata Police registered it as a case of unusual death. Reportedly, his face and head suffered injuries, hence an autopsy is scheduled to be conducted at SSKM Hospital in Kolkata to ascertain the cause of death. He was cremated at Versova Hindu Cemetery, Mumbai.
KK during his performance at Nazrul Mancha in Kolkata on May 31, 2022
KK’s wife, Jyothy Krishna, paid her last respects to her husband
Favourite
- Cuisine: South Indian, Italian
- Music Bands: Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Extreme, Eagles
Facts
- Interestingly, the popular singer has never had formal music training.
- The first song he performed on stage was Fernando by ABBA.
- He credits Lesle Lewis as his mentor in the world of advertising jingles.
KK and Lesle Lewis
- KK’s son Nakul, 13 years old, sang a song called ‘Masti’ with him in the album Humsafar (2008).
- He belongs to a family with a musical background as his father is very fond of music, his mother performs music, and his maternal grandmother is a music teacher.
- His interest in music began in his school days. He used to listen to his mother’s Malayali songs, which his father used to record in a small tape recorder.
- He gave his first stage performance during his school days while studying in Class 2. He sang ‘Jab Andhera Hota Hai’ from the movie “Raja Rani (1973).”
- On his wedding day, he sang Mohammed Rafi’s song “Tere Mere Sapne Ab Ek Rang Hain” for his wife.
- After he sang his first jingle, music director Ranjit Barot approached KK about the cost of his work. Not fully familiar with the industry’s payment system, KK was anxious to answer. Later, when Ranjit snapped his five fingers, KK expected him to be paid Rs. 500, but, to his surprise, he received Rs. 5000.
- The song ‘Maa’ from the movie “Taare Zameen Par (2007),” was initially recorded by KK. After recording the song KK went on vacation. He was later asked to make some changes to the song, but as he was unable to do so, the song was sent to Shankar Mahadevan.
- In August 2021, he bought an Audi RS5.
KK with his Audi RS5
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
