"Mundian To Bach Ke" also titled "Beware of the Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke)", is a bhangra song performed by Punjabi

Punjabi people

The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...

 artist Labh Janjua

Labh Janjua

Labh Janjua is a bhangra / hip hop singer from India, who first became known after his bhangra song, Mundian To Bach Ke, was remixed by Panjabi MC in 2002, subsequently he has sung many Bollywood hits including, Jee Karda from Singh Is King...

 and remixed by Panjabi MC

Panjabi MC

Rajinder Singh Rai , better known by his stage name Panjabi MC is a British Indian musician.-Career:...

 in 2002. It achieved considerable worldwide success, topping the singles charts in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 (Wallonia), and charting highly in many other countries.

Lyrics and music

In addition to features of bhangra music, the song also used the bass line

Bassline

A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...

 from the television theme song for Knight Rider, written by Glen A. Larson

Glen A. Larson

Glen Albert Larson is an American television producer and writer best known as the creator of Battlestar Galactica, The Fall Guy, Magnum, P.I. and Knight Rider.-Career:...

 and Stu Phillips

Stu Phillips

Stu Phillips is an American composer of film scores and television-series theme music, conductor and record producer.-Career:...

, as an underlying element. The lyrics of the song are in Punjabi

Punjabi language

Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...

. The video to this song was shot in the streets of Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

, Malaysia.

Uses in the media

The song is used frequently in Western media when Indian characters are on screen. It was used on an episode of ER

ER (TV series)

ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...

, when Gallant

Michael Gallant

Dr. Michael Gallant is a fictional character in the TV series ER, portrayed by Sharif Atkins. He was a regular character from 2001 to 2004 .- At County :...

 and Neela

Neela Rasgotra

Dr. Neela Rasgotra is a fictional character portrayed by Parminder Nagra on the television show ER. Following the departure of Goran Visnjic, Maura Tierney, and Mekhi Phifer this left Nagra as the longest term cast member on ER and it also made her character the show's main character so, in terms...

 danced to a version of the song, which Gallant called a "Sikh

Sikh

A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

 rap."

This song was also used in America's Best Dance Crew

America's Best Dance Crew (Season 2)

The second season of America's Best Dance Crew premiered on June 19, 2008. The live auditions special took place on June 8, 2008. It was hosted by Mario Lopez and featured Layla Kayleigh as the backstage correspondent. The judges included rapper Lil Mama, former *NSYNC singer JC Chasez, and hip-hop...

Season 2 on week 9 of the Around The World challenge as part of the Indian dance section. It also appeared in an episode of the US television show Queer as Folk during a scene at the club Babylon. A version of this song was used in the Ginebra San Miguel

Ginebra San Miguel

Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. is a Philippines-based diversified alcoholic beverage company owned by San Miguel Corporation, then called La Tondeña Distillers, Inc. from 1987 to 2003. Founded originally by the late Carlos Palanca, Sr. as La Tondeña, Inc...

 "Bilog Ang Mundo" ad campaigns in 2003. The song was featured in an episode of Entourage

Entourage (TV series)

Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...

. It was used twice in the pilot of the NBC comedy Outsourced

Outsourced

Outsourced is a romantic comedy film, directed by John Jeffcoat, released in 2006.-Plot:When Todd Anderson's job and entire department are outsourced, he reluctantly travels to India to train his replacement...

.

Other uses

In 2009 German singer Peter Fox mashed

Mashup (music)

A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...

 this song with Seeed

Seeed

Seeed is a German reggae/dancehall band from Berlin. Founded in 1998, they have become notable in Germany and its neighboring countries. Seeed and Cologne's singjay Gentleman are among Germany's most popular reggae musicians....

's song 'Dickes B' during the tour for his solo album Stadtaffe

Stadtaffe

-Weekly charts:"Stadtaffe" entered the German Albums Chart at #4 and reached its peak position #1, which it reached on 4 non-consecutive occasions.It managed to stay in the Top Ten for a total of 41 weeks and it stayed in the Top 50 for 92 weeks....

.

Chart performances

The song was originally released in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 on his 1998 album Legalised. Partially fueled by Internet downloads, it charted again in 2003. In Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, it sold over 100,000 in the first two days alone, and debuted at #2 in the Germany charts and reached #1 in the Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 charts. The week of its release in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, it debuted at #5 on the top 40 charts; it was also the first bhangra song to reach the UK top 10. The Jay-Z

Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...

 remix also hit #33 on the Billboard charts

Billboard charts

The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and #10 in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Total sales of Mundian To Bach Ke are estimated between 1 million and 10 million units.

12" maxi

12" maxi - Germany

1. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (original mix) — 3:58
2. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (instrumental) — 3:57
3. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (moonbootica mix) — 6:34
4. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (Banks & Sullivan Oldskool mix) — 4:34

12" maxi - France

1. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (motivo hi-lectro mix) — 5:39
2. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (original radio edit) — 3:24
3. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (triple X remix) — 7:55

12" maxi - U.S.

1. "Beware of the Boys" ("Mundian To Bach Ke") (radio edit)
2. "Beware Breaks" ("Mundian Breaks")
3. ""Beware of the Boys" ("Mundian To Bach Ke") (switch mix)

12" maxi - U.S.

1. "Beware" (twista remix)
2. "Beware of the Boys" ("Mundian To Bach Ke") (original version)
3. "Beware Breaks" ("Mundian Breaks")

12" maxi - U.S.

1. "Beware" (Jay-Z remix)
2. "Beware Of The Boys" ("Mundian To Bach Ke") (original version)
3. "Beware Breaks" ("Mundian Breaks")

12" maxi - U.S. - Dance remixes

1. "Mundian To Bach Ke" ("Beware of the Boys") (triple X remix)
2. "Mundian To Bach Ke" ("Beware of the Boys") (moonbootica remix)
3. "Mundian To Bach Ke" ("Beware of the Boys") (motivo hi-lectro remix)

12" maxi - UK - Jay-Z remixes

1. "Jogi" (3:10)
2. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (moonbootica mix) — 6:32
3. "Beware Of The Boys" (Jay-Z remix) — 4:00

CD maxi

CD maxi - Belgium

1. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (radio mix) — 3:20
2. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (moonbootica mix) — 6:34
3. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (Banks & Sullivan Oldskool mix) — 4:34
4. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (instrumental mix) — 3:57

CD maxi - Denmark

1. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (radio mix) — 3:22
2. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (moonbootica mix) — 6:36
3. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (Banks & Sullivan Oldskool mix) — 4:04
4. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (instrumental mix) — 3:57

CD maxi - Germany

1. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (original mix) — 3:49
2. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (moonbootica mix) — 6:41
3. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (Banks & Sullivan Oldskool mix) — 4:39
4. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (instrumental mix) — 4:43

CD maxi - UK

1. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (radio edit)
2. "Mundian To Bach Ke" (switch mix)
3. "Mundian Breaks"

Peak positions

Chart (2002/03)	Peak position
Austrian Singles Chart	2
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995...	3
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts...	1
Canadian Singles Chart	10
Danish Singles Chart	5
Dutch Mega Top 100	10
Finnish Singles Chart	12
French SNEP Singles Chart	15
German Singles Chart	2
Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...	14
Italian Singles Chart	1
Norwegian Singles Chart	18
Swedish Singles Chart	10
Swiss Singles Chart	4
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	33
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	21
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes...	3
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	17

End of year charts

End of year chart (2003)	Position
Austrian Singles Chart	20
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart	23
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart	23
French Singles Chart	80
Swiss Singles Chart	33

Certifications