A look back at the musical journey of Bollywood's most versatile singer

Singer and composer Krishnakumar Kunnath known by his stage name KK passed away on May 31 at the age of 53 He was gifted with a boisterous yet mellifluous voice that will be remembered by his fans for many decades to comeAn auditory treat for his listeners the versatile musician was an integral part of most 90s kids lives as his music helped many of them get through several facets of life be it heartbreaks or the simple daily hustles His melodious voice and penchant for love songs touched a chord with people making him stand tall among all the talented singers of BollywoodThough a Malayali by birth who had never undergone any formal training in music KK never shied away from singing in languages he was not much acquainted with like Tamil Telugu Kannada Marathi Bengali and Gujarati This is yet another reason why the singers fans can be found across the nationBorn in New Delhi to C S Menon and Kunnath Kanakavalli on August 23 1968 he was an alumnus of Delhis Mount St Marys School Following his college KK reportedly had a short stint as a marketing associate in the hotel industry after which he shifted to Mumbai to pursue a career in musicHe was greatly influenced by the singer Kishore Kumar and music director RD Burman Michael Jackson Billy Joel Bryan Adams and Led Zeppelin were also some of his favourite international singers and bandsIn 1994 he took a chance and gave a demo tape to Louis Banks Ranjit Barot and Leslie Lewis After working on several jingles over the next few years he was introduced as a playback singer with A R Rahmans hit song Kalluri Saaley and Hello Dr from Kadirs Kadhal Desam and then Strawberry Kannae from the musical film Minsara KanavuFinally in 1999 he made his debut as a Bollywood playback singer with Tadap Tadap from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam Though prior to this he had sung a small portion of the song Chhod Aaye Hum from Gulzars MaachisIn the same year he came out with his debut solo album titled Pal with Leslie Lewis composing the music Every 90s kid will always remember KK for the albums title track Pal and also Yaaron which gave most school kids friendship goals His voice struck a connection with listeners that left them wanting for more and such was the emotional connect that even today these songs are played in school and office farewellsKK also appeared in the Josh of India song for the support of the Indian Cricket Team during the 1999 Cricket World CupHe next sang Jab Bhi Koi Haseena for the movie Hera Pheri and by 2001 KK had sung songs like Jhanak Jhanak Baaje for the movie Farz Mil Jaye Khazana for Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Meraa Ghar and Aaja Gufaon Mein for Aks The following year he sang Dola Re Dola and Maar Daala for the movie Devdas and Bardaasht for Abbas Mastans HumraazOver the next few years he kept giving hit Bollywood numbers in several films and finally in the year 2008 KK released his second album Humsafar wherein the song Raina Bhai Kaari was a mix of Bengali Baul with rock and had a tinge of S D Burman Besides KK had also sung an English Rock Ballad CinerariaThe year 2010 saw him sing songs like Zindagi Do Pal Ki and Dil Kyun Yeh Mera for the movie Kites In 2013 KK sang for an international album Rise Up Colors of Peace which consisted of songs written by Turkish poet Fetullah Gulen and sung by artists from 12 countries He recorded a song named Rose of My Heart for the albumOver the span of his almost 3decadelong career KK sang more than 500 songs in Hindi and more than 200 songs in Telugu Bengali Kannada and Malayalam languages He had also received various honours including two Screen Awards for Best Playback Singer Male NonFilm Music and many moreKK had married his childhood sweetheart Jyothy Krishna in 1991 and they had two children Nakul and TaamaraHe was a musician who wasnt labeled by any particular genre or style his voice merely went handinhand with wonderful music of all kinds KK sang upbeat dance songs as well as cheesy romantic hits and this is what made him a singer of all ages who will forever be cherished in the hearts of his millions of fans across the globe He was a singer who sang and performed till his last breathThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever