India, Jan. 29 -- Arijit Singh's rise as a singer has many twists and turns that can make for a Bollywood blockbuster. Growing up in Murshidabad, West Bengal, Singh was trained in classical music - and his guru barred him from listening to popular music - before he attracted national fame as a singer in a reality show in 2005, and later, as a Bollywood singer. In 2025, he was billed as the most popular star on Spotify with 151 million followers, more than what global stars including Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran had. This had more to do with the desi music lovers, of course, but the numbers reveal the billing he had among lovers of a certain kind of music. Now, at 38, he has taken the music world by surprise, announcing that he was "calling it off": He clarified that he "won't stop making music", though he would not be singing in films. This is rare in India, where film music has long been the barometer for popularity as a singer - which is perhaps why none of the major singers have ever quit films at their peak, or even after. And singing and composing in India have been silos breached rarely, unlike in the West. Technology has transformed the entertainment industry, and the emergence of new platforms has radically altered the rules of the game. Singh's decision - he hopes to explore a career as an independent composer - may also be provoked by the changes in Bollywood, where songs are now on the periphery. As an established voice - he is popular on streaming platforms as well as on the concert stage - Singh has a captive audience, and his international collaborations suggest that he should be able to transcend his core desi fan base and find new listeners. That said, Singh deserves applause for leaving the comfort zone and leaping into the unknown....