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Chart Beat

Karan Aujla's Bollywood Single 'Tauba Tauba' Arrives At No. 25 On The Billboard Canadian Hot 100

The sleek song comes from the new Indian comedy Bad Newz and has racked up millions of streams ahead of the film's July 19 release.

Vicky Kaushal and Karan Aujla, 'Tauba Taubaa' from 'Bad Newz'

Vicky Kaushal and Karan Aujla, 'Tauba Taubaa' from 'Bad Newz'

YouTube

A major Punjabi-Canadian artist is making his Bollywood debut.

Karan Aujla's first original song for a Bollywood film, "Tauba Tauba," has landed on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 this week at No. 25, amassing 70 million views on YouTube since its July 3 premiere.


The song comes from the Hindi-language comedy Bad Newz, starring Triptii Dimri and Vicky Kaushal and set for release Friday, July 19. The film, based on true events, tells the unlikely story of twins with different dads.

The sleek track incorporates flute riffs, buoyant keys and hand claps that make it ripe for the dance floor — an energy that the video taps into, with a stylish Kaushal leading a chorus of dancers.

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"I really wanted it to be easy to catch for the people that don't know Punjabi too much. But I also wanted to keep it [Punjabi] and not have it like a Bollywood sound," Aujla toldBBC of the track. "I never felt out of place, the whole team showed me so much love," he said of the process.

The Bollywood moment is just the latest milestone in a huge year for Aujla, who took home a Juno in March and will embark on his first Canadian tour in August, playing arenas in Vancouver, Toronto and Edmonton.

Elsewhere on the chart, Zach Bryan has 19 songs in the Canadian Hot 100 this week, following the release of his new album The Great American Bar Scene. That album dethroned Taylor Swift's Tortured Poets Department to claim the No. 1 spot on the Canadian Albums chart, though Swift still reigns in the U.S.

Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" dropped back to No. 2 in the U.S. after spending one week on top, but he remains in the No. 1 spot in Canada for a seventh week.

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Aside from Aujla, there are a few other homegrown acts holding onto spots on the Canadian Hot 100. Tate McRae's "Greedy" falls five spots to No. 32 and Charlotte Cardin's "99 Nights" drops five spots to No. 99, followed by Zeina's "Hooked" at No. 80. Drake's "Uuugly" has dropped off after landing there last week, though his Camila Cabello duet "Hot Uptown" holds the No. 69 spot.

Check out the full chart here.

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Bill Gilliland

Bill Gilliland

FYI

Obituaries: Toronto Record Label Pioneer Bill Gilliland, Global Music Trailblazer Dan Storper of Putumayo

This week we also acknowledge the passing of Sugar Hill Records owner Barry Poss, and top U.S. booking agent Dave Shapiro and former drummer Daniel Williams, who both died in a tragic plane crash.

Bill (William) Gilliland, a Toronto record label head, producer and music entrepreneur, died on May 17, at age 88.

An official death notice called him "a visionary force in Canadian music. A true architect of the country’s music landscape, Bill’s career spanned more than four decades, shaping the sounds of generations and launching the careers of many iconic artists."

Gilliland first made a mark with Arc Records, a subsidiary of Arc Sound Company Ltd. that was established in Toronto in 1958 by Philip G. Anderson. Gilliland and Anderson co-founded Arc Records in 1959 and purchased the Precision Pressing Co. in 1961. Under the direction of Anderson, its president, and vice president Gilliland, Arc Records entered into a contract with US Hit Records and released a series of pop singles albums under the name Hit Parade (1963–64) that specialized in regional artists and tribute albums.

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