The hype train continues to roll for Karan Aujla, whose new P-Pop Culture has become "one of the strongest global debuts ever for a Punjabi-language album," according to Warner Music Canada.
"The album’s first week has been nothing short of explosive, achieving historic milestones across streaming platforms and charts worldwide," the music company raves in a news release.
Aujla, who has roots in Surrey, fuses Punjabi pop and hip-hop on , which balances "pop melodies drenched in love and nostalgia with hip-hop fire where bars hit hard and truths hit harder."
The video for reggae-fied single has boasts more than 40 million views in 12 days, according to Warner, and watch for Aujla on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, Sept. 9.
P-Pop Culture debuted at #1 on Spotify in both India and Pakistan, and #4 in Canada, and claimed #1 on Apple Music in all three countries. In Canada, the project debuted at #3 on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart with 12.4 million streams, "marking the highest debut for a Punjabi-language album in Canadian history, a record that surpasses Aujla’s own Making Memories from 2023."
Warner Music Canada president Kristen Burke said the company is thrilled with the "incredible performance" of Aujla's new album. "This success is a testament to his groundbreaking artistry and his ability to resonate with a global audience," Burke says. "The phenomenal results we're seeing worldwide solidify his status as a trailblazer, and we're proud to be his partner in bringing this cultural movement to the world.”
Aujla doesn't give many interviews, but we're told that he once worked and lived in Surrey.
A Google Gemini search for "Karan Aujla Surrey" produces this: "After moving to Canada in 2014, he lived with his sister in Vancouver and attended high school in Burnaby, but he worked part-time as a longshoreman in Surrey. Aujla has strong ties to the city and has referred to it as an 'epicentre' for Punjabi music. In a 2024 interview, he spoke about how living in Surrey has helped him preserve his culture and language and that the city has provided him with creative inspiration."
Aujla was nine when his father died in a bike accident and 14 when he lost his mother to cancer, according to .
Five years ago, in September 2019, at Bell Performing Arts Centre where VIP "meet and greet" tickets were sold for $80.
In March 2024 Aujla took home the TikTok JUNO Fan Choice award from the JUNO Awards. It was a bittersweet moment for organizers of the , a festival of South Asian music and art in Surrey and Vancouver. "Although it was heartwarming to see (Aujla) take the stage to perform and to receive this award, we couldn't help but notice the lack representation for South Asian artists across all of the nominated categories, so , festival organizers noted.
Later, Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) listened to those concerns, adding the South Asian Music Recording of the Year category and also Songwriter of the Year (Non-Performer) for the 2025 JUNO Awards, held in Vancouver.
In August 2024 Aujla sold-out a concert at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
