Singer-composer Daler Mehndi made Punjabi songs popular worldwide with tracks like ‘Bolo Ta Ra Ra’, ‘Ho Jayegi Balle Balle’, and ‘Tunak Tunak Tun’. People in different parts of the world share their own version of dance moves on his songs on social media recent being cricketer Chris Gayle.

For someone, who has given 26 years to the industry and still holds an important place in the Indian music scene, Mehndi says that people know wrong story about his king of pop title.

“I got the tag of the King of Pop not because of my song ‘Bolo Tara Tara’ album. I got this title much before that. It was in 1994 when I participated in a music festival in Kazakhstan where around 200-250 countries participated. China got the number one prize and I came second. This was the time they wrote King of Pop. So it was in 1994 that I got this title and this was the time when I didn’t even plan ‘Bolo Tara Tara’ so when the album came, people started calling me that because I started a different industry for non-filmy music,” he told Opoyi.

He has recently released his brand new song Ragda. The song is a fusion of Bhojpuri and Punjabi language. So far, the song has already garnered more than 190k views on YouTube.

Talking about the idea behind the song, he says that maximum people don’t know that his mother tongue is Bhojpuri.

“…but I became famous for the music in the Punjabi genre. I am glad people have loved my music all this year and I was able to contribute to Punjabi music. Now, I feel that I should also contribute to my mother tongue and thus the music is a fusion of Bhojpuri and Punjabi. The lyrics are simple and fun. I personally love and enjoy this music and I hope people will shower the same love and wishes as they did for all my previous songs,” he said.

He also says that since childhood he has heard different types of music like Dadra, Thumri, Kajri, and Chaiti.

“Then I became a pop star and my Punjabi tracks were instant hits. But deep down in my heart, I had this feeling of popularizing my Bhojpuri language worldwide. This is the reason why I came up with this song and it’s a very naughty and fun track. I have mixed this with Punjabi so that my Punjabi fans too can promote this song everywhere and make Bhojpuri a lovable language globally,” he said.

Talking about why his music is loved by many, he said, “My music is loved by many people because I have taken proper training in that. I always wanted to be a singer and since the age of 5, I started learning classical music. I went through very strong and rigorous training. After that, I learned from Rahat Fateh Ali Khan sahib so my own training in music is very strong.

“After that, I popularized the Punjabi music that was original in their own way and was not lifted by some old track or folk song. I have put a lot of effort into making every song. From writing to composing, it was a long process and I feel happy that people follow me in the east, south, north, and west.

I am happy to see that Bollywood is copying me too,” he said.

“My clothes, my hook steps, everything became popular. I have completed 26 years in the industry now but people still love my songs,” added Mehndi.