Quotes from Javed Ali

Music is in my genes. My entire family is into singing.

I know nothing other than singing and I feel blessed.

Ghazal singing will come back with a bang.

I do see myself doing more than just playback singing.

It's an honour when your audience sings along, more than they listen to you at a live gig.

As an artist, I do not want to limit my skills to one medium alone.

Dance numbers continue to be popular and I believe soulful and romantic tracks, too, will never go out of trend.

My father belongs to Muzaffarnagar. Though I was born and brought up in Delhi, we, as a family, are known as U.P. wallahas.

I love to go to Aksa Beach at midnight.

Until I started performing in public, when at the end of the concert people would come to me with teary eyes and say that my performance took them to a trance zone, I had no idea that I can create an impact with my singing.

By the time one song gains popularity, another one is introduced.

I grew up listening to Hindi and Marathi songs of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosale.

Music is a blessing which God has given to all of us. All of us might not be able to sing but we have an ear for songs and music, that itself is a big blessing.

I enjoy singing soulful melodies because they add that extra zing to your performance.

Basically as someone who grew up in Delhi, crooning in southern languages which I don't understand is very difficult.

I know that composers know my voice type and what songs will suit me. I have been able to mould my voice according to the nature of the song given to me, be it rock, pop or jazz.

I have sung songs for several actors in movies, including Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. Unfortunately, even after singing songs for their movies like 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' and 'Raees,' the two actors have not lip-synced them on screen.

One has to sing from the heart to let it touch the right chords. Unless you enjoy the song, your listener will not either.

Eventually, I began singing in various shows. It was then that I started appreciating the breadth and depth of Hindi film music.

Coming from a middle class background, I faced a lot of hardships during my initial years in Mumbai. I did not have much money and had to sing jingles and bhajans to survive. But those years taught me that a singer should be versatile.

As I grew older, I realised that I could be versatile. I decided to try out a variety of singing styles by becoming a playback singer.

When I came to Mumbai, I realised an individual should be versatile, and in playback singing you have different genres where you can explore yourself.

I am a student of Ghulam Ali, who was like my guru. I changed my name in his honour.

I still recall how nervous I was when I went for the recording of 'Guzarish'... When I reached the studio, all of them were there - Rahman, Aamir Khan, lyricist Prasoon Joshi and director A.R. Murugadoss.