2021 in Asian music

See also: Timeline of musical events

2021 in music By location

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By topic

* List of albums released

Overview of the events of 2021 in Asian music

List of years in Asian music

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## Events

[edit]

* January 7 – Neha Kakkar becomes the first Indian singer to win a YouTube Diamond Award.[citation needed]
* January 10 – Pakistani singer-songwriter Jawad Ahmad releases a protest song, ""Kisana", on social media, drawing attention to a farmers' protest movement in India and Pakistan.[1]
* March 18 – Mumbai-based composer Joseph Conrad Mendoza is accused of borrowing the music and lyrics for his song "We Can Achieve" from "Count on me, Singapore", a national song composed by Hugh Harrison in 1986. Singapore's Ministry of Culture, holders of the copyright on the song, dispute Mendoza's claim that he wrote the song in the early 1980s and lost the original tapes in a flood.[2]
* May 2 – The BBC selects Chinese-born percussionist Fang Zhang as the BBC Young Musician of 2020.[3]
* June – Iwan Fals wins the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 Telkomsel Awards. Other award winners include Tulus, Raisa and Noah.[4]
* October 22 – Yes I Am Student is released, marking Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala's debut as a film actor.[5]

## Albums

[edit]

* Aisyah Aziz – Pearls (10 September)[6]
* Band-Maid – Unseen World (January 20)[7]
* Chaya Czernowin – Heart Chamber[8]
* Chai – Wink[9]
* Jace Chan – Processing (May 14)[10]
* Joyce Cheng – Joyce to the World (December 28)[11]
* Gray – Grayground[12]
* Kyuso Nekokami – Mormot Lab[13]
* Lil Mariko – Lil Mariko [14]
* MC Cheung Tin-fu – Have a Good Time (December 22)[15]
* Mirror – One and all (January 20)[16]
* Morissette – Signature (EP) (August 20)[17]

## Classical

[edit]

* Toshio Hosokawa – Violin Concerto (Genesis)[18]

## Opera

[edit]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)

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## Film, TV and video game scores

[edit]

* Yuki Kajiura – Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night[19]
* Alam Khan – Swapner Thikana[20]
* Devi Sri Prasad – Cirkus[21]
* Akira Yamaoka – The Medium (video game)[22]

## Musical films

[edit]

* Anita, a movie about Cantopop singer Anita Mui
* Laal Singh Chaddha (India - Hindi), with music by Pritam[23]
* Revue Starlight: The Movie (Japan)[24]
* Sing a Bit of Harmony (Japan), with music by Ryō Takahashi[25]
* Tangra Blues (India - Bengali), starring Parambrata Chatterjee, with music by Nabarun Bose[26]

## Deaths

[edit]

* January 4
* Lee Heung-kam, 88, Cantonese opera star[27]
* Elias Rahbani, 82, Lebanese lyricist and composer (COVID-19)[28]
* Chacha Sherly, 29, Indonesian singer (traffic collision)[29]
* January 5 – Vennelakanti, 63, Indian lyricist (heart attack)[30]
* January 15 – Lệ Thu, 77, Vietnamese singer[31]
* January 17 – Ghulam Mustafa Khan, 89, Indian classical singer[32]
* January 22 – Narendra Chanchal, 80, Indian singer[33]
* January 27 – Trung Kiên, 81, Vietnamese classical singer.[34]
* February 4 – Ma Zenghui, 85, Chinese single-string performer[35]
* February 15 – Golnoush Khaleghi, 80, Iranian music researcher, composer, and arranger.[36]
* February 17 – Ali Hossain, 80, Bangladeshi composer[37]
* February 18 – Isaac Thomas Kottukapally, about 73, Indian film score composer[38]
* March 17 – Mayada Basilis, 54, Syrian singer (cancer)[39]
* March 21 – Trisutji Kamal, 84, Indonesian composer[40]
* March 29 – Keiko Toyama, 87, Japanese pianist[41]
* March 30 – Diljaan, 31, Indian singer (traffic accident)[42]
* April 2 – Shaukat Ali, 76, Pakistani folk singer[43]
* April 11 – Mita Haque, 58, Bangladeshi Rabindra Sangeet singer (COVID-19)[44]
* May 1 – Debu Chaudhuri, 85, sitarist (complications from COVID-19)[45]
* May 4
* Genji Kuniyoshi, 90, Japanese singer, person of Cultural Merit[46]
* Sarena Li, 31, Hong Kong singer (adenoid cystic carcinoma)[47]
* May 6
* Comagan, 48, Indian singer, composer and actor (COVID-19)[48]
* Prateek Chaudhuri, 49, Indian sitarist (COVID-19)[49]
* Prem Dhoj Pradhan, 82, Nepalese musician, singer and composer[50]
* May 7
* G. Anand, 67, Indian playback singer (COVID-19)[51]
* Vanraj Bhatia, 93, Indian film composer[52]
* May 10 – Abdolvahab Shahidi, 98, Iranian barbat player, singer and composer[53]
* May 12 – Maran, 48, Indian actor and singer (COVID-19)[54]
* May 22 – Raamlaxman, 78, Indian composer[55]
* June 5 – S. B. John, 86/87, Pakistani ghazal singer[56]
* June 8 – Farhad Humayun, 42, Pakistani singer and drummer (Overload).[57]
* June 18 – Takeshi Terauchi, 82, Japanese rock guitarist[58]
* July 10 – Murali Sithara, 65, Indian composer and music director[59]
* July 23 – Fakir Alamgir, 71, Bangladeshi folk and pop singer[60]
* August 2 – Kalyani Menon, 80, Indian playback singer[61]
* August 6 – Wang Wenjuan, 94, Chinese opera performer[62]
* August 15 – Jagjit Kaur, 93, Indian Hindi/Urdu playback singer[63]
* August 25 – Subhankar Banerjee, 55, Indian tabla player[64]
* August 26 – JB Tuhure, 78, Nepali protest singer and politician[65]
* September 7 – Tanwa Rasitanoo, 50, Thai Luk thung and Phleng phuea chiwit singer[66]
* September 8 – Pulamaipithan, 85, Indian Tamil lyricist[67]
* September 27 – Chris Ho, Singaporean singer (Zircon Lounge), musician and radio DJ, age unknown (stomach cancer)[68]
* October 15 – Pornsak Songsaeng, 60, Thai luk thung and mor lam singer (heart attack)[69]
* October 17 – Bruce Gaston, 74, American-born Thai classical musician[70]
* October 22 – Janali Akbarov, 81, Azerbaijani khananda/mugham folk singer[71]
* November 2 – Sabah Fakhri, 88, Syrian tenor[72]
* November 12 – Lakshman Wijesekara, 73, Sri Lankan actor, singer and composer (Miss Jenis).[73]
* November 21 – Gurmeet Bawa, 77, Indian Punjabi folk singer[74]
* November 22 – Asya Sultanova, 98, Azerbaijani composer[75]
* November 26 – Bichu Thirumala, 80, Indian Malayalam lyricist[76]
* November 30 – Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry, 66, Indian Telugu lyricist[77]
* December 4 – Thoppil Anto, 81, Indian playback singer and composer[78]
* December 16 – Bogalay Tint Aung, 99, Burmese composer and writer[79]

## By country

[edit]

* 2021 in Chinese music
* 2021 in Japanese music
* 2021 in Philippine music
* 2021 in South Korean music

## See also

[edit]

* 2021 in music

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Inspired by Indian farm protest, Pakistan singer releases track". Times of India. January 10, 2021.
2. ^ Maroosha Muzaffar (18 March 2021). "Indian composer accused of copying nationalist anthem from Singapore". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2021-03-18. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
3. ^ Imogen Tilden (2021-05-02). "Percussionist Fang Zhang wins BBC Young Musician 2020". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
4. ^ "Iwan Fals Receives Telkomsel Award 2021". Livik. June 19, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
5. ^ "Yes I Am Student". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
6. ^ Guy Lemcoe (May 5, 2022). "Aisyah – Pearls". Audio Beat. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
7. ^ "BAND-MAID、ニューアルバム "Unseen World" のティザー映像公開 毎週新コンテンツも公開へ" [Band-Maid releases teaser video for new album "Unseen World" Weekly new content]. Spice (in Japanese). January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
8. ^ Andrew Clements (2021-03-18). "Czernowin: Heart Chamber review – distinctive composer's opera on love is aurally sumptuous". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
9. ^ Singh, Surej (January 19, 2021). "Chai release new single 'Action', announce new album 'Wink'". NME. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
10. ^ "Rising Hong Kong singer Jace Chan shares how she overcame self-doubt to become the daring artist she is now". SCMP Young Post. 13 September 2021.
11. ^ "Joyce Cheng released new album after 5 years". am730 newspaper. 29 December 2021.
12. ^ Hwang, Duha (September 26, 2021). "그레이 - grayground" [Gray - grayground.]. Rhythmer (in Korean).
13. ^ "キュウソネコカミ、ミニアルバム "モルモットラボ" 全曲トレーラーを公開" [Kyuso Nekokami releases trailer for all songs of mini album "Mormot Lab"]. Barks (in Japanese). January 1, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
14. ^ Turmero, Carlos (March 23, 2021). "Lil Mariko, la reina del screamo de ascendencia japonesa que la rompe una canción a la vez" [Lil Mariko, the screamo queen of Japanese descent who breaks her one song at a time]. Mor.bo (in Spanish). Retrieved April 21, 2021.
15. ^ "MC Cheung Tinfu released his first extended play". Ming Pao Daily News. 14 December 2021.
16. ^ "MIRROR 2nd anniversary album "One and All" with 2 editions". HK01. 10 November 2020.
17. ^ CNN Philippines (September 14, 2021). "Morissette Amon's 'Signature' Ep No. 1 on PH iTunes". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
18. ^ "Veronika Eberle performs world premiere of Toshio Hosokawa's Violin Concerto with Hamburg Philharmonic" (Press release). Askonas Holt. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
19. ^ Nick Valdez (May 30, 2021). "Sword Art Online's Sinon Takes Aim With Awesome Cosplay". Comicbook. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
20. ^ "Swapner Thikana (2021)". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
21. ^ "Ranveer Singh and Rohit Shetty bring 'Seeti Maar' hitmaker Devi Sri Prasad on board for Cirkus". Bollywood Hungama. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
22. ^ Higham, Michael (8 May 2020). "How Silent Hill's Akira Yamaoka Got On Xbox Series X-Exclusive The Medium". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
23. ^ Aamir Khan and Pritam along with team Lal Singh Chaddha work together in Panchgani. Bollywoodhungama.com. Retrieved on 27 February 2020.
24. ^ "New Revue Starlight Anime Film Reveals Visual, May 21 Debut". Anime News Network. December 6, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
25. ^ "Funimation Co-Production 'Sing a Bit of Harmony' Reveals Latest Trailer, First Cast Info". Funimation via Anime News Network. April 7, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
26. ^ "Tangra Blues". JioSaavn. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
27. ^ "Veteran Cantonese opera singer and actress Lee Heung-kam dies at age 88".， SCMP. 2021-01-04
28. ^ "Elias Rahbani .. The departure of the third of the big brothers". saudi24news.com. 4 January 2021. Archived from the original on 7 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
29. ^ Pihak Label Musik Benarkan Kematian Chacha Sherly Eks Trio Macan (in Indonesian)
30. ^ Lyricist Vennelakanti passes away
31. ^ "Danh ca Lệ Thu qua đời". VnExpress (in Vietnamese). January 16, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-01-16. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
32. ^ "Legendary Musician Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Dies At 89". NDTV. January 17, 2021.
33. ^ तूने मुझे बुलाया शेरावालिये... गाने वाले भजन सम्राट नरेंद्र चंचल जालंधर को मानते थे कर्मभूमि, निधन से शोक की लहर (in Hindi)
34. ^ "Nghệ sĩ nhân dân Trung Kiên qua đời". Tuoi Tre (in Vietnamese).
35. ^ "曲艺名家马增蕙病逝 -中工文化-中工网". culture.workercn.cn.
36. ^ گلنوش خالقی، هنرمند پیشکسوت موسیقی درگذشت (in Persian)
37. ^ "Noted composer Ali Hossain passes away". The Daily Star. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
38. ^ "പ്രശസ്ത സംഗീത സംവിധായകൻ ഐസക്ക് തോമസ് കോട്ടുകപ്പള്ളി അന്തരിച്ചു|homage|Isaac Thomas Kottukapally". East Coast Daily Malayalam. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
39. ^ "Tributes pour in for Syrian singer Mayada Basilis: 'Reality is ugly with your death'". The National News. 18 March 2021.
40. ^ "Komponis dan pianis Trisutji Kamal meninggal dunia". Antara News. 21 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
41. ^ Keith Bramich (2021-03-14). "March 2021 Obituaries". Classical Music Daily. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
42. ^ Sehgal, Manjeet (30 March 2021). "Punjabi singer Diljaan dies in car accident near Amritsar". India Today. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
43. ^ Gabol, Imran (2021-04-02). "Folk singer Shaukat Ali passes away in Lahore". Images. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
44. ^ "Rabindra Sangeet singer Mita Haque no more". Risingbd.com. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
45. ^ "Sitar maestro Pandit Devabrata Chaudhuri dies of Covid-19 complications". The Indian Express. 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
46. ^ 【速報】戦後の宮古民謡の第一人者、国吉源次さん死去 90歳 (in Japanese)
47. ^ 歌手李明蔚不敵癌魔病逝 終年31歲 Archived 2021-06-18 at the Wayback Machine (in Chinese)
48. ^ "Visually impaired musician Comagan passes away". The Hindu. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
49. ^ "Renowned Sitar Player Prateek Chaudhuri Dies of Covid-19 at 49". News18. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
50. ^ "Senior musician Prem Dhoj Pradhan passes away". Himalayan Times. May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
51. ^ "Veteran Telugu playback singer G. Anand succumbs to COVID-19". The Hindu. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
52. ^ "Legendary composer Vanraj Bhatia passes away; Hansal Mehta mourns the loss". fakazahq. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
53. ^ "Iranian vocalist Abdolvahab Shahidi dies at 99". Tehran Times. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
54. ^ "Tamil actor Maran passes away from COVID-19 complications". www.zoomtventertainment.com. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
55. ^ "Hum Aapke Hain Koun music director Raam Laxman dies at 78". The Indian Express. 23 May 2021.
56. ^ Salman, Peerzada (June 6, 2021). "Renowned singer S.B. John passes away". Dawn. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
57. ^ "Pakistani singer Farhad Humayun passes away". The News. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
58. ^ 「エレキの神様」ギタリストの寺内タケシさん死去...82歳 (in Japanese)
59. ^ "Malayalam music director Murali Sithara found dead". New Indian Express. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
60. ^ "Folk singer Fakir Alamgir no more". Dhaka Tribune. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
61. ^ "Singer Kalyani Menon passes away at 80". The Indian Express. 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
62. ^ Isaac Sunday (August 6, 2021). "Wang Wenjuan Death". InsideEKO. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
63. ^ "Jagjit Kaur, veteran singer and wife of composer Khayyam, dies at 93". Outlook India. August 15, 2021.
64. ^ Priyanka Dasgupta (26 August 2021). "Tabla maestro Subhankar Banerjee dead". Times of India. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
65. ^ "JB Tuhure, who sang revolutionary songs, dies at 78". kathmandupost.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
66. ^ "สารพัดสัตว์ในเพลงฮิต "ธันวา ราศีธนู" ตำนานขวัญใจจิ๊กโก๋อกหัก". mgronline.(in Thai)
67. ^ Kolappan, B. (2021-09-08). "Pulamaipithan, poet and M.G.R.'s image builder, is no more". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
68. ^ "Veteran musician and radio DJ Chris Ho dies of stomach cancer". Asia One. September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
69. ^ "พรศักดิ์ ส่องแสง" เสียชีวิตจากภาวะหัวใจวายเฉียบพลัน แฟนเพลงร่วมไว้อาลัย (in Thai)
70. ^ "Musician Bruce Gaston dies aged 74". Bangkok Post. 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
71. ^ "Скончался народный артист Азербайджана Джанали Акберов". trend.az (in Russian). Retrieved October 24, 2021.
72. ^ "Syrian singer Sabah Fakhri dies aged 88: 'The light of music went out in the Levant'". National News. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
73. ^ "Veteran musician Lakshman Wijesekara passes away". Daily News. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
74. ^ Bagga, Neeraj. "Punjabi singer Gurmeet Bawa dies at 77". The Tribune. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
75. ^ "Ушла из жизни композитор Ася Султанова". Vestikavkaza. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021. (in Russian)
76. ^ ലേഖകൻ, മാധ്യമം (26 November 2021). "മെലഡികളുടെ തിരുമല | Madhyamam". Madhyamam (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
77. ^ "Lyricist Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry passes away due to lung cancer - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
78. ^ "Veteran singer Thoppil Anto passes away". mathrubhumi.com. 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
79. ^ "တစ်သက်တာ ရုပ်ရှင်ထူးချွန်ဆုရှင် ဗိုလ်ကလေးတင့်အောင် ကွယ်လွန်". Radio Free Asia.

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