Virtually 4 years in the past, when Punjabi powerhouse Diljit Dosanjh wished a tune trying again at his two-decade profession, he roped in Indo-Canadian Punjabi popstar and pal Karan Aujla to jot down for him. Exactly 10 minutes after the cellphone name, G.O.A.T (Biggest of All Time) got here to life in Aujla’s Vancouver residence in 2020 and have become a banger at breakneck velocity. A staple and one of many most-loved items at each Dosanjh live performance that adopted thereafter, together with the famed Coachella and his Dil-luminati tour this 12 months, it was additionally the finale piece at Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Present in June.
Aujla had dropped a coup d’etat of types. The vibe landed and the tune got here with an influence punch — Dekh Bollywood vich jinne Khan ne/Ohna vich behnda sardaar, goriye (Have a look at all these Khans in Bollywood/This Sardar sits amongst them, my stunning woman), was laden with imagery exceptional within the mainstream business — of a Sikh entertainer being equated with Bollywood royalty, the Khans.
Dosanjh was already breaking social and cultural stereotypes by being a world famous person who wore his dastaar (turban) and infrequently a standard people outfit throughout his live shows; Aujla’s traces created a lyrical area the place being a sardar, with all its symbols, was truly cool. “Many people have all the time had a difficulty with the portrayal of Sikh characters in movies, usually caricaturised to swimsuit directorial wants. Diljit has modified that. This line, this tune by Karan Aujla succinctly portrays that,” says common Punjabi singer Jassie Gill.
Karan Aujla, in a dialog with The Indian Categorical, says that whereas working with Diljit Dosanjh pushed him to raise his personal craft, songwriting feels instinctive to him and that he “avoids overthinking”. “Once I sit down to jot down, I let feelings and concepts stream freely. My environment, private experiences and the cultural background I come from all gas my inspiration…In the end, I attempt for authenticity in my lyrics. I need listeners to attach with the tales I inform by means of real feelings and relatable experiences. That connection is what makes my music resonate and I consider it’s the cornerstone of my songwriting course of,” says Aujla.
This 12 months, he adopted up G.O.A.T and an album titled Making Recollections (2023) together with his Bollywood debut – Tauba Tauba — an emphatic mixture of breezy rhymes, a cheerful flute and a full piano melody paired with Punjabi traces raving a few stunner within the throaty Malwai dialect. Tauba Tauba, a tune he wrote, composed and sang, from an in any other case misplaced explanation for a movie (Dangerous Newz, 2024), turned out to be one among this 12 months’s greatest hits from Bollywood, which has been banking on remixes to outlive. Aujla says he deliberately stored the lyrics easy. “Hindi actually isn’t me. I wished to familiarise much more individuals with Punjabi,” says Aujla. Genuine Punjabi traces with a up to date, rakish power was simply the sting Aujla wanted to get the tune to ring up the charts.
If Tauba Tauba provided Karan Aujla phenomenal success, two Junos (thought of the Canadian Grammys) earlier this 12 months from the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for his tune Softly, 2023 (which works by the road Chunni meri rang de lalaariya), introduced the arrival of a uncommon expertise. Whereas one was for being the ‘Breakthrough Artist of the 12 months’, the opposite was the Viewers Alternative Award, which has beforehand gone to the likes of Avril Lavigne, Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes, amongst others.
It additionally marked one other first — it made Aujla the one Punjabi artiste to land a Juno. The award, he says, was “a reminder of staying true to my roots” and “pushing boundaries”. “This award celebrates the arduous work and expertise of numerous artistes in our scene. It highlights the worldwide attraction of Punjabi music and exhibits that Indian artistes are making their mark on the worldwide stage… I hope this conjures up extra Punjabi artistes to pursue their desires and showcase the richness of our tradition to a wider viewers,” says Aujla.
A number of Punjabi hits in a 12 months, a fast turnaround time (from writing a tune to its recording), writing for nearly 23 Punjabi artistes moreover creating his personal singing profession, and collaborations with rappers Badshah and DIVINE, have put Aujla on a world map.
“At this level, I’m going to name him the largest artiste within the Indian subcontinent. Karan is an excellent performer, who’s futuristic in his strategy. Punjabi music is now altering each 4 months. He figures out what is going to work and executes it in a short time,” says Satvinder Singh Kohli, managing director, Velocity Data Personal Ltd, the largest Punjabi music label in India.
Gill believes that Aujla has turn out to be so free together with his artwork now “that he’s experimenting splendidly and the outcomes are good”.
Kohli, who’s a Dosanjh acolyte himself, says that whereas the previous is a world famous person and an excellent performer, he’s not writing and composing his songs. “Karan is first a lyricist and composer after which a singer,” says Kohli, who provides that almost all of Aujla’s viewers comes from the Gen Z area. “His is a comparatively youthful viewers. These born after 1998 are listening to him and the way,” says Kohli.
This month, Karan Aujla begins his debut India tour, ‘It’s All A Dream’, tickets for that are promoting out quick, and priced as excessive as Rs 15 lakh. “This tour means much more than simply performing; it’s about connecting with my followers on a deeper stage and sharing my music within the nation that formed me as an artiste. Whereas my latest excursions within the UK, Australia, and Canada have been wonderful, India hits totally different as a result of it’s a homecoming of types,” says Aujla, who will likely be touring Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Jaipur, amongst different cities.
Some tales aren’t meant to be. Even Aujla hasn’t been in a position to fathom how a 14-year-old from an agricultural household in Ghurala, a speck of a village in Punjab — who had misplaced each his mother and father as a younger boy and had turned to writing as a refuge and labored as a longshoreman — grew to become a pop star just a few years later. “Typically I can’t consider I’m that very same child who misplaced his mother and father in India, made his approach out to Canada… If you’re dreaming, ensure you dream large,” mentioned Aujla, in his acceptance speech on the Junos, remembering the hardest section of his life.
The youngest of three siblings, Karan grew up as Jaskaran Aujla. He misplaced his father to a bike accident when he was simply 9 and his mom to gallbladder most cancers 5 years later. Introduced up by the household of his father’s youthful brother, writing songs, he says, was the one actual expression for him. Whereas a few of this poetry was melancholic, some others carried a way of hope. “Writing was a approach for me to course of my feelings throughout that difficult time. I wrote about loss, heartache and longing. It felt like a cathartic expertise that laid the inspiration for my musical journey, serving to me discover my voice and join with others. I didn’t know methods to speak about it to anyone, however I slowly realised I may flip songwriting right into a pastime after which a occupation,” says Aujla,
Aujla was in school IX when his first tune, Cell Telephone, with singer Mac Benipal, whom he met at a marriage, was launched on YouTube. The tune, which spoke about feeling misplaced and alone amidst grinding poverty, tanked. “That tune occurred once I was 15. Wanting again, each wrestle taught me one thing beneficial. It was these arduous occasions that formed my id,” says Aujla.
It was on a go to to Chandigarh with Benipal that Aujla found luxurious SUVs, particularly the Vary Rover, and have become fascinated with it. He eulogised the automobile and wrote Vary, a tune based mostly on the rhyme and meter of Cell Telephone, however this time describing the sensation of proudly owning the luxurious automobile. Gill, whom Aujla met when he was 14, was then an upcoming singer from the neighbouring village of Jandali. With a number of hit songs in tow, he was already doing exhibits in Punjab. Aujla discovered that Gill frequented his pal’s salon in Khanna, met him and provided him the lyrics of Vary. “It was stunning that it had come from such a younger boy. There have been some very intricate issues and rhythmically the tune landed completely,” says Gill. The tune grew to become Aujla’s calling card to strategy different producers.
Throughout these early writing years, he additionally began trying up on-line tutorials and interacting with established producers while experimenting with totally different kinds. “I draw inspiration from each conventional Punjabi poetry and up to date music,” says Aujla, who was all the time drawn to the work of Kuldeep Manak and Gurdas Mann.
Vary (Replay, Velocity Data) got here out in 2014 and was an immediate hit. However by that point, Aujla had already immigrated to Canada to reside together with his sisters. “He was actually younger then and wished to be featured within the music movies, however the brand new boys weren’t eager to provide him an opportunity then,” says Kohli.
The transfer to Canada from Ghurala in his early teenagers was a big transition. “It was a mixture of anxiousness and nervousness…with a unique tradition, way of life and lifestyle,” says Aujla, who additionally figured that this was the area the place he may specific himself extra freely. He discovered himself amid a multi-cultural setting that broadened his horizons.
“It was inspiring to see how various communities got here collectively and celebrated their heritage. This expertise fuelled my creativity and inspired me to discover new sounds and influences in my music. Over time, I started to seek out my place, construct friendships, and embrace the alternatives. It grew to become a pivotal chapter in my life, shaping each my id and my musical journey,” says Aujla, who after highschool took up a part-time job as a longshoreman in Surrey, British Columbia. As he loaded and unloaded cargo on the docks and realized the worth of arduous work, deep down he knew it was a brief section.
“Throughout these lengthy hours, I’d daydream about my music and the impression I wished to make. It was a tricky setting, but it surely motivated me to push tougher for my desires. That have bolstered my perception in pursuing my ardour. It jogged my memory that each wrestle can result in development, and in the end, I knew I used to be meant to share my tales by means of music. It was all a part of the journey to get the place I’m at present,” says Aujla.
He quickly met Punjabi composers and producers Deep Jandu and Elly Mangat and started writing lyrics for them. This additionally led him to jot down for Jazzy B and Bohemia, two large names within the circuit. His tune Blessings of Bapu (2015) sung by Gagan Kokri discovered some consideration again residence.
However Aujla wasn’t nonetheless a well-recognized identify as a result of he wasn’t the face of the songs. Additionally, the idea of credit score for the lyricist was a bit muddled. What modified the sport for him was a tune known as Don’t Fear (2018) that includes Punjabi singer Gurlez Akhtar, which captured his persona, serving to him join with the followers.
“I used to be nonetheless navigating my approach by means of the music business. The tune captured the essence of going through life’s challenges with a optimistic outlook, which resonated deeply with many individuals,” says Aujla. He didn’t look again from right here, releasing one tune after one other, most of them mixing hip-hop with a typical Punjabi sound id. The viewers was lapping it up and asking for extra.
In the previous couple of many years, Punjab’s cultural id has seen an enormous transformation. Shrinking agriculture prospects, lack of jobs and business have led motifs in older songs that spoke of births, weddings and navy life and wealthy Punjabi literature, to get replaced by lyrics dominated by weapons, medicine and misogyny, amongst others. The lack of innocence and its substitute by a sure aggressive tradition in Punjabi songs has been a outstanding cultural shift, buoyed by the Web.
Aujla’s rivalry with slain singer Siddhu Moosewala was additionally a consequence of being in the identical gun-toting, sabre-rattling area. The 2 began off as mates, however dialog leaks led to each side dissing one another by means of their songs. Aujla blames “the pressures of fame, expectations from followers, and the aggressive nature of the business” for the conflicts and misunderstandings.
“It’s a reminder of how fragile relationships will be on this business and the way vital it’s to speak overtly and respectfully. I hope that artistes can study from such conditions and deal with creating music that brings individuals collectively reasonably than permitting conflicts to divide us. It’s essential to prioritise our artistry and the message we wish to convey, whereas additionally remembering the significance of unity inside the music neighborhood,” says Aujla.
A few years earlier than Moosewala’s demise, Karan Aujla was additionally requested by Chandigarh police to chorus from songs glorifying violence and medicines. He agreed to make the change. “As an artiste with a big following, I recognise my accountability. I’ve turn out to be extra aware about my lyrical selections and consider in putting a steadiness between arduous and delicate tracks. It’s about making a physique of labor that’s each relatable and accountable. My music will keep that steadiness whereas evolving with the altering business panorama,” says Aujla, who’s all set for a brand new, large launch with Dosanjh moreover the upcoming tour.
“This tour is not only about performing; it’s about celebrating our tradition, Punjabi music and sharing it within the nation that formed me as an artiste,” he says.
