Jalebi Baby

"Jalebi Baby" is aPunjabi-English song sung and produced by Canadian rapper, singer-songwriter and producerTesher, first released on November 13, 2020 by Namah Music Group andCapitol Records. Following the viral success of the track, a remix with American singerJason Derulowas released on May 28, 2021. "Jalebi Baby" was written byHitesh Sharma, with additional lyrics added for the remix by Jason Derulo.
In February 2024, the remix was included on Derulo's fifth studio albumNu King.
In 2020, after his debut with the single "Young Shahrukh", Tesher independently released "Yummy Jalebi", a remix ofJustin Bieber's "Yummy" with "Jalebi Bai" from the soundtrack of Bollywood filmDouble Dhamaal. The song went viral on social media platforms includingTikTokandInstagramfor a verse featuring original vocals from Tesher. In response to popular demand, he released a version that removed "Yummy" and extended his verse to a full original song with his own rapping inPunjabiandEnglish.The new song, entitled "Jalebi Baby", was released fordigital downloadandstreamingon November 13, 2020 as his second major label single.
"Jalebi Baby" achieved viral success onTikTok, which caught the attention of American singerJason Derulo.Derulo approached Tesher to feature on the song, and a remix version with the duo was released for digital download and streaming on May 28, 2021.The officialmusic videofor the remix, directed byGil Green, was released on July 13, 2021, and starred Tesher and Derulo alongside Indian-American model Ghazal Gill as the female lead.
"Jalebi Baby" is composed in thekeyofD minorfor both the original and the remix, with atempoof 93 beats per minute.The track contains a sample of "Havana Salsa" by artist "Drum! Drum! Drum! from which you can hear piano, trumpet and bass.The song title refers to a well-known South Asian and Middle Eastern sweet known asjalebi. Tesher posted on his Instagram page that "He can tell you the 2021 song of the summer is literally about an Indian sweet. And that's got to count for something".However, the lyrics were intended by Tesher as adouble entendre, with the titular jalebi taking on a more risqué meaning. In an interview withPopShift, Tesher admitted, "For me personally … when I say, 'Baby let me eat it, I just want to see it,' I’m not talking about jalebis. And I’ll leave it at that."
On July 7, 2021, Tesher and Jason Derulo performed "Jalebi Baby" together live onToday.On May 15, 2022, Tesher performed "Jalebi Baby" live withSimu Liuat theJuno Awards of 2022, which were held atToronto'sBudweiser Stage.
Upon release, "Jalebi Baby" became a viral sensation, topping the Shazam charts in 25+ countries and amassing over 100 million combined global streams by May.The track became Tesher's second after "Young Shahrukh" to peak at number one on the UK Asian Music Chart and remained atop the chart for seven consecutive weeks. The song also debuted at number 20 on the Top Triller Global chart on the issue dated February 20, 2021 and at number 16 onBillboard'sWorld Digital Song Saleschart on the issue dated May 29, 2021.
"Jalebi Baby" entered at number 186 on theBillboardGlobal 200chart and at number 116 on theBillboardGlobal Excl. U.S.chart on the issue dated June 12. The track also steadily rose on theWorld Digital Song Saleschart to a peak of number 3 for two weeks in July. The song debuted at number 17 in the inaugural edition of India's top 20 international singles chart on June 21 and rose to a peak of 7 for three weeks starting on July 26, becoming Tesher's first top-ten hit in the country.It was a success in Europe as well, charting in Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, and Switzerland. "Jalebi Baby" amassed over 200 million global streams as of July 2021. Outside Europe, the song also topped the charts in India, the US, and Canada.
Following the release of the music video, "Jalebi Baby" gained traction globally. After weeks of static or downward motion on theBillboardGlobal 200 charts, in the week ending July 15 streams rose 26% to 12.8 million and sales rose 6% to 2,100 worldwide. The song shot from number 142 to 119 on the July 24-dated Global Excl. U.S. chart and re-entered the Global 200 at number 187, approaching its original peaks. This was the first week in which Derulo was credited on the Global charts, as the remix outperformed the original in chart activity for the first time.The following week, the track reached new peaks at number 80 on the Global 200 and number 50 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart. The song entered thePop Airplaychart at number 39 on the week of August 14.
"Jalebi Baby" featured in the second episode of theDisney+original television seriesMs. Marvel, which starsIman VellaniasKamala Khan, the first Muslim superhero in theMarvel Cinematic Universe(MCU). The song plays as Kamala meets her crush Kamran shirtless for the first time. Tesher was delighted by the inclusion of his song, stating "It's no secret I'm a big Marvel fan so being Kamala Khan's mental thirsting soundtrack is an absolute dream come true for me. The best part of all this, however, is that I can officially say that I exist in the MCU."
Credits and personnel for "Jalebi Baby" and its remix adapted fromTidal.