“I was disheartened with my elimination from X Factor” says Vishal Srivastav. Hailing from Delhi with dreams in his eyes to become a singer, little did Vishal know that his talent & passion for singing would land him as one of the most famed Bollywood singers.
An auto rickshaw driver, Vishal Srivastav was raised in an under privileged family where education was considered luxury. Losing his mother at the age of 8 was a setback for the family. As a resultVishal was burdened with responsibilities at a very early age of his life but that didn’t deter his ambition to become a singer “I used to sing while riding rickshaw. Infact almost every passenger used to praise me & suggest me to pursue singing as a profession but the financial conditions of my house were very poor. It was a dream to do playback”
In 2011, Srivastav participated in X Factor, a singing reality show on Sony TV judged by Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal & Sanjay Leela Bhansali. During the auditions he expressed his desire to educate his wife so that she could become a teacher “Because of the financial condition of my house I could not complete my education & I suffered a lot. I didn’t want that for my children, I wanted to educate them & give them every luxury in life. This was one of the prime reasons for me to audition in X Factor so that I could earn some money & educate my wife to become a teacher”
His elimination came as a shock to both the audience & judges. Infact he was the only contestant who made a special place in Sonu Nigam’s heart. Srivastav’s moving performance left three judges amazed and speechless with tears and an emotional Sonu Nigam said, ” If I had been in your place, I wouldn’t have been able to give a performance like you did. Your dream for your wife will get fulfilled”.
Ever since his elimination there was no looking back, Vishal did a song with T- Series in 2017 titled “Jogira” which was a chartbuster. In 2018, Vishal participated in Rising Star & impressed the judges Shankar Mahadevan, Monali Thakur & Diljit Dosanjh.
Vishal Srivastav says “I cannot thank them enough. Whatever I am it is for Amar Singh ji, Jaya Prada ji, Amitabh Bachchan ji, Sonu Nigam ji, Mukesh Parmar ji (Music Guru), Satish Dutt ji – (Creative Director) & Pawan Srivastav ji . It is for them & their support I am what I am today”
