Punjabi Wave artists proud of new South Asian music category at 2025 Juno Awards​on March 25, 2025 at 6:00 pm

Singer Karan Aujla made history at the 2024 Juno Awards. The first artist of Punjabi descent to win the TikTok Juno Fan Choice Award, Aujla’s mix of bhangra, hip-hop, R&B and dance styles in hits such as On Top and Winning Speech resonated far and wide with listeners at home and abroad.

This year, Aujla is nominated again in the fan choice category, as well as for single of the year and the new South Asian music recording of the year category.

Adding the category to the awards was a no-brainer to anyone who follows trending genres. South Asian pop, particularly from artists of Punjabi descent, is blowing up globally — and Canadian musicians are some of the genre’s most popular.

Recognizing this international scene, Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India launched the 91 North Records joint venture in 2023. It’s aimed at promoting music by artists of South Asian heritage.

Toronto producer Ikky is the label’s creative director and has previously stated: “I’ve always been fascinated by the blending of Indian and Western sounds into culturally impactful, innovative music. 91 NORTH RECORDS exists to elevate artists pursuing this fusion. Punjabi and South Asian music already competes worldwide, and I’m thrilled to collaborate with emerging talents, showcasing and amplifying what they have to offer. This is no experiment; it’s the future.”

Fans all over the world would agree with that summation.

A perfect example of the reach of the scene is the song Excuses. Performed by AP Dhillon and Gurinder Gill, with production from Surrey-based producer Intense, the tune recently became the first Punjabi song to pass 500 million streams on Spotify. Intense’s Double Up Entertainment label just inked a distribution deal with Warner Music Group.