Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and scores of others on Friday mourned the death of legendary playback singer SP Balasubrahmanayam in Chennai earlier in the day.

"SP (Balasubrahmanyam) gained immense popularity through hundreds of songs in multiple languages. His achievements in music composition, action and anchoring musical programmes are noteworthy," Yediyurappa said in a statement here.

State Congress President DK Shivakumar, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader and state's former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and scores of Kannada film industry's stars, producers, directors, singers and musicians also mourned Balasubrahmanyam's death and paid rich tributes to him.

"Shattered to hear about the passing of SPB sir. A legend of Indian cinema. His songs will reverberate forever. His friendship, love for the game and our Chennai meetings will be cherished forever. My condolences to Sudakar, Sailaja, Charan and rest of his family," tweeted ace cricketer Anil Kumble.

Balasubrahmanyam, 74, died at a private hospital in Chennai of COVID-19 after battling for life for over a month.

Noting that Balasubrahmanyan had sung over 40,000 songs in as many as 10 languages, including Hindi and all south Indian languages (Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam), Yediyurappa said the renowned singer had a special bonding with Kannada and Kannadigas.

"The government of India honoured Balasubrahmanyam with Padma Shri in 2001 and Padma Bhushan in 2011 for his outstanding contribution to the music industry. His songs will remain forever in the hearts of music lovers across the country," said the Chief Minister.

Yediyurappa also conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family and lakhs of fans of the singer the world over.