Concerts and other activities

2011, she performed at the Wembley Arena in London and the De Montfort Hall in Leicester. In 2012, she performed at the Rosemont Theatre in Chicago, the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, New Jersey, the Hershey Centre in Toronto, the Ovens Auditorium in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Colden Center Auditorium in Queens College, City University of New York, the Ohio Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, the Cullen Center in Houston, the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., the Garland Special Events Center in Garland, Texas, the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts in San Jose, California, the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, and many more in other places like Connecticut, Georgetown, Guyana etc.
In 2013, Shreya performed in various places in Autralia and New Zealand such as the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre,[ the Dallas Brooks Center in Melbourne, the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, the Vodafone Events Centre in Auckland, etc. She also performed at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium in United Arab Emirates. In 2013, Ghoshal paid a tribute to the casualties of an excessive rainfall in Mauritius with a concert at the The Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre inPailles. After the concert she tweeted, "Thank you Mauritius for showing up today in spite of all the unfortunate that struck us! My sincere prayers to the departed souls. Hope the families find strength in these times. May this paradise called Mauritius never ever see such wrath of nature. God bless this beautiful country
Along with singer Hrishikesh Ranade, Shreya made a stage performance during the 18th annual day celebration of Airports Authority of India in 2013 and sang some of her hit songs. Later in 2013, Ghoshal made a UK and Europe tour in which she sang at various places in Europe, as a celebration of 100 years of Bollywood. She performed at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, the Newport Centre in Newport, the Kultur Casino in Bern, the PWA Silverdome in Zoetermeer, the De Montfort Hall in Leicester, and the Royal Albert Hall in Westminster, London. She gave a tribute to many legendary playback singers of Bollywood.[99] After Royal Albert Hall she tweeted, "Thank you London for giving me this high tonight. Being able to perform here at the Royal Albert Hall itself was a dream come true. And you just elevated this experience of a lifetime to just another level. Thank you for being this brilliant audience"
Shreya also performed at the North American Bengali Conference 2013 Concert in Toronto, serving as the Chief Guest of the grand event

Music career

1998-2002: Career beginnings and early albums In 1998, Ghoshal started recording albums in Indian regional languages, mainly Bengali albums with the label Sagarika.[2] Her first studio album was Bendhechhi Beena, which was released in 1 January 1998, with 14 tracks.[14] Some of her earlier albums include O Tota Pakhi Re, Ekti Katha (1999),[15] Mukhor Porag (2000),[16] and many more, all in the Bengali language. Ghoshal recorded devotional songs in albums like Banomali Re (2002),[17] and later, Krishna Bina Ache Ke (2007),[18] singing bhajans in praise of Lord Krishna. Some of her popular early tracks include "Bendhechi Beena Gaan Shonabo" (Bendhechhi Beena, 1998), "Kon Se Aalor Swapno Niye" (Bendhechhi Beena, 1998), "O Tota Pakhi Re" (O Tota Pakhi Re, 1998), "Beje Jaaye Ki Ragini" (O Tota Pakhi Re, 1998), "Mayabono Biharino Ami Noi" (Mukhor Porag, 2000), "Koiray Amar Gopal Krishna" (Banomali Re, 2002), "Songsarye Keu To Karo Noy" (Banomali Re, 2002), "Projapati E Mon" (Jabo Tepantor, 2003) and many more

2002-04: Devdas and entry into Bollywood

Ghoshal caught the attention of director Sanjay Leela Bhansali when she participated in the 75th Children's Special episode of Sa Re Ga Ma. Bhansali's mother was watching the show and during Shreya's performance, she called him to watch the performance of the "girl". After watching Shreya's performance, Bhansali made up his mind that he would select the girl for his next project. According to him, Shreya's voice had the innocence needed for the character of Paro in Devdas. He faced some difficulty when trying to locate her after the show, as the only thing that he remembered regarding the girl's name was that it started with the Hindi letter 'श'. So, he contacted Gajendra Singh, the creator of the show and told him every details of the girl he knew (thin, black curly hair etc.), to which Singh replied that the girl must be Shreya.[19] In 2000, Bhansali and music director Ismail Darbar offered her the opportunity to be the voice of Paro, the lead female character of Devdas, who was portrayed by Aishwarya Rai. While recollecting the incident when Bhansali called her for the first time, Ghoshal said in an interview, "Sanjayji tried to trace me. I remember that phone call. I could not believe that the director of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was on the line, asking for me. The film was such a hit, yet Sanjayji was so polite and humble. I was speechless."[20] Ghoshal sang five songs in the film, namely, "Silsila Ye Chaahat Ka", "Bairi Piya", "Chalak Chalak", "Morey Piya", and "Dola Re Dola", with established singers like Udit Narayan, Vinod Rathod, Kavita Krishnamurthy, KK, and Jaspinder Narula.[21] "Bairi Piya" was an instant success and topped the charts.[20] “ I remember I was asked to rehearse the song once before finally recording it. I simply closed my eyes and sang without a break. When I opened my eyes, I noticed a lot of excitement and chaos outside the recording room. Then Sanjayji told me I had sung the song so well that they had recorded it at one go. ” —Ghoshal sharing the experience of her first Bollywood recording, "Bairi Piya"[20] She was only 16 when she recorded the first song for the film, "Bairi Piya" with Udit Narayan. According to her, to date she has not rehearsed so much for a film as she did for Devdas. She was a part of the recording for Devdas right from the beginning i.e., when the songs were composed and lyrics were penned, and she used to go to the recording studio everyday. Her Higher Secondary Examinations were nearing that time and she would take her books and notebooks to the studio in order to study during downtime.[19] She added, "I have always admired Aishwarya. I was so excited when I realised I would sing for her. I met her first on the sets of Devdas. She is so humble. I remember between shots, we would sit together, and Sanjayji would ask me to sing Lataji's songs. Aishwarya has a ear for music, so she would join in too. When I sang, I imagined myself to be Paro. Just like Aishwarya, I tried to bring in the Paro's pain, confidence and innocence." Devdas helped Ghoshal achieve national fame with the help of awards such as a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for "Dola Re", a National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for "Bairi Piya", an IIFA Award for Best Female Playback for "Dola Re", a Zee Cine Award for Best Playback Singer – Female for "Dola Re", etc.[22] Her performance also won her the RD Burman Award for New Music Talent. She was an immediate success and was called by various regional film industries for recording songs in her voice. She was soon offered parts in upcoming projects such as Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., Shart: The Challenge, Tujhe Meri Kasam, Julie Ganapathi, Thoda Tum Badlo Thoda Hum, and Desh Devi Maa Ashapura. Ghoshal was a playback singer many times in 2003 for films such as Saaya, Jism, Tujhe Meri Kasam, Armaan, Xcuse Me, Inteha, Out of Control, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., and LOC Kargil.[24] Her song "Jaadu Hai Nasha Hai" from Jism won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer, the IIFA Award for Best Female Playback, and a Screen Award for Best Female Playback in 2004. The song was also nominated in the Zee Cine Award for Best Playback Singer – Female category. In 2004, Ghoshal lent her voice to various composers for films like Plan, Khakee, Shikaar, Tum – A Dangerous Obsession, Muskaan, Krishna Cottage, Main Hoon Na, Aan: Men at Work, Girlfriend, Garv, Dhoom, Phir Milenge, Tumsa Nahin Dekha – A Love Story, King of Bollywood, Shukriya: Till Death Do Us Apart, Rok Sako To Rok Lo, Musafir, and Dil Maange More. Some of Shreya's favourite songs during this period are "Silsila Ye Chahat Ka from Devdas and "Aye Meri Zindagi" from Saaya

Sherya Ghoshal Life

Shreya Ghoshal (Bengali: শ্রেয়া ঘোষাল) (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian playback singer who mainly sings in Hindi films as well as in other Indian languages such asTelugu, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya,Punjabi, and Tamil. She has received numerous awards and nominations, including four National Film Awards for best playback singer, three State Film Awards, fiveFilmfare Awards (four for best playback singer), and seven Filmfare Awards South. She has established herself as a leading female playback singer in Indian cinema.

Ghoshal's career began when she won the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contest as an adult. Her Bollywood playback singing career began with Devdas, for which she received aNational Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer, a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer, and a Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent.^[3]Since then, she has received many other awards. Ghoshal was also honored from theU.S. state of Ohio, wherein governor Ted Strickland declared 26 June as "Shreya Ghoshal Day".^[4] She was also featured in Forbes’ list of the top 100 celebrities of India.^[5] She was declared the most popular artist on Saavn (an Indian music streaming service) in 2013, followed by Arijit Singh, A. R. Rahman, Atif Aslam, andMohit Chauhan

Early life and background

Shreya Ghoshal was born on 12 March 1984 to a Bengali Hindu family in Baharampur, West Bengal. Thereafter, she spent the next three months in her birthplace in West Bengal.^[8] She grew up in Rawatbhata, a small town near Kota, Rajasthan, where her father was transferred. Her father, Bishwajit Ghoshal is an electrical engineer and works for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, and her mother, Sarmistha Ghoshal, is a literature post-graduate.^[9] She also has a brother named Soumyadeep Ghoshal, who is seven years her junior.^[10] Regarding her family, she said in an interview to the The Hindu, "There is no separate entity. We are one. We function as a team."^[11]

Ghoshal lived at Rawatbhata for thirteen years and completed her schooling up to eighth grade at the Atomic Energy Central School, Rawatbhata.^[8] In 1997, when her father was transferred to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Ghoshal relocated toMumbai with her family.^[12] In Mumbai, she studied at the Atomic Energy Central School in Anushaktinagar. She joined the Atomic Energy Junior College to study science. This field held little appeal for her, however, as her musical career in Bollywoodhad already begun. So, she withdrew from the junior college and enrolled at the SIES College at Sion in Mumbai, where she took up arts with English as her major.^[8][9]

The Atomic Energy Central School atAnushaktinagar. Ghoshal studied here from ninth grade to higher secondary

In Rawatbhata, Ghoshal experienced the existence of several cultural programmes and social assemblages, which facilitated the beginning of her musical style. A cultural inclination of her parents and the luck of having a mother as a singer accelerated her musical journey. Her mother sang during rehearsals and she used to repeat by buzzing the same songs with infantile pronunciation. Ghoshal's mother turned out to be her first teacher when, at the age of four, she accompanied her on the harmonium and started practicing songs, chiefly Bengali songs. Her first stage performance was made at their club's annual function. When she turned six, she started her lessons in Hindustani classical music. She was trained in Hindustani classical music by Rakesh Sharma ofKota, Shri Jayawardhan Bhatnagar, the music teacher of her school, and finally from Mahesh Chandra Sharma of Kota. Her introduction to Hindi film songs and Rajasthani folk was made by Shri Jayawardhan Bhatnagar.^[8]

In 1995, Ghoshal became the winner of the All India Light Vocal Music Competition inNew Delhi, which was organised by the Sangam Kala Group, in the Light Vocal group at a sub-junior level. She made her first on-screen appearance Awaz Nayi Andaz Wohi, which was aired on the channel EL TV. Kalyanji-Anandji and Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra served as the judges. She made her first studio recording with the show in 1996. As a child, she won the 75th Children's Special episode of the Sa Re Ga Ma (now Sa Re Ga Ma Pa) contest on Zee TV. She was successful in later episodes of Sa Re Ga Ma when she participated there for a second time. Ghoshal's last connection with Sa Re Ga Ma was the "mega-final" held during the 200th episode on January 1999. It included such judges as Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Ram Narayan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Girija Devi, Anil Biswas, and Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. Ghoshal was declared the winner of the competition.^[8][13]

Regarding her participation in Sa Re Ga Ma, Ghoshal said, "Sa Re Ga Ma, a popular Indian television show at the time, was on the lookout for talented singers. I grabbed the opportunity and mailed my songs in a cassette. Within days, I was called to audition." The late Kalyanji, who also judged the competition, convinced her parents to move to Mumbai. He asked her father to get transferred if he really wanted a Bollywood career for his daughter. Her father requested a transfer to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.^[12] She was trained in playback singing by Kalyanji for 18 months and she continued her classical music training with the late Mukta Bhide in Mumbai.^[8]

Shreya recorded her first song as a professional singer on mike in Marathi. It was a cover version of Ganraya Rangi Nachato, which was originally sung by Lata Mangeshkar and the recording was done at Suresh Wadkar's studio in Mumbai