KK: songs list of Bollywood singer Krishnakumar Kunnath who has passed away - cause of death, family, and wife

Following a concert on Tuesday (31 May) during which he appeared to fall ill, Bollywood vocalist Krishnakumar Kunnath, better known as KK, has died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 53.

But who was the Bollywood star, what were his best songs, and who has paid tribute?

Here is everything you need to know about him.

Who was KK?

The multilingual singer, who was born in Delhi in 1968, had recorded songs in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, and Bengali, among other languages.

He began his career in commercials and made his big-screen breakthrough in the 1990s. His songs were dubbed over films with the actors lip-syncing along, and the importance of a vocalist’s face being prominently visible was, according to KK, secondary to the fact that "a singer must be heard."

‘Tadap Tadap Ke’, ‘Dus Bahane’, ‘Tune Maari Entriyaan’, ‘Dola Re Dola’ from the 2002 film Devdas, and’ Khuda Jaane’ from the 2008 romantic comedy Bachna Ae Haseeno were among his biggest hits.

He also worked as a judge and mentor on Indian reality singing shows, and recorded two studio albums, ‘Pal’ in 1999 and ‘Humsafar’ in 2008.

What happened?

According to the Times of India and other local media, Kunnath became ill while performing at a concert in Kolkata.

He reportedly complained of being extremely cold after the show, and wanting to return to his hotel room.

Kunnath was rushed from his hotel room to a hospital in south Kolkata after fainting at about 10:30 p.m. local time.

Doctors pronounced him dead when he arrived at the facility, according to the newspaper.

KK’s most recent Instagram photo saw him performing in front of a sold-out crowd in Kolkata.

Following the news of his passing, the post was inundated with comments from bereaved fans.

Who has paid tribute?

‘Not KK’ trended on Indian Twitter on Wednesday (1 June) morning as fans and colleagues expressed their astonishment and amazement at the news.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the condolences, expressing his sadness over the singer’s "untimely demise" via Twitter.

“His songs reflected a wide range of emotions and struck a chord with people of all age groups. We will always remember him through his songs,” Modi said.

Many of his Indian music industry colleagues recalled their time working with Kunnath.

Shreya Ghoshal, a well-known singer, wrote "This is too hard to accept! Heart is shattered in pieces."

"Hum rahe ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal (We’ll remember these memories whether we’re here or not.)" said musician Shankar Mahadevan, quoting KK’s song Pal.

KK’s most popular songs were sung by actor Emraan Hashmi, who declared the singer would "live eternally" through his music.

Who was his wife?

KK leaves behind a wife and two children.

KK married Jyothy in 1991. His son Nakul Krishna Kunnath sang the song ‘Masti’ from his album ‘Humsafar’ with him.

KK also has a daughter named Tamara.