Bollywood rebel singer Sunidhi Chauhan says 'Dubai is like home away from home'

Bollywood’s vocal powerhouse Sunidhi Chauhan doesn’t just visit Dubai — she keeps coming back like it’s her favorite stage.

“Yeah, I’m a regular… I visit Dubai for concerts. I visit for vacations. I’ve taken my kid … Dubai is like home, away home, away from home,” she says with a laugh ahead of her gig at the Coca-Cola Arena on September 13.  

But performing here, she insists, is a different kind of homecoming: “The experience I have each time I perform there is totally exceptional.”

From solo gigs to sharing the stage with other artists, Dubai has become a stage she keeps returning to.

“The kind of love Dubai has shown… is incredible. It just makes me keep wanting to come here again and again and do my best.”

What sets this city apart, according to her, is its eclectic crowd.

“The audience in Dubai is so diverse… they’re welcoming, they’re receptive… if I want to do something experimental on stage Dubai is the last place I have to think, ‘Oh, should I do this or not?’ I know whatever I do, if it’s coming from my heart, it will be accepted.”

Behind the glamour, though, lies sheer graft. “It’s the drive… the hunger to do better, the hunger to stay honest… it takes a lot of effort, lot of menat to create a show like this, where it’s all live and it’s all dance and singing together… it takes mental strength, physical strength… and it’s rewarding… at the end of the day, it’s not work. It’s passion.”

For Chauhan, connecting with her audience — whether 500 or 50,000 — is the only measure that matters. “At the end of the day, the emotion that artist has and the connect… that’s it.”

And don’t expect her to lip-sync her way through a show. She’s proudly old school: “I didn’t have to stay away from it. I was only a live singer… when it’s stage and you are a singer, yeah, you better sing. If you’re a singer, you sing… I try to sing live at least 99.9%… that’s like betraying my fans.”

Her voice, she admits, has always been her calling card. “I won’t deny the fact that I do have a different sounding voice… I obviously worked hard… but every time I sing a song in studio, if I like the song, I get excited like a child.”

That childlike joy — mixed with her trademark grit — is exactly what makes Sunidhi Chauhan’s Dubai shows unmissable. Read our full interview with the icon next week!

Sunidhi Chauhan: I Am Home - Live in Dubai

When: September 13

Where: Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai

Tickets: Dh250 and above

Available on: dubai.platinumlist.net