Top five Bollywood male playback singers

MUMBAI: 2014 witnessed some sizzling and soulful chartbusters. Bollywood's male crooners strummed the right chords and delivered some amazing tracks. Here is a list of the top five male playback singers in Bollywood.

Arijit Singh: Sweeping away maximum awards for 2013's 'Tum Hi Ho' from 'Aashiqui 2', Arijit Singh's success continued in 2014. Versatility is an apt word to describe his singing skills. We heard him sing peppy numbers like 'Raat Bhar'  from 'Heropanti' and also a few soulful songs like 'Samjhawa' from 'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya', 'Muskurane' from 'Citylights', 'Suno Na Sangemarmar' from 'Youngistan', 'Mast Magan' from '2 States' and many more. Singh has also been labelled the most popular singer of 2014 by Hungama. More than 10 songs crooned by him have been featured on Gaana's '2014 Bollywood Top 100'. The generally shy Singh wins hands down even while performing live as he has the ability to keep the audience on their toes. Singh has even bagged a few nominations in 2015 for hits he delivered in 2014.

Ankit Tiwari:  'Sun Rah Hai Na Tu' singer/composer Ankit Tiwari secures third position on the list considering he had one of the biggest hits in 2014. Within a few hours of its release, his track 'Galliyan' from the film 'Ek Villain' went viral. It is placed in second position on Gaana's '2014 Bollywood Top 100'. Penned by Manoj Muntashir, 'Galliyan' has also brought him Star Guild Award nominations in both, 'Best Music Composer' and 'Best Singer Male' categories. Labelling him a one-hit wonder, his lesser known tracks in 2014 include 'Sheeshe Ka Samundar' from 'Xpose' and 'Taquila Wakila' from 'Samrat & Co'. The 24 year old, however, is turning things around and has already received positive responses for the songs 'Katra Katra' from 'Alone' and 'Tu Hai Ki Nahi' from 'Roy'.

Yo Yo Honey Singh: Whether you love him or hate him, you cannot avoid him. Yo Yo Honey Singh became a major household name with the song 'Lungi Dance' from the film 'Chennai Express' in 2013. In 2014 he crooned numbers like 'Sunny Sunny' from 'Yaariyan', 'Ata Majhi Satakli' from 'Singham Returns', 'Chaar Bottle Vodka' from 'Ragini MMS 2', 'Party with the Bhootnath' from 'Bhootnath Returns', 'Manali Trance' from 'The Shaukeens' and many more. The title track of his 2014 album 'Desi Kalakar' was viewed more than two million times on YouTube within 24 hours of its release. He also appeared as a mentor on the reality show 'Raw Star'. Nonetheless he had to withdraw from the show due to prolonged illness. Yo Yo has been a livewire on stage too. Recently, he was nominated by Star Guild Awards in the category of Best Music for the film 'Yaariyan'. His song ' Yaar Na Mailey' from 'Kick' is placed number 10 amongst the '2014 Bollywood Top 100' by Gaana. He even tried his hand at acting for the 2014 Himesh Reshammiya film 'Xpose'. Yo Yo has been out of action for a while now, but often keeps his fans updated with the latest happenings in his life.

Mohammed Irfan: The 28 year old, in 2014, crooned mesmerising tracks like 'Dard Dilo Ke' from the film 'Xpose', 'Baarish' from 'Yaariyan' and 'Banjaara' from 'Ek Villain'. Composed by Mithoon, the song 'Banjaara' is placed on position five on Gaana's 2014 Bollywood Top 100 list and is also featured on 'Hungama's Top 40 tracks of 2014. He was nominated by Stardust for the Best Singer Male category for 'Banjaara'. Big Star Entertainment also nominated him in the 'Best Singer Male' category for the song 'Dard Dilo Ke'. His on stage appearance is quite a graceful one, as he leaves the audiences awestruck with his poignant voice. In 2014, he also teamed up with Meet Brothers for the song, 'Hai Yehi Zindigi' from the film 'Kick'. The unplugged version of 'Muskurane' from 'Citylights' also received positive responses. Irfan recently made his first appearance on MTV Unplugged with Mithoon.

Mika Singh: Mika Singh's 'Jumme Ke Raat' from the film 'Kick' was yet another dance number of the year 2014. The song is featured on Gaana's 2014 Bollywood Top 100 list. Mika was nominated by 'Screen Awards' for 'Best Singer Male'. 'Party Toh Banti Hai' from the film 'Bhootnath Returns' was yet another peppy number which received positive responses in 2014.