Late legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan award posthumously on Monday by the Indian Government, while singer KS Chithra has been honored with the Padma Bhushan award. SPB has been given the latest honour 10 years after he was conferred the Padma Bhushan award. Both SPB and Chithra have gone on to become India's most celebrated singers, with their work and records as a testimony to their accomplishments. This latest honour for SPB comes after he enthralled fans for more than five decades before he passed away last year in September in Chennai after testing positive for COVID-19.

The multi-talented SP Balasubrahmanyam was laid to rest with full state honors at his Thamaraipakkam farmhouse in the Tiruvallur district, with several notable personalities from South Indian cinema paying their tributes in person. An icon in Indian music, SPB has sung over 40,000 songs across 16 Indian languages during his lifetime and holds the Guinness World Record for recording the highest number of songs by a singer. His collaborations with MSV and 'Maestro' Ilaiyaraaja made him a legend and sang throughout the 1980s for their films. SPB also created a mind-boggling record when he recorded 21 songs in a single day in 1981, which still continues to remain unbroken. Apart from singing, SP Balasubrahmanyam also carved a niche for himself as a talented actor having given notable performances in films like Keladi Kanmani, Thiruda Thiruda, Kadhalan, Minsara Kanavu, Priyamaanavale to name a few. He is survived by his wife Savithri and two children - daughter Pallavi and son SPB Charan. 

Singer KS Chithra too has garnered a legendary status during her lifetime and continues to enchant fans with her voice. Having sung more than 25,000 songs in her career to date, Chithra has won six National Awards, which is the highest by any female playback singer. She had earlier been felicitated with the Rashtrapati Award for being the "First Ladies" in the field of music felicitated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of Government of India.