Indian music lost a stalwart on May 31, 2022, with the death of playback singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, better known as KK. Widely regarded as one of the industry’s most versatile and gifted voices, KK passed away after suffering a heart attack. Among his closest contemporaries was Shaan, who in a recent interview reflected on KK’s passing and shared warm memories of their time together over the years.
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The “Chand Sifarish” singer appeared on the Maniesh Paul podcast to talk about his storied career and to share some anecdotes from his time as a playback singer. He was asked about his experience of working with KK, and Shaan was quick to reveal that he collaborated with him more times than anyone else. He recalled a simple, homebody of a man, who never wanted to party and just wanted to keep singing.
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Talking about his bond with KK, Shaan said, “I mean, he was in top form, and his voice was at its peak at that point. He was gone too soon, and we lost out on his voice so much. Of course I was very close to him. I think I have sung the most amount of duets with him, more than Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan or Alka Yagnik. We did over 20 songs together, and at least a dozen of them have been superhit songs. Not just songs, but we have done a lot of shows together, and we travelled together a lot as well.”
Shaan credited KK as being an inspiration of his and said, “Every time I would look at him, I would think, ‘Mujhe iske jaisa banna hai (I want to be like him).’ The way he dedicated time to himself and time to his family. I couldn’t do all that because I like partying and all, and I tried to spoil him a little, but there was no chance. He has only attended two parties, and both of them were at my house. Even when you used to call him for TV, it was very difficult to get him out. He just wanted to be in his comfort zone.”
The singer revealed that KK had no vices and would take very good care of his body, which is why the heart attack news shocked everyone even more. “KK didn’t smoke or drink. He never used to have heavy food and had no problems with cholesterol. He used to do swimming and yoga, so he would be the last person you would ever expect to have a heart attack. He never used to do a lot of shows even. During that time he was doing back-to-back college shows, and that too because they were in the same city,” said Shaan.
He added, “We all used to do so many shows, travel non-stop, and attend after-show parties, and we never thought of all this. But after this happened, my family got very worried. I had an MRI done, because if something like this can happen to KK…We were all shocked, and I refused to believe it when I got to know about it. His voice still rings in my head.”
