Rising Punjabi star is living the dream with UK tour

Tegi Pannu spent eight weeks at the top of the British Asian Music Chart

When Tegi Pannu reflects on the thousands turning up to watch him perform on tour, he's reminded of a quote his dad had framed in their house in India.

"Those who dream the most, do the most."

"I used to dream that one day I'm going to be on the stage," the Punjabi artist tells BBC Asian Network's Haroon Rashid in his first ever interview.

"I wanted people to know my music first and then the man behind the music."

Tegi has been on a sell-out tour of the UK, with songs such as Forever, Schedule and Untouchable regularly charting and being streamed hundreds of millions of times by adoring fans.

He is the latest artist involved in getting Punjabi music to have its global moment, alongside the likes of Diljit Dosanjh, AP Dhillon and Karan Aujla.

But his journey to this moment hasn't been simple.

'A guy passionate about music'

Tegi and his family moved to Australia from India when he was in his late teens, and his brother made it clear to him the priority was not music.

"You have to work and then you've got your parents to look after," he says, adding he was "more concerned about my visa conditions".

At one stage, he felt it might not happen as a career, but says keeping it as a hobby helped.

"You can't let go of some things. They are in your heart and music was always in my heart.

"I think if you follow something with a true heart, God sees it."

Pursuing a "very unstable" hobby while the family was trying to earn and make a life in a new country was not easy for Tegi.

"I worked on my residency first. I did whatever my brother said, but then I wanted to do something for myself."

Diljit Dosanjh is one of Tegi's inspirations

Before the music took off, Tegi says he tried to have a "low-key life" and was not really into social media - "an introvert kind of a person" is how he describes himself.

"But now I would say a guy who's really passionate about music who wants to achieve more in his life," he says.

The change for him came during the coronavirus pandemic, a phase of life he describes as "pre-lockdown Tegi and post-lockdown Tegi".

It was once strict Covid restrictions were lifted in Australia that he realised the popularity of Schedule and Untouchable.

"People recognising and playing your sound. That was exciting because that's what as a young kid I dreamed of," he says.

"After Untouchable, I started going out and people from the road were calling 'Tegi, Tegi'.

"I didn't expect that. People now want to take photos with you, they want to know you and it's exciting."

He says his parents are also proud, and more popular too.

"Everyone's calling them more, they've got people at their house every few weeks. Now they're realising that this is big."

But he dreams of going even bigger - naming Diljit Dosanjh and Karan Aujla, two fellow Punjabi artists, as stars he wants to emulate.

"Diljit's consistency, he's been doing what he loves. Every time he comes up with something exciting.

"I haven't seen someone that good on stage.

"And with Karan, I would say his composition and lyrics, no one can match," Tegi says.

After a number of hits, you might think there's pressure on Tegi to replicate his success with future songs, such as the newly released Hold On which he describes as a "dance pop sound".

"There's always going to be pressure because there's going to be new talent coming every few months.

"You have to improve, have to understand a new sound. You have to keep doing things like they matter and work hard."

But he says his approach is to "keep it very simple".

"I like to make music, which I like. If I like the music, I think people are going to like it as well.

"If I don't like it, personally, I don't think people are going to connect."

He’s also keen to venture into a more country style, a risk some might say to go against what the audience wants and expects from him now.

But Tegi doesn’t see it like that.

"If you don't experiment, you won't know what people think of you."