The tattoo on his arm reads Al Saher Al Hindi, which means, a magician from India. And truly so, one of the most popular music composers/rappers from India, Yo Yo Honey Singh is no less of a magician who has succeeded in transforming himself with a bang. It took him seven long years, but he has emerged victorious and how.

Singh battled substance addiction, heavy medication, physical and mental health conditions (all of which he encountered at the dizzying heights of his career) and now is successfully healed and hearty. The rapper has moved base to Dubai since he revels in the safety, security and the love the city showers on him.

Like the proverbial phoenix rising out of the ashes, Yo Yo Honey Singh is making a comeback with a massive world tour presented by Blu Blood. It is called My Story, World Tour 2026 and the announcement was made in the One and Only One Zabeel amid his crew, media and influencers. Scheduled to kick off in Dubai at the Coco Cola Arena on February 6, the tour will go around the world in several cities in North America, Europe and UK. His Dubai's act is more than two hours long and talks of his journey over the years.

“I was this stupid crazy guy who earned massive success at a young age, dipped and emerged again. If I listen to my lyrics from back then, I realise that the words were so juvenile (Who writes things like Blue hai Paani Paani Paani)," he told City Times. "But people lapped it up. And it gave me a false sense of confidence where I felt, anything I performed, became a hit.”

It was when heady fame, money, overworking beyond limits and substance abuse took over his life, he experienced a burn out and crashed. It took him seven years to come back to track. A lot of it is seen in the Guneet Monga produced, Mozez Singh directed Netflix's documentary titled Famous. Extending the same story, is the theme of the tour.

Singh has resolved to not repeat a single song in each of the countries he is performing in. It is the world of Instagram and most of the songs sung in one country would be out on social media. So I do not want to repeat the same sequence in another city, though some classics will always be requested,” says the popular rapper who has rubbed shoulders with the likes of international artistes and Bollywood biggies likes Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan.

Once called the "bad boy" of the music world, Honey Singh is a changed man today though he confesses that he wasted a lot of years in between. But his family stood by him like a rock. "This included my parents, my sister and my ex-wife. Today I am healthy and sane, thanks to them. There was a time I wouldn't step out of my room for a year and a half, cut off from social media, and suffered major mood swings.”

Renewed, revitalised and recharged, today Singh is ready to face the world and win more adulation through his next innings. "The Yo Yo Honey Singh 2.0 version is trying to grasp the Gen Z lingo of today. New kids are writing for me. I am not familiar with terms like "Skibidi" and "67". So we have young writers like Homi Dilliwala and Nanku doing it for me. In fact Nanku is the son of my Guru and it is his birthday on February 6, the date we are kicking off the Dubai concert,” he states.

Singh's healing has convinced him that if you are not dedicated to God, there will be no magic in your music.“God opens a tap for the music producers and once you surrender to him, everything flows with great rhythm.” The streak of divinity that he has experienced today can be seen in his future compositions. "I am much more at peace today," he says.

Talking of peace, years ago, Singh had run into his idol AR Rahman at the Emirates Lounge at Dubai airport and had humbly asked for a picture without introducing himself. It was when Rahman saw the fan-crowd around him, did he get curious, and figured out who he was. And what's more, Rahman called him aside, spoke to him and told him that he had heard his music. Naturally then, Singh would love to collaborate with AR Rahman.“I am a huge fan of ARR, right after Roja. I want him to sing for me. I loved his voice in Dil Se and in a lesser known album called Gurus of Peace, which he sung with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan saab.”

Singh has a word of caution to his young fans.“ It is natural for the young and the restless to party endlessly at a certain age. I would state the opposite. When you are in your early thirties work hard and party less. Don't celebrate your success too soon and hustle to earn your name, fame and money. You can always party later. And most importantly stay away from addiction.”

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