Diljit Dosanjh: From Coachella to Fallon, decoding his stardom

Last year, he made history by becoming the first Punjabi language singer to perform at the Coachella festival. He also collaborated with pop singer Sia, and joined Sheeran while he was touring in India.

In his interviews, Dosanjh has repeatedly said that his success was not by coincidence – that he worked day and night to get here, diligently practising singing even when he was not getting opportunities.

But the modesty with which he carries himself makes him seem like a innocent bystander in his own path to fame.

“When a star grows to a certain stature, they usually want to reinvent themselves. But Dosanjh does not give in to personal excesses even as his popularity continues to soar,” says communication consultant Dilip Cherian.

“By staying this modest good boy, he presses a whole bunch of right buttons with the audience,” he adds.

Yet, Cherian believes there is more than meets the eye – and that some of Dosanjh’s authentic persona could perhaps be performative.

In fact, Dosanjh himself has said, external that contrary to his image as a “pure soul” who does not care about the hustle, he’s constantly trying to overtake competition: “This is my job and I don’t make bones about it.”

Dosanjh has consciously avoided falling into the trap of being “an edgy bad boy” – the conventional path followed by most of his peers, Cherian says.

Apart from an early phase in his career where his songs featured guns and spoke about male pride, Dosanjh has mostly stayed clear of controversial subjects – ditching the usual tropes of revenge and violence in Punjabi pop for themes like faith, love and tradition. Some of his most popular tracks like G.O.A.T and Born to Shine talk about how he’s not here for the money but to make a name for himself and his village.