Shibani is a well-known Bollywood singer, pop singer, live performer, and composer. Her biggest Bollywood break was her song “Sajna Aa Bhi Jaa”. Shibani has won many national and international accolades, including the “Dadasaheb Phalke Award”. She believes in having sincerity, commitment, and passion for her work.

Shibani’s passion for singing started in her early school days. She was only ten years old when she was encouraged by the legendary singer Jagjeet Singh to pursue singing as a profession. She took it as a blessing, a sign, and a symbol for her future and worked hard to boost her passion. Although singing was her passion, academics were also important to her.

Shibani is a graduate in English literature (Hons.) from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, and a diploma holder in mass communication. While she was in college, she got the opportunity to sing for the All India Radio Station, which was her big career breakthrough. She progressed on to sing jingles for commercials, title tracks for television serials, music albums, and eventually Bollywood playback singing and live shows.

Shibani had a nomadic childhood due to her father’s army background. She lived in Kashmir initially, then moved to Dehradun, and finally to Delhi. She feels that her interest in traveling developed due to her nomadic lifestyle during her growing years. Hence, her schooling was a mix of different schools from multiple cities she lived in. She studied at Presentation Convent Higher Secondary School in Srinagar, St. Joseph’s Academy in Dehradun, and at Delhi Public School in New Delhi.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she invested her time in refining herself as a person, improving her art and skills, and focusing on improving her well-being. She started practicing yoga and physical exercises, taking the necessary immunity boosters, maintaining a balanced diet, and focusing on her mental peace and health. On the same note, she says, “Wellness has become a priority for me.” However, she is fully aware of the professional setbacks everyone faced due to the pandemic. But she learned to remodify her way of presenting her art to the audience. She has learned the digital tools and started doing shows virtually. Her song ‘Jogiya’ came right before the pandemic struck in March last year, but it was well received by the audience and got two million views.

Shibani feels that “challenges and rough times are always there”, so one must keep reinventing themselves for the better. One must keep working at their art without any expectations. She believes that “too many expectations lead to disappointments and negative energy.” Shibani has an optimistic personality and believes in starting any work with happiness. Her advice is never to fear failures since “every failure will teach you something.” She admits that she still faces challenges but never lets them discourage her. Her mantra is “keep yourself up and have self-belief.”

Furthermore, Shibani continues to talk about her indie-pop journey. She considers herself lucky to be a part of the indie-pop culture in India. She started her career in the late 1990s with her first album in 1998. Thus, she witnessed the peak, decline, and end of the Indie-Pop era. Today, she again sees the return of indie-pop with artists like Badshah, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Hardy Sandhu, and others. She feels “it is not about Bollywood anymore; it is about good music and good content.” Her latest pop tracks are “Shukriya” and “Lakk Shake”. Moreover, she loves and idolizes Michael Jackson for the legendary performer, dancer, and singer he was. Also, her inspiration is Asha Bhosle for her versatility, and she also idolizes the legendary singers Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and A.R. Rahman.

Shibani believes that a leader should be visionary, have a strong belief in their ideas, and be able to manifest those ideas. While giving Ted Talks on leadership, she narrates her twenty-year musical journey and says, “You can have a very long career if you are sincere, committed, and passionate about your work."

Her first-ever album, “Ho Gayi hai Mohabbat”, won the ‘Channel V Award’. Her first Bollywood song, “Sajna Aa Bhi Jaa,” was a hit. She has been nominated for the ‘Stardust Awards’ for the best new female singer. She won the ‘Sahara Sangeet Award’ for the best new album and best singer. Recently, she won the ‘Global Film & Music Award’ for International Playback, Pop Singer, and Live Performer.

During the Corona times, she helped, entertained, and gave inspiring and motivational messages to the masses through social media, for which she received the ‘Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Award’. She also won the ‘Dadasaheb Phalke Award’ for a song based on a social cause. Her achievements also include performing the opening and closing acts with A.R. Rahman at the Commonwealth Games. Moreover, every three years, she is sent by the Indian Council to represent the country in some amazing international shows and festivals. Composing music is also one of her achievements, and she admits, “As a woman, getting in as a composer has always been a challenge.”

If given a time machine, she wants to go back in time and “experience that thrill of the first song again”, when, in 2003, she got the opportunity to be filmed singing her first song, "Sajna aa bhi jaa," in Shashank Ghosh's film 'Waisa Bhi Hota Hai (Part 2)’.

Being from Gen-X, she is well aware that the newer generations have social and digital media tools. So, she only advises them to use it correctly and, to their best advantage, to be focused and take out time to practice their skills.