Usha Uthup's first public singing occurred when she was nine. Her sisters, who were already exploring a career in music, introduced her to
Ameen Sayani, then the most popular radio announcer in India. Ameen Sayani gave her an opportunity to sing in the Ovaltine Music Hour of Radio Ceylon. She sang a number called "Mockingbird Hill". After that, several appearances followed through her teenage years.
Singing career Uthup started her music career in Chennai in 1969, singing in a small nightclub called Nine Gems in the basement of the erstwhile
Safire Theatre complex on Mount Road, wearing a saree and leg calipers. Her performance was so well received that the owner of the nightclub asked her to stay on for a week. After her first night club gig, she began singing in Calcutta at night clubs such as Trincas. She met her future husband, Jani Chacko Uthup, in Trincas . At about the same time, she also sang at "Talk of the Town", now known as "Not Just Jazz by the Bay" in Bombay (now Mumbai). Uthup also sang for a two-volume collection of children's rhymes "Karadi Rhymes", which are "Indian Rhymes for Indian Kids", brought out by Karadi Tales (www.karaditales.com). The rhymes reflect the Indian ethos through the Sa-re-ga-ma, mangoes, Indian rivers, the train experiences, Indian festivals, indigenous trees, Cricket, Indian foods like bhelpuri and sambhar, Indian attire like the dhoti, sari, bindi and bangles and even some folk tales. With each rhyme set to an Indian raga, and sung in her characteristic voice with a feisty tempo, Usha creates the atmosphere for children and, surprisingly, even adults to sing along and dance to the toe-tapping beats. She appeared as a judge on a singing reality show
Bharat Ki Shaan: Singing Star – Season 2 (2012), aired on
DD National channel, along with
Ismail Darbar. She is the judge in the Season 3 of the show as well. She also appeared as a chief guest for Marathi singing reality show. She entertained the audience with Marathi songs. She was also a judge in
Star Vijay's Airtel Super Singer Junior Season 1 and
Airtel Super Singer 5. She appeared on the Kapil Sharma Show on 26 May 2019. She is a stage performer and gives performances all over the world and is known for her lively stage presence. Uthup has been felicitated with several awards over the years, some of which include Rajiv Gandhi Purashkar for National Integration for quality music, Mahila Shiromani Purashkar for international peace, and Channel [V] award for outstanding achievement. She recorded her first album with Luis Banks for which she was paid Rs. 3500. Since then, she has recorded numerous albums. Usha's Hindi version of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough", titled "Chhupke Kaon Aya", can be found on the album
Tom Middleton – The Trip (2004). A cover of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" is on another Tom Middleton album,
Cosmosonica – Tom Middleton Presents Crazy Covers Vol. 1 (2005). She recorded a song called "Rhythm and Blues" with the Indian rock band
Parikrama which appeared on Channel V on 23 April 2007. Uthup received a lot of recognition for having a unique voice that ranges between
contralto and
alto.()
Acting career Uthup is also an actress. In 2006, she acted in the
Malayalam movie
Pothan Vava as Kurisuveettil Mariamma. She made a cameo appearance in the movie
Bombay To Goa. In 2007, she appeared in
Bow Barracks Forever directed by Anjun Dutt as herself. Again in 2007, she appeared in
Hattrick music video as herself. She appeared in disguise on
Indian Idol 1 and 2. She was one of the co-judges of the 2007 and 2008 and
Idea Star Singer Season V (2010). She has a minor role in the 2010 Tamil movie
Manmadan Ambu. She also acted in Vishal Bhardwaj's
7 Khoon Maaf as a maid. She has also sung a song in the film which released on 18 February 2011. In 2012, she has starred in a Kannada film
Parie. In 2019, she appeared in the documentary
If Not for You for which, she recorded a cover of "
Blowin' in the Wind" by legendary singer-songwriter
Bob Dylan. == Discography ==