There was a time when his songs were so popular, even SRK couldn’t resist performing on one of them – the famous Lungi Dance from Chennai Express. Even though his lyrics made little sense, and his music was too loud for our tastes, he was extremely popular. From pubs, discos to cars, Yo Yo Honey Singh’s songs were everywhere. Desi Kalakaar, Brown Rang and Blue Eyes – these are just some songs that made everyone groove to his tunes. 

That phase is long gone, and now Baadshah has taken the mantle of being Bollywood’s quintessential rapper. In terms of popularity, there is no beating Arijit Singh which shows that the musical taste of today’s generation has evolved. 

What happened to Honey Singh, you ask? Well, last year, he gave an interview to The Times Of India where he said that he was suffering from bipolar disorder. “Nobody knows about this, and I wanted to tell the world myself, not through a spokesperson. The last 18 months were the darkest phase of my life, and I wasn’t in a state to talk to anyone. I know there were rumours that I was in rehab (for drug overdose), but I was in my Noida house throughout. The truth is I was suffering from bipolar disorder. It went on for 18 months, during which I changed four doctors, the medication wasn’t working on me and crazy things were happening,” he said. 

If you look at his discography, he didn’t release an album after 2014 and didn’t have many hit singles post that period either. He did give one chartbuster which was a remix of Dheere Dheere, with Hrithik Roshan and Sonam Kapoor featuring in the music video.  

He’s made a comeback though, but it will take a long time for him to regain his status at the top. His songs in Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, have been chartbusters. “I am thankful to all my fans for the kind of love they have showered on me for my songs, Dil Chori and chote chote peg. My last song Dheere Dheere broke all records and my fans gave me an overwhelming welcome after 2 years,” he said. 

Even though these songs were successful, they didn’t quite rock all charts like Honey SIngh’s biggest hits. We don’t know if he’ll be able to replicate his level of stardom again, but for now, we’ll say that it looks like his peak is past him.