Shubh Makes History on Billboard Canada Cover, Redefining Global Punjabi Music
The Brampton-based Punjabi artist becomes only the second Indian to land a solo Billboard Canada cover—without a label, without PR, and with 3 billion streams to his name.
In a defining moment for global Punjabi music, India-born, Brampton-raised artist Shubh has become only the second Indian—and second Punjabi—to appear solo on the cover of Billboard Canada. It’s a powerful statement not just for his journey, but for a whole generation of artists who are changing the game without industry gatekeepers.
Before Shubh, that honour belonged to Diljit Dosanjh, who not only graced the cover but also gave his first full interview to Billboard. But while Diljit’s story reflects a star with years of crossover success, Shubh’s ascent is something altogether different—quiet, raw, and completely self-made.
What makes this moment truly remarkable is how Shubh reached the Billboard cover without a label, without PR hype, and without ever spending a dollar on marketing. His music—sung entirely in Punjabi—has resonated across borders, racking up over 3 billion global streams. His hit single Supreme topped Apple Music in both India and Canada, and his second studio album Sicario debuted at No. 24 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart.
All of this, built purely on word-of-mouth and community loyalty.
Shubh’s story began like many in our diaspora. He arrived in Canada in 2014 as an international student at Sheridan College, quietly balancing engineering classes and musical dreams. His breakout came in 2021 with We Rollin—a track dropped with no music video and no face reveal. And yet, it exploded. That moment proved what many of us already believed: the world was ready for Punjabi music on its terms.
But what truly separates Shubh is his unwavering commitment to craft. A self-described perfectionist, he writes all his lyrics by hand, often spending months on a single track. His 2022 hit Baller went through 29 different mixes before he finally released it—still unsure if it was perfect. On Spotify, his songs average eight streams per listener. That kind of repeat value doesn’t come from trends. It comes from timelessness.
And now, with a North American arena tour launching this August, including stops at Oakland Arena, Scotiabank Arena, and beyond, Shubh is stepping into a league that few independent South Asian artists have reached. The scale of this tour—his first ever—is a bold signal of how far Punjabi music has come, and how far Shubh intends to take it.
As a Sikh journalist, I can’t overstate how long overdue this cover feature was. Shubh’s influence has been undeniable for years, especially among young diaspora Punjabis who saw their own migration stories mirrored in his lyrics. He sings not just in our language, but about our lived experience—longing, resilience, identity, and the quiet hustle of building something from scratch.
This is more than a magazine cover. It’s a cultural landmark.
And for an artist who once questioned if he’d ever chart, Shubh hasn’t just charted—he’s changed the chart entirely.