SP Balasubrahmanyam and AR Rahman

Lata Mangeshkar and AR Rahman led the Indian music industry in paying tribute to legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam, who passed away on Friday at the age of 74. The singer had been at MGM Healthcare in Chennai since August 5 after he tested positive for coronavirus. The official statement from MGM Healthcare said that despite maximal life support measures, the singer died of a cardio-respiratory arrest. Balasubrahmanyam breathed his last at 1.04 pm today.

Sharing a throwback picture with Balasubrahmanyam, Rahman tweeted, "#RipSPB... Devastated."

Pratibhashaali gayak,madhurbhashi ,bahut nek insan SP Balasubrahmanyam ji ke swargwas ki khabar sunke main bahut vyathit hun.Humne kai gaane saath gaaye,kai shows kiye.Sab baatein yaad aarahi hain.Ishwar unki aatma ko shanti de.Meri samvedanaayein unke pariwar ke saath hain.

— Lata Mangeshkar (@mangeshkarlata) September 25, 2020

Known fondly as SPB, the renowned singer was admitted to the hospital with mild symptoms in early August. Back then, he had posted a video on social media saying he was “perfectly all right”. On August 13, he was moved to the intensive care unit as his oxygen saturation level dropped. He had been connected to life support since then.

Related: SP Balasubrahmanyam Passes Away, AR Rahman, Lata Mangeshkar Send Condolences | LIVE Updates

Balasubrahmanyam worked across Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam film industries and rendered thousands of ever-green songs. Even though he worked with several legendary music directors like V. Kumar, Vijaybaskar and Shyam, SPB’s career graph ascended with the arrival of Ilayaraja and superstars like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.

Balasubrahmanyam is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter — both are playback singers.