Shankar Mahadevan explains why singers forget hit song lyrics

During a discussion marking the 25th anniversary of the film ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, musician and singer Shankar Mahadevan explained why playback singers often forget the lyrics to their own hit songs. Speaking in a special Spotify video alongside artists such as Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonsa, Shaan, and Mayang Chang, Mahadevan noted that once a song becomes a massive success, a singer's focus naturally shifts toward new melodies and upcoming projects.

Mahadevan explained that while recording a new song, singers are extremely vigilant to avoid mistakes because the material is fresh. However, once a song is established and popular, it no longer holds the same level of intense concentration, leading to occasional lapses in memory.

During the conversation, singer Shaan shared an anecdote regarding a recording session where he inadvertently began improvising his own lyrics. When he hesitantly checked with lyricist Javed Akhtar to see if everything was correct, Akhtar jokingly pointed out that Shaan was essentially writing the song himself.