Devotional music has been an integral part of singer Sonu Nigam’s musical journey. He’s sung several songs of the genre over the last three decades. “From childhood, my mother made me acquainted to faith in something beyond our perception and intelligence. And, for that, she taught me how to pray at home and also took us to temples, gurudwaras, churches and dargahs. Incidentally, I have some beautiful songs in all these faiths,” says Nigam, whose new song, Jai Chhati Maiyya, has garnered over 12 million online views in less than a week of release.

“In the past, I’ve done concerts around the Chhath festival in Mumbai, but never really knew I would receive so much love for my first song for Chhathi Maiyya. I am truly humbled,” says Nigam, adding that he enjoys singing devotional numbers, but they also come with a lot of responsibility.

He explains, “There are many facets to singing devotional songs. One, they should sound real and from the heart, and not contrived. Second, most of the devotional tracks of all faiths require a trained voice. Singing these songs has made me more versatile, notwithstanding the fact that because of my devotional songs in the last 30 years, I have a strong independent place in the hearts of my listeners, regardless of my film and pop songs.”

Of late, apart from Hindi film and non-film music, Nigam has also been actively involved in regional music. “I get to work with some great regional music composers, lyricists and singers. This time, it was a beautiful experience to work with Pawan Singh. We were able to crack the song (Jai Chhati Maiyya) and the shoot in less than four days,” Nigam says.