What’s good, readers? Welcome back to a new day and a new newsletter. The sun is out and so are our favorite brown munde with new music. We visit the world’s most notorious aunty — Sima from Mumbai — before getting into it with stories about Zara’s new design with bizarre Hindi aesthetics and TikTok conquerer and singer Shreea Kaul.

— Rosh

Your Favorite Brown Munde Are Putting Out New Music Again

Hot off the press is AP Dhillon & Shinda Kahlon’s latest new single “True Stories.” From the video visuals to the music arrangement, the song screams for mainstream attention. The first listen is reminiscent of tracks like Lil Uzi Vert’s “Just Wanna Rock” or Bad Bunny’s “WHERE SHE GOES,” all of which engage the trending “Jersey Club” drum pattern throughout the song.

Here’s the song —What do you think? Do you notice the “Jersey” beat?

Just a week prior to AP Dhillon’s release, his frequent (ex) collaborator Gurinder Gill dropped his highly anticipated album “HARD CHOICES.” The seven tracks featured have an equal ratio of bro bangers to sentimental hits, reminding us of why we love GG’s music in the first place — his voice!

With the lack of promo and purposeful gaps between releases, it makes us wonder if the Punjabi-Canadian artists and Run Up Record labelmates will ever collaborate again in the future. Considering their previous bangers have been collectively streamed in the billions, we can only hope.

You can listen to Gill’s new album here.

If Indian Matchmaking is Canceled, Why Is Sima Aunty Still Trending?

You may have noticed Indian Matchmaking’s Sima Taparia—AKA ‘Sima Aunty’ or ‘Sima from Mumbai,’—all across your IG feed. Maybe all this PR is to secure her brand ahead of a potential Indian Matchmaking cancellation? 

Viewers have long criticized Taparia for perpetuating regressive cultural stereotypes and for shaming her clients for their ‘picky’ preferences. But this has little effect on her. Over the past few months, she has continued to drop new project after project, building her personal brand beyond her signature show, which has seen three seasons.

Recently, Taparia launched her debut single, “Shaadi Ki Tayaree Hai” which is inching towards nearly 1M views on Youtube. She has also been flying across the US and India for singles events and public appearances, which she has used to promote her new India-based dating app, Urban Match.

Sima is the Aunty that feels like she’s everywhere. But do people entertain her ventures as a meme or do they actually STAN her? Let us know.

Zara’s New T-Shirt Design Rips Hindi, Makes Zero Sense

The internet had a big laugh this week after Twitter user @shilpakannan found and exposed this button-down t-shirt design on Zara’s website. The design, which features the Devanagari script, is widely assumed to be a mistranslation. Instead of reading “chawal,” which translates to “rice,” netizens are speculating that the word that the intended English word was “rise,” which would better fit the design’s existing theme and language around Delhi’s sun and heat.

While some were weary considering the fast fashion industry’s long history of cultural appropriation, most Twitter users were amused, even wanting to purchase the design just for the hilarity of the irony.

WatchList: Shreea Kaul and Her Trending, Cultural Sounds

Meet the sensational Indian-American artist, Shreea Kaul, whose music is gaining popularity on TikTok and beyond. 

Shreea's latest single, “Burn it to the Ground,” has become a TikTok favorite trend. You can’t log on and not see one of the hundreds of modern Bharatanatyam dance videos using the song’s audio on your FYP. With a unique combination of R&B and Indian classical music, South-Asian creators across the globe have accepted the dance challenge.

Since her remarkable debut EP “Skin" in 2017, Shreea has been on a mission to elevate South Asian music to global heights. One of her biggest hits was the 2021 collaboration with Pakistani-American artist REHMA on their infectious single “Ladke.” With over 1 million streams on Spotify, this empowering anthem sheds a light on the unrealistic societal expectations placed on South Asian women. Similarly, her tracks, “Ol’ Dude” and “Gluttony” have both hit the 1M+ stream mark and helped put the artist in the spotlight.

With social media as her powerful ally, she's capturing hearts and minds with her authentic and emotionally charged performances. Don't miss out — you need Shreea Kaul in your life right now.

Other Notable News

• Abhi The Nomad released a new track “Top Ramen.”

• Khanvict released a new track “Diljit Dosanjh — Peed (Khanvict Remix).”

• YDV released a new track “Rings Like Roses.”

• HYDR & PDNY released a new track “KHO GAYE.”

• Simar released a new track “Sajna.”

Listen to the PopShift Playlist on Spotify.

Writers: Roshni Lalchandani, Aneesa Khan, Raghu Alla

Editors: Raghu Alla, Roshni Lalchandani