Which legendary singer was chosen in January 2018 for the 5th Yash Chopra Memorial Award for her outstanding contribution to the Hindi film industry?

Introduction / Context:
The Yash Chopra Memorial Award is instituted in memory of the famous film director Yash Chopra and is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Indian cinema, especially the Hindi film industry. The 5th edition of this award, announced in January 2018, honoured a legendary playback singer. This question tests whether the candidate knows that the awardee was Asha Bhosle, one of India's most celebrated singers with thousands of songs recorded over a long and illustrious career.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The award is the Yash Chopra Memorial Award, 5th edition. - The time frame is January 2018. - The recipient is a legendary female singer from the Hindi film industry. - The options list well known playback singers Alka Yagnik, Asha Bhosle, Sunidhi Chauhan, Kavita Krishnamurthy, and Lata Mangeshkar.

Concept / Approach:
To answer this question, the candidate must recall current affairs related to awards in the arts during early 2018. Several newspapers and exam capsules reported that Asha Bhosle was chosen for the 5th Yash Chopra Memorial Award for her immense contribution to Hindi film music. While all the options are distinguished singers, they belong to different generations and have been honoured in different ways. The key is to connect the exact award and year with Asha Bhosle, distinguishing her from her sister Lata Mangeshkar and from other accomplished artists listed in the options.

Step-by-Step Solution:
1. Focus on the phrase 5th Yash Chopra Memorial Award and the date January 2018. 2. Recall that this award went to a legendary singer tied closely to the golden era of Hindi film music. 3. Recognise that Asha Bhosle fits this description, with a vast body of work in playback singing. 4. Remember news articles that specifically mentioned her selection for this award in 2018. 5. Choose Asha Bhosle from the given options and reject the others as distractors.

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, candidates can recall that earlier editions of the Yash Chopra Memorial Award went to personalities like Lata Mangeshkar and Amitabh Bachchan, while the 5th edition singled out Asha Bhosle. Exam oriented summarised tables on awards and honours for 2018 highlight this by stating Yash Chopra Memorial Award 2018 arrow Asha Bhosle. Remembering this simple pair is often enough to confirm the correct answer. Additionally, some reports described her emotional reaction to receiving an award named after a director whose films featured many of her songs, further cementing the association.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Alka Yagnik is a prominent playback singer, especially from the 1990s onwards, but she was not the recipient of the 5th Yash Chopra Memorial Award in 2018. Sunidhi Chauhan is a versatile modern playback singer but is not associated with this specific award in the year mentioned. Kavita Krishnamurthy is a highly respected singer and has received several awards, yet she did not receive the Yash Chopra Memorial Award in its 5th edition. Lata Mangeshkar, elder sister of Asha Bhosle, was honoured in an earlier edition of the award, not in the January 2018 ceremony referred to here.

Common Pitfalls:
A major source of confusion is the presence of multiple legendary singers in the options, including both Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar. Candidates sometimes remember that one of the Mangeshkar sisters received this award and choose the wrong one due to year confusion. Another pitfall is not keeping track of the edition numbers of awards, which can cause mix ups between first, second, or later editions. To avoid such mistakes, it is useful to note a small timeline: earlier Yash Chopra Memorial Awards were given to Lata Mangeshkar and Amitabh Bachchan, while the 5th edition in 2018 honoured Asha Bhosle for her outstanding contribution.

Final Answer:
In January 2018, the 5th Yash Chopra Memorial Award was conferred on Asha Bhosle for her outstanding contribution to the Hindi film industry.