Tesher
Tesher in 2020
Tesher in 2020
Background information
Born1995 or 1996 (age 27–28)[1]
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Genres
Occupation(s)Rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer
Years active2009–present
Labels
Websitewww.teshermusic.com

Hitesh Sharma, known professionally as Tesher, is a Canadian[3] rapper, singer-songwriter and producer. He is best known for his singles "Young Shahrukh" and "Jalebi Baby", both released in 2020. A remix version of "Jalebi Baby" was released in 2021 with Jason Derulo.

Life and career

Upbringing

Raised in Regina, Saskatchewan,[1] Tesher was influenced by his Indian heritage as well as his Canadian upbringing.[4] Growing up listening to Indian as well as Western hip hop music, Tesher began to fuse Bollywood and hip-hop songs together and create mashups from a young age.[5] Later, he also began to incorporate bhangra, R&B, pop, reggaeton, house, and salsa music into his songs.[4][6]

Early mashups and remixes

Tesher began uploading his remixes to YouTube and SoundCloud when he was in high school.[4] Around the years 2012 to 2014, he was known in particular for making country remixes.[6]

In 2016, Tesher produced the official Bhangra mix of "Kar Gayi Chull" from the soundtrack of Bollywood film Kapoor and Sons for Sony Music India. The remix, featuring a snippet of vocals from Tesher's sister, was performed by actress Alia Bhatt at Femina Miss India 2017.[6]

Some early mashups he created were Drake's "Back to Back" with Florence and the Machine's "Delilah" (2015),[7] Drake's "KMT" with XXXTentacion's "Look At Me" (2017),[8] and Ariana Grande's "7 Rings" with songs including "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music, Notorious B.I.G.'s "Gimme the Loot" and Soulja Boy's "Pretty Boy Swag" (2010).[9][10]

In 2020, his 2019 remix "Old Town Road vs Ramta Jogi" combining Sukhwinder Singh's "Ramta Jogi" and Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" went viral on TikTok as a sound accompanying a milk drinking challenge.[4][1]

2020–present: Debut original singles

In February 2010, Tesher released "Young Shahrukh", an original rap song he wrote, produced, and performed, with a beat that sampled "Bole Chudiyan" from the soundtrack of the Bollywood film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... According to Tesher, the song's title references Shahrukh Khan, who acted in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... and is commonly dubbed the "King of Bollywood".[11] After the song went viral on social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, it was picked up by Sony Music India in May 2020, becoming Tesher's debut major label single.[1] "Young Shahrukh" peaked at number one on the BBC Asian Music Chart on the week of July 10, 2020, and at number four on Billboard's Top Triller Global chart on the week of July 25, 2020.[12][13] Indian celebrities such as Ranveer Singh and Sunny Singh praised the song for its fusion of Bollywood with hip-hop.[14] The official release has received over 20 million views on YouTube and 20 million streams on Spotify.[1]

In 2020, Tesher released "Yummy Jalebi", a remix of Justin Bieber's "Yummy", with new vocals and production from Tesher. The song went viral on social media platforms including TikTok and Instagram. In response to popular demand, he released a version that removed "Yummy" and extended his verse to a full original song with his own English and Punjabi vocals.[15][16] The new song, entitled "Jalebi Baby", was released as his second single on November 13, 2020. The single amassed over 100 million streams and peaked at number one on the UK Asian Music Chart for seven consecutive weeks.[17] It also topped the Shazam charts in over 25 countries.[18]

In 2015, Tesher signed a worldwide deal with Capitol Records in partnership with Universal Music India, which saw his music released through a unique partnership between Capitol in the U.S. and Universal Music India, who will focus on building his popularity across South Asia and its diaspora.[18] On May 28, Tesher released a remix of "Jalebi Baby" with American singer Jason Derulo.[18][19] Following the release of the remix, the track reached number 3 on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart, and reached the US Top 40 pop radio chart.[20] Tesher and Derulo performed the song live on Today on NBC on July 7, 2021,[21] and released the music video on July 13, 2021.[16] On May 15, 2022, Tesher performed "Jalebi Baby" live with Simu Liu at the Juno Awards of 2022, at which he also received a nomination for Breakthrough Artist of the Year.[22][23]

Discography

Singles

Name of the single, year released, selected chart positions, and album
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
CAN
[24] 		AUT
[25] 		FRA
[26] 		GER
[27] 		IND
[28] 		POL
[29] 		SWI
[30] 		UK
Asian
[31] 		US
World
[32] 		WW
[33]
As lead artist
"Young Shahrukh" 2020 — — — — — — — 1 — — Non-album single
"Jalebi Baby"
(solo or with Jason Derulo) 		36 73 72 81 7 22 71 1 3 80 Nu King
"Jacquemus" 2023 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
As featured artist
"Desperado"
(Raghav featuring Tesher) 		2023 — — — — — — — 10 — — Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Videography

Music videos

List of music videos, with directors, showing year released
Title Year Director(s) Length Ref.
As lead artist
"Jalebi Baby"
(with Jason Derulo) 		2021 Gil Green 3:33 [37]
"Jacquemus" 2023 Divya Jethwani 2:53 [38]
As featured artist
"Desperado"
(Raghav featuring Tesher) 		2023 Oliver Banyard 4:23 [39]

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Nominee(s)/works(s) Result Ref.
Juno Awards 2022 Breakthrough Artist of the Year Tesher Nominated [22]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Sciarpelletti, Laura (March 7, 2021). "From Prairies to Bollywood: Record deal shows power of TikTok to get diverse artists noticed". CBC.ca. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  2. ^ "Musician Tesher: "I try to emulate a bit of euphoria in every song I make"". May 7, 2020.
  3. ^ @teshermusic (June 9, 2021). "I think I gotta finally clear this up I, Tesher, am a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and music producer @Wikipedia you can cite this tweet" (Tweet). Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b c d "U of R Business grad scores #1 song, viral hit on TikTok, and major music label partnership". uregina.ca. July 23, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  5. ^ Mathew, Rajeev (November 21, 2020). "Tesher Talks To Us About 'Young Shahrukh,' TikTok Stardom, Bollywood Mashups And More". Man's World. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Mahabaleshwarkar, Ketki (October 13, 2020). "Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Viral - In Conversation with Tesher". The Strand Magazine. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  7. ^ Frydenlund, Zach (August 18, 2015). "This Drake and Florence + The Machine Mashup Makes "Back To Back" Sound Even Better". Complex. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  8. ^ "Someone Mashed Up Drake's "KMT" and XXXTentacion's "Look at Me!"". Complex. March 22, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  9. ^ Fitzgerald, Trent (January 23, 2019). "Here Are the Rap Songs People Say Ariana Grande Stole for Her Song '7 Rings'". XXL. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  10. ^ Darville, Jordan (January 23, 2019). "This "7 rings" mashup combines Ariana with Soulja Boy with Princess Nokia with 2 Chainz". The Fader. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  11. ^ Lourenco, Denio (March 10, 2021). "Hit TikTok remix elevates Canadian musician Tesher to new heights". CTV News. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  12. ^ "Tesher celebrates No.1 spot in UK chart with Young Shahrukh". Biz Asia. July 14, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  13. ^ "Ty Dolla $ign's 'Ego Death' Vaults to Top Triller U.S. No. 1". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  14. ^ ""When Bollywood Meets Hip-Hop 🤙🏻 @tesherrrr 👈🏻 song killed it 🔥" - @mesunnysingh". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  15. ^ Baddhan, Lakh (November 17, 2020). "In Video: Tesher returns with groovy second single". Biz Asia. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Frankenberg, Eric (July 21, 2021). "The Jason Derulo Effect: Tesher's 'Jalebi Baby' Scales Global Charts Thanks to Remix". Billboard. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  17. ^ "Asian Music Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  18. ^ a b c "Tesher x Jason DeRulo". 360. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  19. ^ Mathew, Rajeev (June 1, 2021). "Tesher and Jason Derulo Release Reimagined 'Jalebi Baby'". Capitol Records. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  20. ^ Cantor, Brian. "Songs By Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, Maneskin, Bazzi, Twenty One Pilots, Tesher & Jason Derulo Make Top 40 At Pop Radio". Headline Planet. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
  21. ^ Sciarpelletti, Laura (July 13, 2021). "Saskatchewan musician Tesher launches music video with Jason Derulo as 'Bollywood Hollywood duo'". CBC. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Weaver, Jackson (March 1, 2022). "Charlotte Cardin, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber lead 2022 Juno Award nominees". CBC News. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  23. ^ Curran, Sarah (May 15, 2022). "Simu Liu And Tesher Team Up For Special Performance At The 2022 Juno Awards". ET Canada. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  24. ^ "Jason Derulo Chart History: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  25. ^ "TESHER X JASON DERULO - JALEBI BABY". austriancharts.at. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  26. ^ "TESHER X JASON DERULO - JALEBI BABY". lescharts.com. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  27. ^ "Hitesh Sharma - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". GfK Entertainment Charts. June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  28. ^ "Week 29". Indian Music Industry. July 28, 2021. Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  29. ^ Peak chart positions for singles in Poland:
  30. ^ "Hitesh Sharma - Hitparade". Swiss Hitparade. June 6, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  31. ^ Peaks on the Asian Music Chart:
  32. ^ "World Digital Song Sales, July 24, 2021". Billboard. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  33. ^ "Jason Derulo Chart History: Billboard Global 200". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  34. ^ "Canadian certifications – Tesher X Jason Derulo". Music Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  35. ^ "French certifications – Tesher" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  36. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista wyróżnień" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 4, 2023. Click "WYKONAWCA" and enter Tesher in the search box.
  37. ^ "Tesher x Jason Derulo - Jalebi Baby (Official Video)". July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021 – via YouTube.
  38. ^ "Tesher - Jacquemus (Official Music Video)". June 23, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2021 – via YouTube.
  39. ^ "Raghav - Desperado (feat. Tesher) (Official Video)". May 1, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2021 – via YouTube.
Categories