Gurlez Akhtar (born March 3, 1987 in Ludhiana, India) is a playback singer composer and performer, predominantly of Punjabi music. Akhtar learned to sing after the death of her father, who was also a musician, starting her career at an early age as a duet singer, performing with Surinder Maan and contributing vocals to his 2005 album Gulabi Lehnge Waliye. Collaborating with Punjabi singer Sukhwinder Sukhi, she rose to fame on his 2006 studio album Sharif Munda before lending her voice to Punjabi films Hashar (2008), Jawani Zindabaad (2010) and Jihne Mera Dil Luteya (2011). Since then, Akhtar has performed alongside many artists including Sarabjeet, Harjit Sidhu, Iqbal Kaler, and Preet Brar, and is known affectionately in the industry as the Duet Queen, credited with the resurgence of the duet trend in Punjabi cinema. In 2019, her single “Jattwad” (a collaboration with Harf Cheema) peaked at number 7 in the Indian Top 40 Chart, charting for a total of 154 weeks. Although Akhtar’s releases are predominantly singles, in 2013 she released her first solo album Ganga Utte, followed by Vekh Vekh Jeewan in 2020 and Na Mar Sohniya Gerhe in 2021, known best for its hit single “Tera Love Letter”. Akhtar has recorded over 600 songs over the span of her career, and has performed throughout India, Canada and Australia.
