ELLE Digital Cover Star: Armaan Malik, Rewritten At 30

Armaan Malik did not wake up on his 30th birthday feeling like a man who has it all figured out. If anything, the number startled him. “I still feel like that 18-year-old kid who just wants to sing,” he says. But then he thinks about the boy who started recording in studios at nine, the teenager who was told Bollywood was the only path, the young man who gambled on English pop when no one expected it — and he realises how many versions of himself he has already lived.

Now, at 30, he is less interested in adding to a checklist of achievements and more curious about who he can become if he lets all those versions collide. “The next step is to fuse them together,” he says, “to be this super multilingual pop artist who isn’t defined by just one sound or language.”

This vision of an artist unbound by categories has been building for years. Malik was expected to follow the safe path of playback singing, yet he broke away with English pop singles like Control and You, featured on Ed Sheeran’s 2Step remix, and collaborated with K-pop star Eric Nam and producer KSHMR on Echo. “Even when no one expected it, I was doing English pop music. Everyone always thought I would stay the playback singer for Bollywood movies. But the very fact that I take such risks in my career is what sets me apart,” he says.

He calls himself a “patient artist” who is in no rush. He is now revamping his own label to nurture I-POP artists and build the kind of platform he wished existed when he started. “I want to develop newer, younger artists and give them the start I didn’t get early on in my career,” he says. That patience has also shaped how he sees his 30s — not as a finish line, but as a creative reset.

Turning 30 has made him reflect on how his music is changing emotionally as well as musically. “There is a lot more maturity now in how I think and feel. And now, since I am a married man as well, a lot of emotions have evolved over the years. It is not just about the mushy romance that used to be prevalent in teenage years. It is more mature, more emotional; there is a lot more depth. So I think a lot of writing, a lot of songs, music will take that shape,” he says.

His latest single, Baari Baari, captures this renewed energy, with Malik even surprising fans by dancing with infectious confidence — a first for him. “I want to continue doing more songs where I can fuse Hindi and English in a way where no one feels alienated. That is a space I really want to make for my music,” he says.

What makes Malik stand out is his ability to strike a balance between ambition and vulnerability. “I have always kept my personal life private, but as I grow older, I want people to see the human behind the star,” he says. “When people know you feel the same emotions and go through failures, they truly relate to you.”

He often reflects on what his younger self would think of him now. “The 18-year-old me would worry, but the 30-year-old me is smiling and saying, ‘Everything works out’. Life is going to unfold in the most beautiful way,” he says.

His idea of success has also shifted. “True success is a lot of internal thoughts. Often, we are influenced by what others tell us success is, but we ultimately create our own definition. If I can wake up and do music and if I can wake up and sing, I think for me that is my biggest success,” he explains. “If my song is succeeding, I want it to be because I did this all on my own. It encompasses everything that I have led within my team. And there is a lot more happiness when you succeed in that manner.”

In many ways, 30 feels like a beginning rather than a peak for him. “The moment you go back to why you started all of this in the first place, that is when you find the answers and everything starts making sense,” he says. “For me right now, I want to go back to the eight-year-old Armaan and remember why he chose music in the first place. Those questions lead me back to what makes me happy — making a new song.

ELLE India Editor: Ainee Nizami Ahmedi; Photographer: Amitava Saha;  Jr. Fashion Stylist: Tejashree Raul; Asst. Art Director: Alekha Chugani; Makeup: Baba Chaursiya; Hair stylist: Mustaqeem; Jr. Bookings Editor: Anushka Patil; Words by: Manasvi Pote; Assisted by: Idris Nidham (styling), Sneh Lad (bookings); Brand Co-ordinator: Reva Dwivedi; Artists PR: Think Talkies; Production: CutLoose Productions; Driving Partner: Škoda Kylaq (Skoda India)