Harbhajan Mann is a Punjabi singer and actor. He was born to S. Harnek Mann and Late S.Dilip Kaur on 30 December 1965 in Bathinda, Punjab, India, but was raised in Surrey, British Columbia. He is sixth among seven siblings consisiting of 4 brothers and three sisters. Harbhajan started his singing career in 1977-78. He performed in local shows for the Asian audience in Canada after school.
Harbhajan studied Punjabi music from his first teacher, Karnail Singh Paras Ramuwalia. In 1992, Harbhajan's big break came when he release his second album Chithiye Nee Chithiye in Canada. In a quote from one of Harbhajan's interview with BBC(UK) he stated that "When I was a child my family used to visit our local Gurudwara in the village. I was truly inspired by one of the Tadis there called Baba Karnail Singh. My little brother Gursewak and I used to always watch him do kirtan and from then on I started to learn from him. The first step was when I asked if he would be my guru. He said yes and started to teach me. Then we moved to Canada and I used to sing at community shows and from there I got some recognition.
From then I started getting light classical training from Sheik Hamed and Balbir Singh Bandhu. My first break was in 1992 with the release of Chithiye Nee Chithiye. The response was so good it felt great." The album was a success to a large Punjabi audience. The single Chithiye Nee Chithiye in India, Harbhajan acknowledged the industry for Punjabi music was lacking in Canada. Harbhajan returned to Patiala,Punjab to record more music. After Chithiye Ne Chithiye, he released albums Vadhaiyan Jee Vadhaiyan and Jag Jeondeyan De Mele. In 1999, Harbhajan's voice entered mainstream. Top Indian media MTV India and T-Series got interested in promoting his music.
Harbhajan Mann's album, "Oye Hoye" topped music charts. Harbhajan's Pop music attracted audiences in India. Along with bollywood cinematographer, Manmohan Singh, Harbhajan took a step towards Punjabi cinema. He pursued T-Series to invest in punjabi cinema. The fate of punjabi entertainment changed in 2002 when his first ,movie "Jee Aayan Nu" hit the screens.
With his success he became a playback singer and actor. The ride to fame continued with more movies like Asa Nu Maan Watna Da, Dil Apna Punjabi and Mitti Wajaan Maardi. His films turn out to be more successful than many Bollywood and Hollywood films. The per screen Average of the film in the UK is better than Hollywood movies. Harbhajan did not leave his singing for movies. He gave hits like Satrangi Peengh (with his brother Gursewak Mann, a renowned punjabi singer himself), Dil Dol Geya and Mauj Mastiyan. His movies were the first to be shown in over than 100 countries.