Superstar Diljit Dosanjh Is Taking Punjabi Music To the World

Throughout his history-making Dil-Luminati Tour, Diljit Dosanjh often proudly repeated a line onstage: “Punjabi aa gaye oye” — “The Punjabis have arrived!”

The slogan recognized not just the strides made by Diljit, but the doors his astounding success has opened for Punjabi music and culture. Diljit’s tour took the musician and film star to eight American and five Canadian cities, becoming the biggest North American trek by a Punjabi music artist in history, with a reported 215,000 attendees and more than $27 million grossed, according to Live Nation. With 54,000 fans in attendance, his Vancouver show was the biggest-ever concert by a Punjabi artist.

Onstage, clad in Punjabi attire, Diljit was charming and assured, his every smile and twirl of his mustache setting the crowd into a wave of applause and cheers. It was a moment not only for him, but for the entire community that had brought him there. “Congratulations to all of you,” he said, gesturing to the crowd. “I didn’t create this — you created this. I would be nothing without all of you.”

When the tour hit Toronto, Diljit met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “Stopped by the Rogers Centre to wish @diljitdosanjh good luck before his show,” Trudeau tweeted afterward. “Canada is a great country — one where a guy from Punjab can make history and sell out stadiums. Diversity isn’t just our strength. It’s a super power.”

Diljit dreamed of this since taking his first international flight to play his first concert outside of India in 2005. “When I arrived in Canada, that’s when I first saw the stadiums,” he says. Seeing those sports venues and hearing that they hosted concerts by the biggest artists in the world, he set a goal: “That’s when I decided that I will perform in a stadium one day. I just knew it.”

Diljit’s 2024 tour capped a major breakthrough. In 2023, he became the first act to perform at Coachella entirely in Punjabi, paving the way for artists like Punjabi Canadian star AP Dhillon, who played the festival this year. Diljit also became the first Punjabi act to play a major U.S. talk show when he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in June, where the host introduced him as “the biggest Punjabi artist on the planet.”

Canada has solidified its position as a prime market beyond South Asia for Punjabi music — a phenomenon coined “Punjabi Wave” by Billboard Canada — and Diljit has been a mainstay on the country’s Billboard charts. He was the first Punjabi act with three titles on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, while hits like “Hass Hass,” with Sia, have appeared on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. He also recently worked with Ed Sheeran (with whom he’s collaborated twice onstage, in both English and Punjabi), Pitbull, NLE Choppa and Saweetie, and his song “Palpita,” with Colombian star Camilo, featured lyrics in Spanish and Punjabi.

For Diljit, spoken language is not a barrier when it comes to the popularity of his music. “Music is a universal language,” he says. “Music belongs to everyone. It resonates with anyone and everyone. Music knows no boundaries.”

Born Daljit Singh and raised in the village of Dosanjh Kalan, he moved to Punjab’s biggest city, Ludhiana, when he was 11 years old. He started his career by playing tabla at a local gurdwara; in 2003, he debuted with the song “Ishq Da Uda Ada” (rough translation: “The ABCs of Love”).

Around the time of his first international tour to Canada, he released his 2005 album, Smile, and began to score regional hits. In 2011, Diljit made his acting debut in the action movie The Lion of Punjab, which laid the foundation for his acclaimed career in Punjabi and Hindi film. Now, he’s starred in many of the highest-grossing Punjabi-language movies of all time, including the Vancouver-filmed Jatt & Juliet trilogy.

As is evident in the demographics of the crowds at Diljit’s concerts, his appeal crosses generations. His grounded persona and respect for history endears him to fans of all ages. “In our culture, we can’t give anything to the older generation. We can only receive their blessings,” he says. “That’s what I’m trying to do: keep receiving their blessings.”

He offers the next generation the same respect he pays elders, making an effort to welcome young listeners and include them in his concerts. “Whenever I meet young kids wearing my stage attire, that always leaves a lasting impression. It becomes a memorable moment for me,” Diljit says. “I would like for them to dream big. All I want to say is to dream big and never give up.”

It’s all part of Diljit’s broader mission. “My goal is to spread Punjabi music all over the world,” he says. “Punjabi culture is very rich, and I want everyone to experience it.”