AP Dhillon “Excuses” is a Punjabi heartbreak song about broken trust, unfulfilled promises and the painful idea that someone may only understand another person’s hurt after experiencing heartbreak themselves. Although searches often describe it simply as an “AP Dhillon song,” the recording is officially credited to AP Dhillon, Gurinder Gill and producer Intense.
Released in July 2020, “Excuses” did not disappear after its first chart run. It found an even bigger audience later, becoming closely associated with the viral “Kehndi Hundi Si” social-media trend and eventually finishing 2022 as Spotify’s most-streamed song in India.
Quick Bio: AP Dhillon
| Song Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Song | Excuses |
| Artists | AP Dhillon, Gurinder Gill and Intense |
| Vocals | AP Dhillon and Gurinder Gill |
| Music / Programming | Intense |
| Lyricists | Amritpal Singh Dhillon and Gurinderbir Singh |
| Composer | Aneil Singh Kainth |
| Release | July 2020 |
| Duration | 2:56 |
| Language | Punjabi |
| Original label | Run-Up Records on Apple Music/Shazam metadata |
| UK Asian Chart peak | No. 3 |
| Major milestone | Spotify India’s most-streamed song of 2022 |
What Is “Excuses” About?
At its core, “Excuses” is about the imbalance that can exist after a relationship breaks down.
The narrator addresses someone who has disappointed him emotionally and suggests that she will only understand the depth of that pain when her own heart is broken. Rather than presenting heartbreak as a simple moment of sadness, the song revolves around memory, emotional promises and the frustration of feeling that one person cared more deeply than the other.
That distinction matters because the lyrics should not automatically be treated as a description of AP Dhillon’s real romantic life. No reliable source reviewed for this article establishes that “Excuses” was written about a named girlfriend or a particular real-life breakup.
The safest reading is therefore the one supported by the song itself: it tells a heartbreak story, but the narrator’s story is not proof of the artist’s personal relationship history.
AP Dhillon Is Not the Only Artist Behind the Song
One of the most useful corrections to make about “Excuses” is its credit.
The official video describes AP Dhillon and Gurinder Gill as responsible for the vocals and lyrics, with Intense handling the music. Shazam’s detailed credits list AP Dhillon and Gurinder Gill on vocals and Intense on programming. It identifies the writers as Amritpal Singh Dhillon and Gurinderbir Singh, with producer Intense credited under his name, Aneil Singh Kainth, as composer.
That makes “Excuses” a collaborative record rather than an AP Dhillon solo creation, even though Dhillon’s name dominates many searches for the track.
Intense’s production is particularly important to the song’s identity. The restrained instrumental gives the vocals room to carry the emotional weight, helping the track work both as a reflective heartbreak song and as something immediately recognisable in short social-media clips.
The Punjabi Cultural Reference Inside “Excuses”
“Excuses” also draws on cultural imagery that can be easy to miss when the song is reduced to a basic English translation.
A reference in the lyrics to tending cattle and leaving Takht Hazara evokes the Punjabi love story of Heer and Ranjha. In Waris Shah’s famous telling of the romance, Ranjha comes from Takht Hazara and later works as a herdsman after reaching Heer’s home. Academic discussion of the story likewise identifies Takht Hazara as Ranjha’s home and his later role tending cattle.
The reference gives the song another layer. “Excuses” is not simply saying that heartbreak hurts; it places emotional sacrifice alongside one of Punjab’s best-known tragic love traditions.
For listeners unfamiliar with Punjabi folklore, that context explains more than a literal line-by-line translation would.
When Was “Excuses” Released?
There is a small but genuine discrepancy between official platforms.
Apple Music lists 23 July 2020 as the release date, and Shazam uses the same date. Spotify metadata, however, lists 24 July 2020. The official video on Intense’s YouTube channel was published on July 23.
For that reason, the most accurate way to describe the release is simply July 2020, while noting the one-day difference when an exact date is required.
The song runs for approximately 2 minutes and 56 seconds.
It Was Already a Charting Song Before the Viral Revival
The later social-media explosion can make “Excuses” look like a song that appeared from nowhere in 2022. Its chart history shows otherwise.
According to the UK’s Official Charts Company, “Excuses” first entered the Official Asian Music Chart in August 2020. It eventually peaked at No. 3 and spent 18 weeks on the chart.
That early performance is important because it shows that the record had already built a substantial Punjabi and diaspora audience before its second wave of popularity.
What happened later was less a debut than a major revival.
How “Kehndi Hundi Si” Gave the Song a Second Life
By early 2022, one section of “Excuses” had become almost unavoidable across Instagram Reels and memes.
The phrase “Kehndi Hundi Si” became the basis for a social-media format in which users and brands adapted the familiar lyric into jokes and everyday situations. India Today reported in January 2022 that the song was widely appearing in Instagram Reels and that businesses including major Indian brands had joined the trend.
The trend helped introduce a song released roughly a year and a half earlier to another wave of listeners.
It would be an exaggeration to say one meme alone created the song’s success. “Excuses” had already charted in 2020. But the 2022 trend clearly became an important part of its renewed public visibility.
From Viral Song to India’s Most-Streamed Track
The scale of that renewed attention becomes clearer in Spotify’s own figures.
Spotify reported that “Excuses” was the most-streamed song in India in 2022, ahead of a year in which Punjabi music occupied four of the country’s top 10 most-streamed tracks. The platform highlighted the result as part of the wider growth of Punjabi music both within India and among international audiences.
The official “Excuses” video has also accumulated more than 551 million YouTube views as checked in August 2026, another indication that interest extended well beyond a short-lived meme cycle.
The song’s staying power comes from several elements working together: a simple emotional premise, recognisable vocal passages, Intense’s uncluttered production, Punjabi cultural references and a hook that proved unusually adaptable to social platforms.
Where “Excuses” Fits in AP Dhillon’s Story
“Excuses” now sits alongside songs such as “Brown Munde,” “Insane,” “Summer High” and “With You” among the recordings most closely associated with AP Dhillon’s rise.
But its history is unusual even within that catalogue. The song succeeded first as a 2020 Punjabi release, gained another life through internet culture, and then achieved its biggest documented streaming distinction two years after release.
That progression is why “Excuses” remains more interesting than its viral hook alone. It shows how Punjabi music can move between diaspora audiences, streaming platforms and social-media culture without losing the emotional and cultural references at the centre of the song.
FAQs
Who sings “Excuses” with AP Dhillon?
Gurinder Gill performs vocals alongside AP Dhillon, while Intense is credited for the music and programming. The official release credits all three artists.
Who wrote AP Dhillon’s “Excuses”?
Shazam credits Amritpal Singh Dhillon and Gurinderbir Singh with the lyrics, while Aneil Singh Kainth (Intense) is credited as composer.
When did “Excuses” come out?
The track was released in July 2020. Apple Music and Shazam list July 23, while Spotify metadata lists July 24.
Why did “Excuses” go viral?
The song received a major new wave of attention in early 2022 when its “Kehndi Hundi Si” section became widely used in Instagram Reels, memes and brand posts.
Was “Excuses” the most-streamed song in India?
Yes. Spotify reported that “Excuses” was India’s most-streamed song on Spotify in 2022.
Is “Excuses” only an AP Dhillon song?
No. Official platforms credit AP Dhillon, Gurinder Gill and Intense as the artists associated with the single.
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