Priyanka Chopra has established herself as one of the finest actresses and spread her wings successfully in the world of music and singing as well. Her main inspiration behind her vocal inclination was her father, who she puts was an incredible singer and helped developed her interest in singing. She used her vocal skills early in her pageantry career, after which she recorded her first playback, in the song "Ullathai Killathe" from her debut Tamil film "Thamizhan" (2002). She was urged by her director and co-star Vijay who had noticed her singing on the sets. She also sang for an unreleased song for the film "Bluffmaster!" (2005).
In July 2012, Chopra became the first Bollywood star to be signed by Creative Artists Agency, an entertainment and sports agency based in Los Angeles, United States. Travelling there to work on her album, she collaborated with artistes Sam Watters, Matthew Koma and Jay Sean. Her first single recording "In My City" debuted in the US on September 13, 2012 in a TV spot for the NFL Network`s Thursday Night Football, 12 hours after the full song released in India. A shortened version of the song was used to open each show of the season. "In My City" co-features American rapper will.i.am. Chopra was a co-writer to the song that she says was inspired by her unsettled childhood and her journey from a small town girl to becoming a celebrity. "In My City" trended at number one on Twitter minutes after release. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a commercial success in India, selling more than 1,30,000 copies in its first week, topping the Hindi pop chart and being certified a triple platinum by the Indian Music Industry. In the United States, the single was unsuccessful with 5,000 digital downloads in its first week and not receiving any radio play. The single won Chopra the Best International Debut Award at the People`s Choice Awards, India, in October 2012. In December 2012, she received three nominations - Best Female Artist, Best Song and Best Video at the World Music Awards. She also received the Trailblazer Award from the South Asian Media, Marketing and Entertainment Association for becoming the first Bollywood actor to win a major record deal in the US.
Chopra later appeared as a featured artist on "Erase", an EDM (electronic dance music) song produced by the American DJ and producer duo The Chainsmokers. Later in July 2013, she released her second single "Exotic", along with its music video co-featuring American rapper Pitbull. It featured in the peak charts of the US and Canada upon release. Her third single was a cover of Bonnie Raitt`s "I Can`t Make You Love Me". It released in April 2014, along with its accompanying video that released around the same time and featured in a US chart at the 28th position. Her first song as a playback singer in Bollywood was "Saajan Saajan" from the film "Barsaat", released in 2005, "Chaori" from "Mary Kom" released in 2014 and "Dil Dhadakne Do" title track from "Dil Dhadakne Do" in 2015. In 2015, Chopra also featured as an artist in the song "Meltdown" alongside American rapper DMX, produced by N.A.S.A.
