MUMBAI: "I was disheartened with my elimination from X Factor,” says Vishal Srivastav. Hailing from Delhi with dreams in his eyes to become a singer, little did Vishal know that his talent and passion for singing would land him as one of the most famed Bollywood singers.

An auto rickshaw driver, Vishal Srivastav was raised in an underprivileged family where education was considered luxury. Losing his mother at the age of eight was a setback for the family. As a result, Vishal was burdened with responsibilities since a very early age of his life, but that didn't deter his ambition to become a singer.

 "I used to sing while riding a rickshaw. In fact, almost every passenger used to praise me and suggest me to pursue singing as a profession, but the financial conditions of my house were very poor. It was a dream to do playback," he told.

In 2011, Srivastav participated in X Factor, a singing reality show on Sony TV judged by Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. During the auditions, he expressed his desire to educate his wife so that she could become a teacher. He added, "Because of the financial condition of my house, I could not complete my education and suffered a lot. I didn't want that for my children and wanted to educate and give them every luxury in life. This was one of the prime reasons for me to audition in X Factor so that I could earn some money and educate my wife to become a teacher."

His elimination came as a shock to both the audience and judges. In fact, he was the only contestant who made a special place in Sonu Nigam's heart. Srivastav’s moving performance left three judges amazed and speechless with tears and an emotional Sonu Nigam said, ‘If I had been in your place, I wouldn’t have been able to give a performance as you did. Your dream for your wife will get fulfilled.’”

Ever since his elimination there was no looking back, Vishal did a song with T- Series in 2017 titled Jogira which was a chartbuster. In 2018, Vishal participated in Rising Star and impressed judges Shankar Mahadevan, Monali Thakur, and Diljit Dosanjh.

Remembering the same, Vishal Srivastav exclaimed, "I cannot thank them enough. Whatever I am it is for Amar Singh, Jaya Prada, Amitabh Bachchan, Sonu Nigam, Mukesh Parmar, (Music Guru), Satish Dutt, - (Creative Director) and Pawan Srivastav. It is because of them and their support, I am what I am today."

"Audience has been very kind to me to accept me and love me," added Vishal.