Ankush Bhardwaj
Ankush Bhardwaj
Born/Date of Birthday: 11 December 1992
Place of Birth: Kotgarh, Himachal Pradesh, India
Genres: Semi-classical, pop, Bollywood
Occupation(s): Singer
Instruments: Vocals
Ankush Bhardwaj (born 11 December 1992) is an Indian singer and music composer. He is from Kotgarh, Himachal Pradesh, and has appeared in several singing reality shows. Bhardwaj attracted public attention when he participated in the tenth season of Indian Idol, and ranked first runner up. He became one of the most popular faces from the show, garnering an incredible fan base.
Early life
Bhardwaj was born in Kotgarh, a village in the Shimla District of Himachal Pradesh to Suresh and Kamlesh Bhardwaj. He started singing at the age of 10. Bhardwaj was diagnosed with Progressive Keratoconus when he was 6 years old; this would've eventually caused him to lose his vision within a few years; however, as of 2020, he has undergone successful C3R and Intacs surgeries in his left eye.
Education
Bhardwaj attended Hainault Public School, Shimla. He enrolled in R.G.G.D College, Shimla and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 2014, and an M.B.A in Finance from Amity University in 2017.
Career
Prior to Indian Idol 10 (2011-2018)
Bhardwaj was one of the finalists of "Voice Of Himalayas", held in 2011, before going on to become the first runner up of "Himachal Ki Awaaz". He then started performing in music festivals in Shimla, before participating in other singing competitions in Himachal Pradesh including "Kishore Kumar Nights" and "Rafi Nights".
Two years after Voice of Himalayas, Bhardwaj won the singing contest – Sangam Sur Sangeet Ka Season 1 (2013) organized by Cedar Productions in Himachal Pradesh. Three years later, he became one of the top ten contestants in Benadryl Big Golden Voice – Season 4.
Bhardwaj was discovered by brothers Armaan and Ammal Mallik after he participated in Big FM Golden Voice, a show that they were judging. Amaal ended up playing mentor to Bhardwaj; who in turn assisted Malik on several of his films, including Golmaal Again, Badrinath Ki Dulhania, Sonu ke Titu ki Sweety and Chef.
Indian Idol and career growth (2018- present)
Bhardwaj successfully auditioned for Indian Idol Season 10 in June 2018. The show made him a household name and brought him public recognition.
During the course of the show he, along with the other top contestants of the show, lent his voice to the campaign track of PM Narendra Modi's 'Swacch Bharat Abhiyan', and 'Sab Badhiyaa Hai' from Sui Dhaaga along with fellow contestant Salman Ali.
In 2019, he sang the title song for the television show 'Isharon Isharon Mein'. The same year, he returned as a guest on two episodes of Indian Idol 11, owing to his immense popularity as well as the season he was a part of. Bhardwaj also appeared as a 'skipper' on Superstar Singer.
In 2020, Bhardwaj released his own composed and written single 'Ek Tere Bajon' on YouTube. Later this year, appeared in and sang Anandji's (of Kalyanji-Anandji duo) version of 'Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin' for MX Player's reality show Times of Music. This was highly appreciated by fans and viewers alike. In November 2020, Bhardwaj released a song 'Dil Kahe' via Indie Label Sangeet Riyasat which also garnered more than 2 lakh views.
Bhardwaj is a part of Zee TV's reality show Indian Pro Music League as a Team Captain, alongside music director Sajid Khan of Sajid-Wajid and fellow Captain singer Neha Bhasin with brand ambassadors Shraddha Kapoor, Shakti Kapoor and Siddhanth Kapoor. The trio are heading the team Delhi Durrandhars, later renamed to Delhi Jammers.
