Since her emergence in the early 2000s, Gurlej Akhtar has seemingly collaborated with almost every major male Punjabi music star on the scene. Widely regarded as the “Duet Queen”, the singer rhymes as fast as the rappers she’s paired with. And her big voice can boom as intensely as her bhangra-pop vocal partners, if not more so. Akhtar can go for power—like 2019’s “Defaulter” alongside R. Nait—or poise, as in 2020’s “Panjeban” with Shivjot. Whether she’s admonishing an errant lover or backing up her man, Akhtar’s energy levels frequently break the gauge: a guaranteed boost for any party.