Meet Apple Music's first Punjabi Up Next artist — Karan Aujla makes history

Apple Music on Wednesday announced singer, rapper, and lyricist Karan Aujla as the latest addition to its Up Next program, making him the first Punjabi artist to join this global initiative aimed at identifying, showcasing, and elevating rising talent. This gives a major boost to the Indian music industry, and the Punjabi rap scene in particular, on a global platform.

"Transforming my journey from losing my parents at a young age to achieving global influence in my twenties, I have made remarkable strides," Aujla said, speaking of his success. "Being the first Punjabi artist to be featured as Apple Music's global Up Next artist highlights my commitment to inspiring my community and upcoming artists."

Who is Karan Aujla?

Karan Aujla (Jaskaran Singh Aujla) was born in Ghurala, Punjab, in 1997. He moved to Vancouver in 2014 and began his career as a lyricist in 2016. Having worked with some great Punjabi music artists like Jazzy B and Diljit Dosanjh, he embarked on his solo career in 2018. He has collaborated with rappers YG and Badshah, giving him much exposure in his career. Aujla is a lyrical genius, which remains a cornerstone of his success.

One of the biggest achievements in his career was winning the 2024 "Fan Favorite" award at the Canadian Juno Awards, bringing him global recognition as the first Punjabi artist to receive the honor. He even collaborated with Punjabi summer pop album "Making Memories" with Toronto-based producer Ikky and Indian hip-hop legend DIVINE on "Street Dreams," which only propelled Punjabi music to new heights.

Punjabi music has been one of the fastest-growing genres on Apple Music. The global streams have increased 124% over the past two years and streams on editorial playlists growing 127%. During the same period, Aujla's streams on editorial playlists have grown 265%, and his albums have reached the top 10 of the Apple Music Top Albums Chart in over 20 countries.

Apple has also released an exclusive Up Next short film on Aujla, which takes viewers into the Vancouver neighborhoods he calls home and shares the artist's vision for connecting his music with the world.

"I feel like my music helped a lot of people that don't know my language," Aujla tells Apple Music in the film. "If you love music, you love music. There don't have to be barriers around it. I listen to Spanish music all the time. I don't know a word of Spanish. I want to have that one, 'Despacito' moment with a Punjabi track. That one track that goes everywhere, but nobody knows what the hell it means."

The exclusive Apple Music Up Next film is live and those who wish to stream Aujla's music can explore his various tracks, starting from his latest EP, "Four Me (Apple Music Edition)". His "It Was All A Dream" tour will kick off on August 10, 2024, in Toronto at Scotiabank Arena.

Apple Music's Up Next Program

Up Next is Apple Music's monthly artist program, which aims to identify, showcase, and elevate rising star talent. Apple Music's editorial team chooses an artist throughout the year to promote, using the platform's full resources to raise awareness among a global audience, which gives a major boost to the artist and the genre of music. The program includes an Apple Music short film shot entirely on iPhone, an interview with an Apple Music radio anchor, and more.

The Up Next roster includes Grammy-nominated and critically acclaimed talent such as 6lack, Daniel Caesar, H.E.R., Billie Eilish, Bad Bunny, Juice WLRD, Megan Thee Stallion, Burna Boy, and more.

Karan Aujla is the latest to join Apple Music's Up Next roster, alongside some of today's most exciting and promising artists and will serve as the official Up Next playlist cover star, spotlighted over the next few months.