Karan Aujla’s career as an artist, rapper and songwriter has been on a near-vertical ascent over the last 10 years, with billions of YouTube views, 11.1 million Spotify monthly listeners, numerous UK hits and many devoted followers in tow.
‘Music has put me on billboards around the world,’ Karan tells us. ‘It's something I’m proud of.’
Thanks in part to Karan’s music and creativity, Panjabi has become a significant global fixture across streaming platforms. Making Memories, his 2023 record of summer pop hits, became the highest-charting Panjabi album in Canadian history last year when it debuted at number five. Karan told Billboard Canada about the achievement: ‘When we saw these numbers, and we saw that mark, we were like, “OK, it’s all finally worth it now.”’
Karan was raised in the village of Ghurala, Panjab amid a rural and farming lifestyle. It was here that his deep passion for music-making and songwriting was initially kindled.
‘I started writing songs at the age of 14. It was a way for me to express my feelings as I wasn’t confident enough to speak to people,’ he explains. ‘I was searching for a way to communicate, and music felt right: that’s how I found myself immersed in songwriting.’
‘Music has put me on billboards around the world.'
In those early days, there were a handful of Indian songwriters, including Babbu Maan and Manmohan Waris, who Karan has since taken the creative baton from.
‘They inspired me, helping me find my creativity and giving me the passion to continue to write,’ he states of his predecessors. After co-writing Jassie Gill’s track Range in 2014, Karan left India and moved to Canada.
‘It was 2019 when Don’t Look and Don’t Worry came out: that was when people started noticing me and showing me much more love than before,’ Karan recalls. ‘When I wrote Don’t Worry, it happened so quickly: the whole songwriting process felt so natural, it just flowed through me. There wasn’t too much thinking behind it, it just happened. That’s what made the track what it is today and why it became such a hit.’
Karan’s 2021 debut album, BacTHAfuKUP (B.T.F.U.), marked a career highlight, with its mix of hip hop and Panjabi beats cementing his signature sound. With more than 50 tracks to his own name and a similar number as a featured artist, music continues to course through Karan. For him, there’s no silver bullet or winning formula to songwriting. Instead, it’s about getting stuck into his music and wrestling with his creativity.
‘Even after releasing a huge amount of music, I sometimes get to the studio and I’m not sure what I want to explore or say. But then I allow the creativity to come to me. I feel like if you put the time in and stay at it, then it will come to you — it always does in the end.’
It’s clear that Panjabi music is on trend like never before. Diljit Dosanjh became the first Panjabi singer to perform at Coachella Festival in 2023, while AP Dhillon has collaborated with grime artist Stormzy. The latter is a perfect example of the way in which the music world’s digital ecosystem is fostering new fusions and breaking down barriers.
‘Sometimes as a songwriter, you never quite know how far your music can go,’ agrees Karan of the way the sound he heard as a kid has since transcended borders. ‘Whether it’s on the radio in London, in a club in Brazil or at a festival in the US, it really is global.
‘PRS for Music plays an important role in ensuring songwriters across the world are getting paid consistently. It’s so important to sustaining the creative industries.’
Karan became the first Panjabi winner at Canada’s Juno Awards back in March, collecting the Fan Choice Award — an accolade he now shares with Shawn Mendes, Justin Bieber and Avril Lavigne. Next up? More new music and a debut world tour, It Was All A Dream, which includes a series of sold-out arena shows.
‘2024 has already been so crazy,’ he says. ‘I have so much planned and I’m so excited to continue with my music.’
The world seems to be Karan Aujla’s oyster, and there’s no sign of him slowing down.
This article features in a special edition of M Magazine celebrating 110 years of PRS. You can read the magazine here.
