With Diljit Dosanjh making Australian singer Sia croon lines in Punjabi for his song Hass Hass, cross-border collaborations in music are gaining popularity. Here’s a look at the trend

Sheetal

Indian singers and their collaboration with global artistes often make for headlines. Cross-border collaborations also helps artistes reach out to a wider audience.

Recently, international singer Zayn Malik’s Urdu verses for the remake of Pakistani band AUR’s popular song, Tu Hai Kahan, created quite a buzz. Indian singers are not far behind! Here’s a check.

Punjabi magic

When Australian singer Sia sang these lines in Punjabi, it was moment to behold!

‘Dil tenu de ditta

Main tan soneya,

Jaan tere kadma ch rakhi hoyi aa,

Marna main teriyan bahan ch chann ve,

Sohn tere pyaar di main chakki hoyi aa’

These are part of the song Hass Hass, which fuses Indian pop and international beats, by star singers Diljit Dosanjh and Sia. After performing at Coachella Music Festival, there was no stopping Diljit as news of him collaborating with American music producer Diplo started doing the rounds.

While Diljit shared a picture of him with Diplo, the latter posted a video with the caption, ‘From Coachella to my studio’. Diljit has previously worked with Colombian singer Camilo to create the song, Palpita. The single has verses by Camilo in Spanish, whereas Diljit does what he knows best — croon in Punjabi!

Last year, Karan Aujla collaborated with Grammy-winning DJ Tiësto for the song Softly (Tiësto remix). The song gained global recognition and was premiered at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix’s after-race concert. While Softly has over 116 million views, its remix by Tiësto has amassed over 3.9 million views, and was dropped around mid-December 2023.

Desi videshi

MTV Hustle-fame King garnered quite a fan-following after he released one album after another post his journey on the rap singing reality show. One of his top songs, Maan Meri Jaan got a Western twist when American singer Nick Jonas collaborated for the reprised version, titled Maan Meri Jaan (Afterlife).

For the first time, fans of Nick Jonas witnessed the Indian jiju, thanks to his marriage to Indian-American actress Priyanka Chopra, croon in Hindi. The captivating lyrics and rhythm made it a global hit.

Priyanka has also tried her hand at singing with renowned Western musicians like Will.i.am and Pitbull. Her debut single, In My City, was alongside Will.i.am and came out in 2012, whereas she sang Exotic ft. Pitbull the next year. These songs were part of her album Desi Girl.

Fusion of sorts

Bollywood playback singer Armaan Malik and Shape of You hit-maker Ed Sheeran collaborated a few years ago for the song, 2step. Released in June 2022, the song helped the Indian singer garner a better global presence. The track, 2step, was originally part of Sheeran’s 2021 album Equal. But it wasn’t Armaan’s first international collaboration, he had previously worked with American music producer, KSHMR, for the song Echo. Speaking of KSHMR, the artiste has also worked with another Indian artiste, Divine, whose popularity can be judged from the fact that international rap artiste Nas has signed him under his label. The American DJ and music producer KSHMR, alongside Divine, also released a track, Lion Heart, which was a fusion of rap and EDM.

Beyond borders

Pasoori-fame singer Ali Sethi announced in the first week of January 2024 that he was collaborating with Indian singer Jonita Gandhi. The Pakistani-American singer released the song, Love Like That, with the What Jhumka? singer, on January 12.