'Why Are So Many Treating This As Obituary?': Sona Mohapatra On Arijit Singh Retiring As Playback Singer, Say Producers 'Overuse' One Voice

Singer Arijit Singh shocked his fans after announcing his retirement from playback singing following a 15-year-long journey in the industry. In a social media note shared on Tuesday, the singer revealed that he will no longer take up new assignments as a playback vocalist. However, he clarified that he will complete his pending commitments and that fans can still expect some releases in 2026.

Sona Mohapatra Reacts To Arijit Singh Retiring As Playback Singer

Reacting to Arijit's announcement, on Wednesday, January 28, singer Sona Mohapatra said his exit felt more like an arrival into freedom, authorship, and possibility. She added that producers tend to overuse one voice, rarely demo singers, audition multiple voices in an exhausting process that 'kills' music directors, and eventually record Arijit, thereby keeping an exploitative cycle alive simply because it is convenient.

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'Why Are So Many Treating This Like An Obituary?'

On her social media, Sona further added, "And honestly India why are so many of you treating this like an obituary? The man is making music, not disappearing as he clearly stated. Why are we so terrified of more flavours, more voices, more imagination? What kind of creative famine do you enjoy with just one flavour of ice cream?"

Sona further stated that she is proud of her own journey of continuously creating music without the backing of labels or films, calling it an incomparable feeling of agency.

She added, "Here's to artists choosing freedom over fear. That’s how new eras begin."

What Arijit Singh Said

Singh wrote, "Hello, Happy new year to all. I want to thank you for giving me so much of love all these years as listeners. I am happy to announce that I am not gonna be taking any new assignments as a playback vocalist from now on. I am calling it off. It was a wonderful journey."

"God has been really kind to me. I am fan of good music and in future will be learning more and do more on my own as a small little artist. Thanks again for all your support. I still have to finish some pending commitments , will finish them. So you might get some releases this year. Just to be clear that I won't stop making music," concluded the singer.

Some of Arijit's most popular songs include Tum Hi Ho, Agar Tum Saath Ho, Soch Na Sake, Kesariya, Apna Bana Le, Ve Kamleya, Binte Dil, Gehra Hua, Chaleya, and O Maahi, among others.