Sunidhi Chauhan (pronounced [sʊnɪd̪iː tʃʰoːhən]; born 14 August 1983) is an Indian playback singer. Born in Delhi, she began performing in local gatherings at the age of 4 and made her career debut at the age of 12, with the film Shastra (1996). During the year, she won the first singing reality show titled Meri Awaz Suno and rose to prominence after recording "Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi" from Mast (1999). It won her Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent and was nominated for the Best Female Playback Singer. 　　Her second breakthrough was released in 2000, with the song "Mehboob Mere" from Fiza, for which she received another Filmfare nomination. Through her career, she performed mostly item songs and was described by the media as the "queen of item songs". Chauhan received her third Filmfare nomination with the song "Dhoom Machale" from Dhoom (2004) followed by two more nominations during the next year for "Kaisi Paheli" and "Deedar De" from Parineeta and Dus (2005). In 2006, she was bestowed with her first Filmfare award for her rendition of the song "Beedi" from Omkara and further two nominations for "Soniye" from Aksar and "Aashiqui Main" from 36 China Town. The following year, she recorded the title song of Aaja Nachle (2007) and "Sajnaaji Vaari", both critically and commercially well received. Chauhan received her twelfth Filmfare nomination with "Chor Bazaari" of Love Aaj Kal (2009) preceded by "Dance Pe Chance" from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008). In 2010, she received her second Filmfare award with the item song "Sheila Ki Jawani" (2010) and was nominated for international styled carnival song "Udi" from Guzaarish (2010). The year marked her International singing debut, where she was featured in an alternate version of the song "Heartbeat" by Enrique Iglesias. 　　Apart from playback singing, Chauhan has appeared as a judge on several television reality shows and she also appears in music videos. Besides her career in music, she has also been involved in various charities and social causes. She has appeared four times in Forbes' Celebrity 100 of India (2012–2015).