Karan Aujla and Jonita Join Ed Sheeran On New 'Play (The Remixes)' EP

Ed Sheeran is exploring Punjabi music.

This Friday (Oct. 17), the superstar British singer-songwriter is releasing Play (The Remixes), an EP exclusively featuring Punjabi (and Hindi) artists that reworks four tracks from Sheeran’s album, Play — which originally peaked at No. 6 on Billboard Canadian Albums.

The Warner Music-released project includes “Don’t Look Down,” with rapper Indian Hanumankind, singer Dhee and composer Santhosh Narayanan and the previously-released “Sapphire,” featuring Arijit Singh. Two Canadians get their time to shine, with “Heaven” featuring Jonita and “Symmetry” with Karan Aujla — both of whom starred on Billboard Canada’s Punjabi Wave cover in 2023.

Last month, Sheeran teased his collaboration with Aujla on BBC Asian Network. While he couldn’t share too many details at the time, he said the song was “really good.” Now, it has been revealed that they re-worked “Symmetry,” a track that already infuses Punjabi beats with Sheeran’s emotional vocals. The pair shot the music video in New York, and it’s set to debut alongside the EP.

"Heaven," with the multilingual Jonita, will feature lyrics primarily in Hindi, a first for Sheeran.

During the interview, he recalled his first time singing in Punjabi was last year, with Billboard Canada’s first-ever print cover star Diljit Dosanjh, during a performance of Sheeran’s track “Lover,” in Mumbai. Although he has never sung an entire track in Punjabi, he shared his affinity for the language, calling it melodic and poetic.

Sheeran revealed that he picked up the language rather quickly, but his pronunciation needed fine-tuning. Sharing some insights on collaborating with Aujla, he said: “[I was] sitting with him and [he was] like ‘No, you say it like this.’ And I said, be really, really brutal with me. And so we sat together and he was brutally honest and we made it work.”

In July, Sheeran shared the reworked version of "Sapphire," alongside Punjabi artist Arijit Singh. The effervescent dance track mixes percussion elements of traditional Indian music with Sheeran's signature catchy melodies as he sings — in English and Punjabi — about never wanting to stop dancing with a lover whose aura shimmers. Singh adds flair to the recording with strong vocals and playing a sitar.

Play (The Remixes) will surely strengthen his fanbase in India. Three Indian cities — Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai — are amongst the pop star’s top streaming locations on YouTube, and he's played some big shows in the country.

Additionally, the EP elevates cross-border listening. Jonita is signed to the Canada/India joint label 91 North Records, while Aujla is signed to Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India.

Both artists have had a major year, with Aujla becoming the first-ever Punjabi-Canadian artist to play The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and breaking records with his new album, P-Pop Culture, which debuted at No. 3 on Canadian Albums. During the first half of 2025, Jonita released two singles, seemingly entering a new era. Now, working with a mega star like Sheeran adds to their already established star power.