Aditya Prateek Singh Sisodia, (born 19 November 1985), known professionally as Badshah, is an Indian rapper, singer, songwriter, music and film producer and businessman known for his Hindi, Haryanvi, Punjabi, and Indian pop music. He is often regarded one of the greatest and the most influential music artist in India. He is also one of the highest paid artist in Asia. He is currently signed to Universal Music Group. In 2012 he released his independent Haryanvi song Kar Gayi Chull, which was later adopted into the 2016 Bollywood movie, Kapoor & Sons. His music has been featured in Bollywood soundtracks for films such as 2014 films Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Khoobsurat. He is also considered one of the highest-paid artists and also a controversial rapper of India, for his songs like Genda Phool and Pagal.

His debut single, "DJ Waley Babu" featuring Aastha Gill, was ranked number one on the Indian iTunes charts within 24 hours of the release. The song crossed a million views on YouTube within 30 hours. In 2016, he collaborated with Navv Inder on "Wakhra Swag" which won the 2016 Punjabi Music Awards for best duo/group and most popular song of the year award. He has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as one of the highest-paid celebrities in India and as the only rapper in the list.

Ever since 2016, roughly each of his commercial works have been topping charts including the YouTube Music Video Charts, BBC Asian Network Charts, Billboard charts and other several Indian radio and Indian streaming charts as well. As of 2020, four of his songs peaked on World Digital Song Sales chart by Billboard. His work, "Genda Phool" came out to be commercially one of the most successful number in the Indian history.

Early life and family

Badshah was born in Delhi, in a Rajput Hindu family, to a father from Haryana and a mother from Punjab. He is married to Jasmine. They have a daughter Jessemy Grace Masih Singh (born January 11, 2017).

He completed his schooling from Bal Bharti Public School, Pitampura, Delhi where he performed with his school choir. Prior to becoming a full-time musician he enrolled as a math student at the prestigious Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi before moving to civil engineering at PEC, Chandigarh, where he was exposed to new Punjabi music which promoted him to take on "rap" writing. He has stated that if he had not become a rapper, he may have become an IAS officer.

Career

He started his career in the music industry with the name "Cool Equal", but then changed his name to Badshah. He further is known for his catchphrase "it's your boy Badshah", often stylized as "Ish yo boy Baad-uh-sh-aa-ah".

On 7 August 2020, the rapper released a classic pop and hip-hop album namely, 'The Power of Dreams of a Kid' which had 8 tracks and includes features from the artists namely Lisa Mishra, Sikander Kahlon, Fotty Seven, Bali and Music Producer Andy Grewal. The entire mastering and mixings of the album was done by Aditya Dev.

His 2019 song "Paagal" reached 74.8 million views on YouTube within 24 hours, setting the record for the most-viewed video in 24 hours on YouTube. BTS fans claimed that the artist had bought the views to cross the global record due to his low number of likes in the first 24 hours, but YouTube did not confirm whether the views are real or fake. The song also did not appear in the 100-position Global Top Music Videos chart for the week. However, Badshah denied it was fake views, but admitted his record label Sony Music India bought paid Google Ads.

An explanation for YouTube not acknowledging the record was that Badshah's record label Sony Music India had purchased advertisements from Google and YouTube that embedded the video or directed fans to it in some way. However, it has emerged that this is a common practice in the global music industry, and that similar practices had previously been used by the record labels of previous record holders such as Ariana Grande and Blackpink. This has cast doubt on some of the 24-hour viewership records on YouTube.

His song "Genda Phool" was released by Sony Music India in 2020. It had mixing with a Bengali folk song "Boro Loker Biti Lo". Ratan Kahar, a Bengali artist, claimed to be the original writer and composer of the folk song. Though Badshah later released a statement saying that it was a traditional Baul folk song which was not copyrighted, since folk music does not fall under copyright protections and is thus in the public domain.

He again collaborated with Jacqueline Fernandez in the song Pani Pani, the song is sung by Aastha Gill along with him. The song was an instant hit and has been viewed more than 500 million times on YouTube. He further released the Bhojpuri version of the song by collaborating with Khesari Lal Yadav. He rapped in the song in Bhojpuri language. The Bhojpuri version got more than one million views in less than an hour and became the first Bhojpuri song to do so.

TV Shows

Dil Hai Hindustani

They call it The Show. 'Dil hai Hindustani,' they say. A Talent Hunt is like no other, a musical extravaganza jam-packed with nonstop entertainment, but why? Because it brings together global talent in unison. Excellent for the future of the Indian music industry, which currently appears to be stagnant. Musicians from London, Russia, Uzbekistan, Morocco, and Russia performed and were well received. Ankita and Saraswati Bhattacharya, a mother-daughter duo from Kolkata, were also praised for their outstanding rendition of the old song Teri Mehfil. The music and songs are of exceptional quality, and the show is well received by the general public. Dil Hai Hindustani received a lot of love on social media.

Dil Hai Hindustani is an Indian reality singing competition programme in Hindi that debuted on Star Plus sometime in December 2016. On the weekends, the show aired at night. Producing the show is Ranjeet Thakur and Hemant Ruprell's Frames Production. This show is special in that it allows competitors from all over the world to compete, not just those from India. Haitham Mohammed Rafi won the first season, and Akshay Dhawan won the second season. Singers of all ages will be given the opportunity to audition. Haitham Mohammed Rafi from Oman won Season 1 and was followed by Euphony Official and Barnali Hota. Akshay Dhawan won the second season, with Mountain Souls.ft Gaurdeep coming in second.

MTV Hustle 2.0

MTV Hustle is the country's first rap/hip-hop reality show.  Aspiring rappers compete for the title of India's biggest hip-hop star. Season 1 debuted on August 10, 2019. Raftaar, Nucleya, and Raja Kumari were the judges. Gaelyn Mendonca hosted the show, which aired on MTV India and is now available on Voot. In Season 1, 40 auditionees were chosen from online registrations for studio auditions, of which only 15 rappers were chosen to compete against each other. Rappers were evaluated based on their writing, rapping style, and overall performance. M-ZEE-BELLA was declared the winner on October 13, 2019, and EPR was named the runner-up of MTV Hustle Season 1

MTV Hustle Season 2 premiered on September 3, 2022, with Baadshah serving as Judge and Dino James, Dee MC, King, and EPR serving as Squad Boss. Krissann Barretto hosted the show, which aired on MTV India and is now available on Voot. In MTV Hustle Season 2 through Voot Online Auditions, 14 contestants were selected. The four Squad Bosses will train the contestants and judge them based on their talent, performance, metre, technique, musicality, and storytelling after Badshah chooses which squad contestants to place in each squad. Through open voting on the Voot, viewers will also have the chance to participate in the quest to support their favourite performer.

 Struggles

Badshah's swagger will make you go pagal with all of his raps. Some of his chartbusters include Kar Gayi Chull, DJ Waley Babu, The Wakhra Swag, and many more. In addition, he made his Bollywood debut with Khandaani Shafakhana. The Badshah we know today did not inherit a golden spoon; the struggle uphill was a real battle. He's had his fair share of ups and downs. His choice of career as a rapper was a no-go because it did not fit the typical career standards. But if he wasn't a rapper, he was on his way to becoming an IAS officer. However, despite going without money for days and even sleeping on the ground, Badshah said he had enjoyed every aspect of his journey so far. In a recent interview with Pinkvilla, Badshah discussed his difficult times and confessed that he had always wanted to be a rapper. It was difficult for him to tell his parents because rapping was an uncharted territory and an unconventional career.

But despite the family's reaction, he continued to work hard toward his goal. Badshah was asked how long it took him to realise that rapping was his hobby rather than a traditional career during an interview with Pinkvilla. He retorted that although it took him some time, he was wise in his approach. The singer mentioned that when he told his parents he wanted to become a rapper, they had no idea what that even meant. He therefore didn't bother to explain them and kept his head down while continuing to work, study, and even work a few jobs while also pursuing his passion for music on the side. Badshah recalled how his parents were shocked when he once parked a high-end vehicle outside of his home. He explained that he bought the car by performing music when they questioned how he could afford it. Then, according to him, his father realised that his career might generate income for his son.

Badshah claimed that his father was unaware of his musical career in the past because it didn't bother him if his son appeared on television. Rapping is not a typical profession, so his father was more concerned with whether he was earning enough money to support himself. According to Badshah, it took him five years to tell and persuade his parents that he wanted to pursue music. He claimed that they had misgivings because he was one of the first rappers to perform in Hindi and there was no precedent or standard. Sonu Nigam is a good example to use if someone wants to become a singer, the artist said, but he was unable to do so because no one existed at the time. He said that it greatly bothered his parents because they were worried about whether their child was using drugs or engaging in other bad behaviour. However, everything worked out in the end, and he began making a good income.

 Controversies

Case of fake views on the song Pagal (2019)

His 2019 song 'Paagal' set the record for the most watched YouTube video in a single day with 74.8 million views in just one day. Due to his low number of likes in the first 24 hours, BTS fans claimed that the artist had purchased the views to break the record, but YouTube has not confirmed whether the views are real or fake. The song was also absent from the week's 100-position Global Top Music Videos chart. Badshah acknowledged that his record company, Sony Music India, had purchased paid Google Ads but denied that they were fake views.

The reason YouTube refused to recognize the song was that Badshah's record company, Sony Music India, had paid for Google and YouTube advertisements that either embedded the video or pointed fans in its direction. However, it has come to light that this is a widespread practice in the music industry worldwide and that record labels for previous record holders like Ariana Grande and Blackpink have used similar tactics in the past. Some of the YouTube 24-hour viewership records have been questioned as a result of this.

Plagiarism in the lyrics of the song Genda Phool (2020)

In 2020, Sony Music India released his song 'Genda Phool.' 'Boro Loker Biti Lo,' a Bengali folk song, was mixed in. A Bengali artist named Ratan Kahar claimed to be the song's original author and composer. Although Badshah later claimed that it was a traditional Baul folk song that wasn't copyrighted because folk music isn't covered by copyright laws and is therefore in the public domain. Rapper Badshah gained attention in April for the song's credit row, 'Genda Phool,' which featured Jacqueline Fernandez.

Ratan Kahar's name is not mentioned in the song credit of Badshah's remake of the song 'Genda Phool,' which was released on March 25 and quickly became one of the top trends on YouTube. Kahar, the original song's composer, had expressed dissatisfaction with the reimagined version. After that, Badshah got in touch with the musician and even provided him with financial assistance by depositing Rs 5 lakh into his account. Even more, he assured Kahar that he would come to his home in Suri, Birbhum, West Bengal.

Awards
 

• Mirchi Music Awards, IN
• 2017 Critics' Award Album of the Year Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)
• PTC Punjabi Music Awards
• 2016 Winner PTC Punjabi Music Award Best Duo/Group Navv Inder feat. Badshah: Wakhra Swag (2015)
• Talent Track Awards
• 2022 Digital Movies & TV Series Award Best Singer - Male Paani Paani (Bhojpuri Version) (2021)
• Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, India
• 2022 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award Favourite Rapper