Sapna Awasthi

Sapna Awasthi Singh is a Bollywood playback singer^[1] best remembered for her "Pardesi Pardesi" from Raja Hindustani (1996), "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from Dil Se.. (1998), Angoori badan from jaanwar (1998)and "UP Bihar Lootne" from Shool (1999).^[2]

Sapna Awasthi started training in classical music at a young age and completed Sangeet Vishaarad in Bhatkhande Music Institute, Lucknow. She began singing for the radio when she was fifteen, before performing on stage. She received her first break in Bollywood from composer Sameer Sen.^[3]

Awasthi is from Kumaon region of Uttarakhand and relocated to Mumbai after singing songs in Krantiveer (1994). She has sung for prominent musicians like Nadeem–Shravan, Anand–Milind, Anu Malik, A. R. Rahman, Sandeep Chowta and others. Her biggest hit to date, as is usually believed, is not her duet 'Chaiyya Chaiyya' (co-singer Sukhvinder Singh) for A. R. Rahman's Dil Se (1998), but 'Pardesi Pardesi' (co-singers Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik) for Nadeem-Shravan's Raja Hindustani (1996).