The rising popularity of South Asian music in B.C. is front and centre at this year’s Junos, as several artists with B.C. connections are nominated for awards.
Most notably, three of the five nominations in the newly created South Asian Music Recording of the Year category have B.C. connections: AP Dhillon, who lives on Vancouver Island, Vancouver’s Karan Aujla and Jazzy B of Surrey, who was nominated for his song COOLIN with Chani Nattan and Inderpal Moga.
“Vancouver, Surrey in particular, is at the epicentre of this music, globally,” Juno Awards president Allan Reid told Stephen Quinn, the host of CBC’s The Early Edition, just moments after the nominees were announced.
Along with his South Asian Music Recording nomination, Dhillon also received nods in the breakthrough artist and songwriter categories, and Aujla is also nominated for Single of the Year for Tauba Tauba.
WATCH | Karan Aujla’s Tauba Tauba:
Dhillon was the first artist to perform entirely in Punjabi at the Juno Awards in 2023.
And while his success certainly had an effect on the music industry and fellow South Asian artists in Canada, their success has been building for many years.
WATCH | AP Dhillon’s The Brownprint:
According to the 2021 census, people who identify as South Asian made up 9.6 per cent of B.C.’s population — almost 500,000 people.
For the past several years, 5X Fest, celebrating South Asian music and art, has been held throughout Metro Vancouver.
WATCH | Chani Nattan, Jazzy B and Inderpal Moga’s COOLIN:
In 2022, Indian artist Diljit Dosanjh played to a sold-out crowd at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, marking what some have described as a cultural shift in B.C.’s music scene.
At the time, Harpo Mander of 5X Fest told CBC’s The Early Edition that Punjabi music traditionally helps immigrants stay in touch with their culture, but artists like Dosanjh were creating something new — a category into which some of B.C.’s Juno nominees certainly fit.
B.C. well-represented at this year’s Junos
B.C. artists are well-represented among several other categories this year, too.
CBC Music estimates B.C. makes up about 13.5 per cent of nominees — up from 10 per cent in 2024. That’s behind Ontario, which makes up 45 per cent and Quebec, which has about 20 per cent. The rest of the provinces make up the remaining 18 per cent, and there are zero nominees from any of the territories.
Haisla hip hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids are one of the province’s most-nominated acts for 2025. Their nods include Best Rap Single and Rap Album, as well as Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year.
WATCH | Snotty Nose Rez Kids song BBE nominated for Rap Single of the Year:
British Columbia has a good showing in the TikTok Juno Fan Choice Award category, where three B.C.ers were nominated, including Vancouver-born bbno$, Smithers country star Dean Brody and previously-mentioned Aujla, who took home this particular award in 2024.
Quadra Island’s Mother Mother has also landed a couple of nominations, including Best Rock Album and Group of the Year — a category the band is no stranger to, having been nominated for this particular award before.
And, just to keep things interesting, B.C. also has three nominations for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year: Vancouver’s Anciients, New Westminster’s Devin Townsend and Victoria’s Spiritbox, the last of which is also up for Group of the Year.
Last year the Junos nearly ended the children’s album category, along with reggae and Christian/gospel, but after some backlash, they kept all three. That worked out nicely for local artists — Kym Gouchie of the Lheidli T’enneh Nation and Salt Spring Island resident Raffi (along with Toronto trio Good Lovelies) are nominated in the children’s category.
Outside of music, comedian Ivan Decker, who grew up in Ladner, is up for Comedy Album of the Year for his latest offering, Popcorn.
The B.C. connection doesn’t end with the nominees; Burnaby’s own Michael Bublé will host the 54th Juno Awards live from Vancouver’s Roger’s Arena on March 30.
The awards will be broadcast and streamed live starting at 5 p.m. PT on CBC-TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, CBC Listen and at CBCMusic.ca/junos and CBC Music’s YouTube page.
