Soni Pabla (1976-2006) was a folk singer and pop star who sang Punjabi songs. He is regarded as one of the all time great singing legends of Punjab because of his amazing voice. His formal name was Tejpal Singh Pabla.
A Saini from the village of Chaudhari Balbir Singh
Soni Pabla was a Saini and was born and raised in Bilaspur, a village near Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India. Bilaspur is the same village yo which belonged Late Chaudhari Balbir Singh and his son Squadron Leader (retd.) Sh. Kamal Chaudhari, both ex-MPS and widely regarded as Saini leaders of Punjab. Chaudhari Balbir Singh was also a Pabla Saini.
Bilaspur is very near to a very famous Saini village, Nangal Shahidan, which is owned Mangar Chaudharies.
Moves to Toronto
Soni Pabla moved to Toronto, Canada in the mid 90s. Under the teachings of Mahesh Malwani he studied music, which lead him towards a recording contract with Planet Recordz, a record label in Canada. Soni released his debut album entitled Heeray Heeray in 2002. In 2004, Soni teamed up with Sukshinder Shinda to produce his second album, Gal Dil Di by velocity records. He has also been featured on numerous albums with various producers. His album "Eternity (Naseebo)" was a tribute to Soni by his friends and Planet Recordz. This album features new songs which Soni had selected for his album. Some songs in this album feature other Punjabi singers.
Untimely Demise
Soni Pabla died at the age of 30, while giving a stage performance in Brampton, Ontario on October 14, 2006 at night. Soni Pabla was performing a show at Patiala Night on October 14, 2006, in Brampton. After singing a few songs, Soni went behind the stage to get a glass of water, collapsing before as he drank it. Paramedics attempted to revive him but he was pronounced dead en route to the hospital. He had suffered a myocardial infarction. Soni Pabla's funeral was shown on the Asian TV program Jee Aayan Nu, which showed his family and friends mourning.
