Decoding KK’s most loved songs on his birth anniversary: He didn’t want to sing Tadap Tadap, how his natural voice got him Sach Keh Raha

Singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, aka KK would have turned 54 today. The singer, who passed away in May this year shortly after performing at a concert in Kolkata, continues to live on via his music and will stay relevant for years to come. His music is loved across generations and has touched individuals in difference phases of their lives.
The singer, once known for his “young and casual” voice, withstood the test of time and every song he crooned brought him closer to his audience. Chances are that you will have a favourite KK track for every situation in life — from friendship to first love, from heartbreak to finding your place in life.
Music lovers first took notice of KK he came up with his music album with songs “Yaaron dosti” and “Pyar Ke Pal” 1999. We were all humming these earworms, and every farewell party or reunion was incomplete without these songs.

Music composer Lalit Pandit of Jatin Lalit duo says KK’s voice was a ‘gift from God’. In an earlier interview with , he had shared, “He had a God-gifted voice. He was a very fine singer. The clarity of his high notes was remarkable. We don’t have singers singing like him these days. His voice had a kind of kashish. Words would dance on his lips. Anybody can sing, but not everybody is a gifted singer like him. The voice quality he had was like no other. Thousands of singers come and go but not many can insert emotions into the song like he did. He knew how to give expressions through his voice.”
He explained that KK combined natural talent with hard work. “Most of his singing sounds effortless, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t work hard. He worked very hard, and had his fair share of struggle. He didn’t sing too many songs. He never wanted to. He would sing only those songs that touched him in some way. His voice suited his beautiful personality. He had a charisma that really worked well for his live concerts, something he loved doing.”

Music composer Sameer Anjaan shared how KK, who was a struggling arte at the time, was the perfect fit for “Sach Keh Raha Hai Deewana” from Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein. The makers were looking for a different kind of voice that would sound good with R Madhavan’s “different” screen presence. He said, “I was in Chennai, writing songs with music director Harris Jayaraj for Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein. Producer Vasu Bhagnani (producer) told me that he wants a new singer for this particular song, someone with a very fresh voice, which is deep yet youthful. So, I had heard of KK and I suggested we try getting him to sing the song. I had instantly liked him as a person and his voice was so beautiful, very natural. I thought he would be a great fit because the hero (R Madhavan) was different, the story was also quite different.”

KK’s music is like a life cycle, and his song “Tadap Tadap” from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, starring Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Ajay Devgn, was as much for everyone going through a heartbreak as it was for people craving love. The song is a complete catharsis in itself, and one cannot help but sing the song in a high pitch even if they fail to match the song’s notes and scale.
When KK sang “Tadap Tadap”, he took the nation storm. However, the beauty of this singer was, he always let his music lead him, as he never tried to steal the song’s thunder. However, this was one song that KK was not to sure if he could pull off.

Talking about “Tadap Tadap”, Darbar says, “KK was an iconic singer because for someone to sing a song like ‘Tadap Tadap’, they didn’t have to be a great singer, but someone who sang from the heart, and KK sang from his heart. The song needed someone with a deep and soulful voice, that’s why I wanted only him to sing it. KK was a pop singer, so when I offered this song to him, he clearly told me that he wasn’t sure if he can do it. He said, ‘Ismail bhai, yeh gana toh main gaa hi nahi sakta hoon. This is not my style of singing.’ But, I was convinced that KK would nail it. I composed the song, and I had a vision of what it has to sound like, so I knew how I wanted him to sing.”

The singer was quite enigmatic because of his reclusive nature. He stayed away from media for the longest time and would hardly be seen in the public eyes, except when he was performing live on stage.
Sameer, on KK’s love for live gigs, shared, “I want to sing, perform and be with my family’. He used to hate getting his make-up done, stand in front of the camera, face the light, but he loved his live performances and his concerts, and he was very passionate about it. He was one of the finest performers on stage. I’ve seen him perform live, his audience would go crazy about his songs. The love he got from the public was phenomenal, and I wonder how he did it without beating his drum about it. He never went out of his way to promote his concerts either, people would know he is going to be there and they’d show up, that’s it.”