Leo Kalyan is a British Pakistani singer, musician, model, and music producer. Leo Kalyan is known for his singles and music videos like Fucked Up, Daydream, Fingertips, Outside In and many more.
Wiki/Biography
Leo Kalyan was born on Saturday, January 14, 1989 (age 33 years; in 2022) in London, United Kingdom. His zodiac sign is Capricorn. His hometown is Lahore, Pakistan.
Leo Kalyan’s childhood photos
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 9″
Weight (approx): 60 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Family
Leo Kalyan belongs to a Muslim family.
Leo Kalyan with his family
Parents & Siblings
Leo Kalyan’s mother, Salma Siddiqui, is a former biology teacher and author.
Leo Kalyan with his mother
He has two younger sisters, Numrah Siddiqui and Samirah Siddiqui.
Leo Kalyan’s sister, Numrah Siddiqui
Samirah Siddiqui, Leo Kalyan’s sister
Leo has a brother, Saif Siddiqui.
Leo Kalyan with his father, mother and brother
Sexual Orientation
Leo Kalyan describes himself as queer and prefers the pronouns he, she, and they for his gender. In an interview, he said,
It takes real strength to be a freak. You go through so much – so much discrimination, abuse and rejection – whether you are black, white or brown. Find that strength, find support from your community – and find a way to be your true self… because you only have one life. There’s no point in wasting being someone else.”
Relationships/Affairs
Reportedly, Leo Kalyan is in a relationship with Manasa.
Leo Kalyan with his boyfriend Manasa
religion
Leo Kalyan follows Islam.
Signature
Leo Kalyan’s signature
Career
Singer
In 2013, Leo Kalyan made his debut with a cover of Need U 100% by British musician and DJ Duke Dumont. In 2014, he released several singles such as Breathe, Over You, Stranger, Fingertips, and Golden Age. In 2015, Leo Kalyan released his first extended play (EP) ‘Silver Linings.’ In the same year, Leo released music videos for some of his songs such as Fairground, Get Your Love and Daydream. In 2016, Leo released his second extended play ‘Outside In’ and the music video Fucked Up. Later, he released several music videos such as Focus (2018), The Edge (2018), and Time Can Wait (2019).
Concert
Leo Kalyan has performed live at several music events, stage shows and concerts around the world such as the United Kingdom, the United States and China.
Leo Kalyan performed at a concert in Shanghai
Favourite
- Singers: Mariah Carey, Sade, and Janet Jackson
Tattoo
Leo Kalyan has several tattoos on his arm and one on his chest.
Tattoo on Leo Kalyan’s arm
Tattoo on Leo Kalyan’s left arm
Tattoo on Leo Kalyan’s right arm
Leo Kalyan’s chest tattoo
Facts/Trivia
- Leo Kalyan dreamed of becoming a singer since childhood. In an interview, he said,
I knew I wanted to be a singer since I first discovered I could sing when I was about 13 years old. I kept my singing a secret from my family for years, to be honest. They only know when I sing ‘Umrao Jaan’ in my room when I think no one is home. My family wasn’t very supportive at first and it actually took years for my dad to take it seriously and see it as a real job. He still sometimes says things like ‘why don’t you become a music lawyer or a music journalist?’ and I just had to complain and explain how it’s not really the same as being an artist.
- In June 2022, Leo Kalyan performed some Bollywood songs like ‘Masakali’ and ‘Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko’ at Sonam Kapoor’s baby shower in London, UK. Leo shared the picture on social media and received a lot of hateful comments for wearing a strappy bodycon dress.
Leo Kalyan shared a post on Instagram with Sonam Kapoor
In an interview, talking about the hate he received on social media, he said,
Hate comments don’t bother me at all. because first – some of them are really funny, I share them with my friends and we laugh non-stop (laugh emoticon) too, the hate comments always remind me that just by simply living my life – I am actually CHALLENGING people and societal norms. which means: I did something right.”
- In 2019, Leo Kalyan walked the ramp for renowned designer Rahmur Rahman at London Fashion Week.
Leo Kalyan in a photoshoot for Rahemur Rahman’s show at London Fashion Week
- Leo Kalyan is half Indian and half Pakistani as his family resides in India as well as in Pakistan. In an interview, he talked about his family roots and said,
I’m from South London but between the ages of 11 and 17 I lived part-time in Lahore, which is on the border between India and Pakistan. When partition happened, some stayed in India and some went to Pakistan, so my family was on both sides, which was quite unusual.
- Initially, Leo Kalyan used to hide his identity by not showing his face in music videos.
- Leo Kalyan has studied Indian classical music. He grew up listening to a mix of Bollywood and pop music artists like AR Rahman, Massive Attack, Sade and Janet Jackson.
- Leo Kalyan was awarded PRS Music Foundation funding, which helped him travel to perform at Austin’s SXSW (South by Southwest) festival in 2016.
- Leo Kalyan is often seen drinking wine and smoking with his friends at parties and events.
Leo Kalyan is seen smoking in the picture
Leo Kalyan drinks wine
- In an interview, Leo Kalyan spoke about his journey as a homosexual and said,
It’s a long journey and it’s not easy. It was a long battle with myself, with my parents, with my belief system, and I came out in stages. I came out first to my siblings, then to my mother, and years after that when I came out to my father. It’s a slow journey, but when I come out on the other side, I express like you’re on the outside from the outside, in my EP’Outside in’.
- In an interview, Leo Kalyan revealed that he does not feel safe in Pakistan because Pakistan punishes same-sex sexual activity in the country. He said,
I am obviously more worried about Pakistan than I am about India because section 377 has been repealed in India and it is now legal to be gay, but in Pakistan, it is not. Your rights aren’t protected there, and that’s scary because you can be thrown in jail just for being yourself. I have a gay friend in Pakistan, and you just have to keep it tight. It’s not nice to say, but I became very Islamophobic, especially towards my father and we had very bad arguments because I would say very disrespectful things to him about Islam.”
- Leo Kalyan has been featured on the cover of several magazines such as GQ (August 2020) and Avenue T (2020).
Leo Kalyan was featured on the cover of GQ magazine in August 2020
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
