Born on September 2, 1989 in a middle-class family of Ludhiana, Ishmeet Singh Sodhi captured the imagination of an entire country with his singing prowess, humility and hard work. Upon winning the Amul Star Voice of India competition last November, Singh was complimented by none other than the Nightingale of India Lata Mangeshkar, who gave away the winner's cheque of one crore rupees in the form of a recording contract.

Singh held centre-stage on the reality show hosted by Star TV last year and managed to stave off the final challenge from his close friend and rival Harshit Saxena, thanks largely to the massive votes he got from his home state of Punjab and northern India.

The ultimate performer
For a teenager who was known for his stage fright for most of his life, Ishmeet proved that he was the ultimate performer as he not only sang his heart out but also danced his way to glory under the tutelage of some Bollywood choreographers.

Singh had reportedly given up his studies midway to concentrate on the TV reality show, a decision that was opposed by his mother but found support from his dad Gurprinder Singh Sodhi. After winning the contest, he had told a packed audience at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai and television viewers around the world that he would definitely fulfil his mother's wishes and earn his degree in architecture.

Ishmeet's friends recall that he was a shy person who required a lot of persuasion to sing in front of a group of people. In fact, the audition for the contest conducted in Delhi in February-March last year was the first time when Ishmeet overcame his stage fright and sang before a  large audience, reports said.

In Maldives for Star Voice event
A favourite of Voice of India host Shaan and members of the jury including singers Abhijeet, Alka Yagnik and music directors Jatin-Lalit and Aadesh Srivastava, Ishmeet won laurels from the likes of A R Rahman, Sonu Nigam and the legendary Lata Mangeshkar among others.

He aspired to sing for every actor in Bollywood "for the next two to three decades" and was reportedly auditioning for a few music directors when tragedy struck. Having signed up as the model for the Yuva range of Sonata watches, Ishmeet had travelled to Maldives with an event management company where he was to perform at a Star Voice of Maldives event on August 1, 2008.

Last appearance on TV
His last television appearance was on the "Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar" reality show. Ishmeet was eliminated from the contest on June 20, 2008, with Rahul Vaidya, the second runner-up of India's first singing realty show "Indian Idol" emerging as the eventual winner.

Ironically, Ishmeet's friend and runner-up in the Voice of India show Harshit Saxena was second runner up in the "Jo Jeeta" contest with Indian Idol and playback singer Abhijeet Sawant taking second spot. Saxena, who led Ishmeet most of the way in last year's contest, told television channels that he finds it hard to believe that the singer was no more. "He was a brother to me and I have no words to say," Harshit said. Ishmeet died in a swimming tragedy at a hotel in Maldives around 5 PM on the evening of July 29, 2008.