Yo Yo Honey Singh was born in Punjab, in the small town of Hoshiarpur to a Sikh family. Honey Singh began his journey in the music industry as a recording artist and later went on to produce and sing Punjabi songs while his family moved to Delhi. Well, many don't know that Honey Singh is not the singer's real name, but an on-screen one. His birth name is Hirdesh Singh. Honey Singh learned music at the Trinity School in the United Kingdom. (All photos/mid-day archives)

Honey Singh created a huge rage in Bollywood through chartbusters like Blue Eyes, Chaar Botal Vodka featuring Sunny Leone, Love Dose and Urvashi Rautela. His hip-hop songs became so popular that filmmakers wanted to have a 'Honey Singh song' in their films.

Pictured: A young Hirdesh looks all happy in his mother's arms.

Honey Singh enjoys playtime while smiling for the camera. Throughout his career, Honey Singh maintained a low profile in terms of discussing his family on public platforms. After creating some unforgettable songs, namely, Aata Majhi Satakli from Ajay Devgn-Kareena Kapoor Khan's Singham Returns and Lungi Dance starring Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone from Chennai Express, the singer was also asked to judge singing reality shows.

In an exclusive interview with mid-day, when Hirdesh was asked how he became Yo Yo Honey Singh, he said, "Every person has a dream in life and my dream was to earn a lot of name and fame, and that too in a different way. And from that thought, I started my work and made my effort as a music producer. As the years passed, there were a lot of albums and people started getting to know me. And then, it was time to give myself an iconic name. The word 'Yo Yo' is a slang which means 'Apka Apna'. I opted for this prefix with my name to make it sound unique and see, I am famous now with 'Yo Yo'!"

Pictured: Honey Singh with his father Sardaar Sarabjit Singh.

When he was asked what music means to him, and his contribution towards bringing the earthy Punjabi flavour to Bollywood music, Honey Singh said that language has never been a bar for him. "Punjabi beats are enjoyed by everyone and anyone can dance to them. This also keeps your culture alive. I am a music composer as well as a singer, so I always look for what the audience demands and I try my best to give them something better each time. Whether it's Punjabi, Hindi, English, or any other language, I am always ready to do something different. I am ready to face challenges," said Hirdesh Singh aka Honey Singh.

Pictured: Honey Singh with his parents, Sardaar Sarabjit Singh and Bhupinder Kaur.

At the peak of his career, Honey Singh credited his success to his fans and had said, "It's not only me who has made the efforts to become the flavour of the season. Without my fans, it was not possible. I thank my followers and fans from the depth of my heart."

Pictured: Honey Singh with Shalini Talwar at a function.

Honey Singh married his childhood friend, Shalini Talwar. The two studied at the same school and were classmates. Apparently, it was love at first sight, which continued silently forever. Eventually, they started dating but managed to keep their affair secret!

In this picture, Honey Singh with wife Shalini Talwar on their wedding day.

Despite the media scrutiny, Honey Singh managed to keep his love affair under wraps and secretly tied the knot with Shalini Talwar in a traditional Punjabi style. They had a Sikh wedding in Delhi. He introduced his wife, Shalini, on national television on a singing reality show, where he was one of the judges for a brief period of time. The singer always chose to give questions about his family and personal life a pass.

Honey Singh suddenly went missing from the singing reality show (2014) on which he was a judge due to a back injury and never returned. At that time, there were reports that he got into a brawl with one of the A-list actors, who apparently grabbed Singh's collar and slapped him, and therefore, the latter decided to stay away from the limelight. However, back then, Honey Singh squashed this rumour and set it straight saying that he was home, recovering from his back injury and had no fight with anyone.

Honey Singh returned to the music scene in 2016 and attributed his 18 months absence to bipolar disorder. While he was out of action, reports of him being treated at a rehabilitation centre started emerging. However, post his almost two-year sabbatical, he clarified that he was suffering from bipolar disorder and wasn't at any rehab centre. The Angrezi Beat singer was staying at his Noida house, away from the media glare while he was getting treated.

In 2016, Honey Singh was back on the music scene, but, alas, he got into a scuffle with his fellow rapper-buddy, Badshah. While Honey was absent, Badshah was approached for rap numbers in movies, and reportedly, this led to a scuffle between the two, which went public. They were locked in a verbal vendetta, where Yo Yo called himself a Rolls Royce and compared Badshah to a Nano car. Later at an event, Badshah slammed Yo Yo by calling him "a nobody" and added, "Nano is one car which is more seen on the roads unlike the posh Rolls Royce and whatever is seen in the public eye, sells more."

Honey Singh won the hearts of his fans and the audience with his comeback track, Dil Chori Sadda Ho Gaya from the Kartik Aaryan-starrer, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2017). The song was a remake of the original by Punjabi legend Hans Raj Hans. Rightly, so, the song went on to become a super hit!

Talking about Dil Chori Sadda Ho Gaya, which can be considered as his second innings in Bollywood, Honey Singh told mid-day, "I've always appreciated Hans Raj Hansji's work. It was great to turn his song into a Bhangra number with Hindi lyrics. I am happy to bring a new song for my fans. I want to convey my love to them because they have waited for my music for so long."

Yo Yo Honey Singh was also invited for Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh's wedding reception (2018) held in Mumbai. Singh met his old buddy, Guru Randhawa, and shared several photos from the function on his Instagram account. The Punjabi 'mundas' ganged up for a selfie with the groom, Ranveer Singh in this picture.

Here's wishing Yo Yo Honey Singh, aka Hirdesh Singh, a very happy birthday!