A playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs on soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras. Movies produced especially in the Indian subcontinent commonly employ this format.

A majority of Bollywood, Tollywood and Kollywood movies in India typically include six or seven songs. Popular playback singers in India enjoy the same "star" status as popular actors, and talented music directors also receive high public admiration. The sisters Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar are the most well known and prolific, with Bhosle having recorded over 12,000 songs.

Songs in movies - the combined products of the talents of lyricists, music directors/composers, and singers - often determine the extent of success of individual Indian movies, and playback singer are thus an important part of the Indian film industry. Soundtrack albums of songs in movies are frequently released before the movies, and thus there is sometimes a mismatch between the mp3 songs in movies and the albums of those mp3 songs .