K. S. Chithra

Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 Songs in various Indian languages languages such as Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Awadhi, Marathi, Tulu, Badaga, Braj, Banjara, Urdu, Assamese, Gujarati, Manipuri and Sanskrit, as well as foreign languages such as Malay, Latin, Arabic, Sinhalese, English and French.

Chithra, renowned for her extraordinary vocal talent, is widely recognised as the ''Golden Voice'' of India, a title bestowed upon her by the prestigious Royal Albert Hall, London in 2001. The Times Group has honoured her as the ''Melody Queen'' of Indian Cinema in 2016, reflecting her immense contribution to the industry. She is also celebrated as the ''Little Nightingale'' of Indian Cinema, ''Nightingale'' of South India, and in different regions, she is known by various affectionate titles: ''Piya Basanti'' in North India, ''Vanambadi'' in Kerala, ''Chinna Kuyil'' in Tamil Nadu, ''Kannada Kogile'' in Karnataka and ''Sangeeta Saraswathi'' in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. She is also known for her extensive history of collaboration with music composers like A. R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraja, M. M. Keeravani, Hamsalekha, and with the playback singers K. J. Yesudas and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam over the years.

Chithra is a recipient of 6 National Film Awards, 10 Filmfare Awards South and 43 State Government awards from 8 states of India including 18 from Kerala, 12 from Andhra Pradesh, 5 from Tamil Nadu, 4 from Karnataka, and 1 each from Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra governments. She was awarded India's third-highest civilian honours Padma Bhushan in 2021 and Padma Shri in 2005 for her valuable contributions towards the Indian musical fraternity.

She is honoured with the title ''First Ladies'' by the President of India in 2018 for being the first Indian woman to be honoured by British Parliament at House of Commons, United Kingdom in 2003. In 2009, she became the first Indian artist to be honoured by Government of China while performing live at the Qinghai International river festival. On 20 March 2025, She was formally honoured by the Parliament of South Australia in recognition of her outstanding contributions to Indian music. She was honoured by the Texas House of Representatives, Government of Texas, United States of America, for her lasting contributions to music and the arts. In 2025, she was honoured in the United States with a Joint Legislative Resolution from the State of New Jersey and a Mayoral Proclamation from the Township of Edison for her outstanding contributions to music and philanthropy. On 19 October 2025, the K. S. Chithra Day was proclaimed by the Shelby County Government in Memphis, Tennessee via a mayoral proclamation from the Office of the Mayor. She was honoured by the Government of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her distinguished contributions to Indian music and her five-decade-long career. Barring Lata Mangeshkar, she also remains the second female playback singer from India to have performed at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London in 2001 and her Performance was applauded with much appreciation by a roomful of an international audience. Her song "Kannalane/Kehna Hi Kya" from the film ''Bombay'' (1995) was included in United Kingdom ''The Guardian'' "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear Before You Die" list. Provided by Wikipedia