South Asian music will get its due at Junos this weekend, reflecting rising popularity in Canada

Yanchan Rajmohan, known professionally as Yanchan Produced, is on cloud nine.

"It feels like a dream come true," he said in an interview with CBC News about his recent Juno nomination.

While an awards nod is a big deal to most artists, to Yanchan, this recognition has an added aspect. He is nominated for South Asian music recording of the year, a new category for the 2025 Juno Awards, which take place on Sunday.

"I've watched the Junos every year, and to finally have a category that represents South Asian artists and to be a part of this for the first time ... it just feels like hope to me," he said.

That recognition comes amid the music's growing popularity — especially in Canada. SiriusXM recently announced a new South Asian music channel, citing the "massive growth of South Asian music in Canada."

In 2023, Warner Music's Canadian and Indian divisions jointly founded 91 North Records, a label meant to support and capitalize on the rise of South Asian artists.

It's since gone on to sign South Asian powerhouses like Jonita Gandhi and Chani Nattan — both of whom are nominated for Junos this year.

And just last year, Indian musician Diljit Dosanjh took to the stage in front of 54,000 people at Vancouver's BC Place — the largest-ever Punjabi concert outside of India, according to Billboard Canada.

It was a followup to a 2022 sold-out show at the city's Rogers Arena that some B.C. industry members pointed to as a seminal moment for South Asian music in the country.

That influence appears often on the Junos shortlist. There, artists Karan Aujla, Sukha, AP Dhillon and AR Paisley show up everywhere from fan choice and single, to album and breakthrough artist of the year.

But it is in the new category — created, the Junos explained in an announcement, for a country that's become the "epicentre of South Asian music globally" — that the collection of talent is impossible to miss.

Yanchan said their success can continue to create more change.

"I'm hoping that I can open the doors," he said. "Then behind me is a whole army of other talented musicians, who can follow their own path and, you know, add their own impact to the industry."

Music journalist Jeevan Sangha said this change has been a long time coming. That's especially true in her province of British Columbia, where the awards are set to take place and where AP Dhillon, Karan Aujla and fellow South Asian nominee Jazzy B call home.