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Chart Beat

Canadian-Punjabi Artists Ikky & Karan Aujla Make YouTube’s Top 10 Most-Watched Videos of 2023

The two artists, who were part of Billboard Canada's Punjabi Wave cover, sit amongst the top artists in the world on YouTube's list.

Karan Aujla

Karan Aujla


Photography team: Ishmil Waterman, Lane Dorsey, Sasha Jairam/Billboard Canada. Styling by Veronika Lipatova, Nikita Jaisinghani, Aliecia Brisette. Makeup & Hair by Franceline Graham.

Ikky and Karan Aujla continue to take their place alongside the biggest artists in the world. After making the highest-charting Punjabi album debut in Canadian history this year, the two Punjabi-Canadian artists are now among Canada’s top most-watched music videos of 2023 on YouTube.

Two of Ikky and Aujla’s collaborations made the top 10 list, with “52 Bars” at No. 3 and “Take It Easy” at No. 8, both from their Four You EP.


Currently, “52 Bars” has over 72 million views while “Take It Easy” has 60 million, above heavy hitters like Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj’s “Princess Diana” and sitting alongside the world’s most popular artists like Miley Cyrus and Morgan Wallen. Gary Sandhu also made with the list, which means three out of ten of the most watched music videos in Canada were not in English, but in Punjabi.

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IkkyIkkyPhotography team: Ishmil Waterman, Lane Dorsey, Sasha Jairam/Billboard Canada. Styling by Veronika Lipatova, Nikita Jaisinghani, Aliecia Brisette. Makeup & Hair by Franceline Graham.

Here is the full list:

Top Music Videos:

  1. Miley Cyrus - Flowers (Official Video), MileyCyrusVEVO
  2. Morgan Wallen - Last Night (One Record At A Time Sessions), MorganWallenVEVO
  3. 52 Bars (Official Video) Karan Aujla | Ikky | Four You EP | First Song | Latest Punjabi Songs 2023, Karan Aujla
  4. Oliver Anthony - Rich Men North Of Richmond, radiowv
  5. PinkPantheress, Ice Spice - Boy’s a liar Pt. 2 (Official Video), Pinkpantheress
  6. Minna Minna | Garry Sandhu ft Manpreet Toor ( Latest Punjabi Song 2023 ) Fresh Media Records, Fresh Media Records
  7. Central Cee x Dave - Sprinter [Music Video], Central Cee
  8. Take It Easy (Official Video) Karan Aujla. | Ikky | Four You EP | Latest Punjabi Songs 2023, Rehaan Records
  9. Libianca - People (Official Video), LibiancaVEVO
  10. Ice Spice & Nicki Minaj - Princess Diana (Official Music Video), IceSpiceVEVO

After their Four You EP, producer Ikky and singer Aujla collaborated on the album Making Memories, which made No. 5 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart.

“All of my friends were joking around telling me, yo, you passed Taylor Swift!” Aujla told Billboard Canada when they appeared alongside Jonita Gandhi, AP Dhillon and Gurinder Gill as part of the Punjabi Wave cover. “When we saw these numbers, and we saw that mark, we thought, okay, something is happening here.”

This is just the latest example of the waves Punjabi music have been making in Canada and around the world. This week, tickets went on sale for Diljit Dosanjh’s upcoming show in Vancouver, which is expected to be the biggest Punjabi concert ever outside India.

The list was revealed as part of YouTube’s 2023 year in review. The video streaming platform also announced its Top Canadian Creators and Breakout Canadian Creators, as well as its Top Trending Videos, which was topped by Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show.

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Here are this year’s lists:

Top Trending Videos:

  1. Rihanna’s FULL Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show, NFL
  2. $1 vs $1,000,000,000 Yacht!, MrBeast
  3. Amazing Invention- This Drone Will Change Everything, Mark Rober
  4. Pedro Pascal Cries From His Head While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones, First We Feast
  5. SIDEMEN CHARITY MATCH 2023 [OFFICIAL STREAM], Sidemen
  6. Adele - The Final Carpool Karaoke, The Late Late Show with James Corden
  7. Apple Vision Pro Impressions!, Marques Brownlee
  8. Golden Buzzer: Putri Ariani receives the GOLDEN BUZZER from Simon Cowell | Auditions | AGT 2023, America's Got Talent
  9. Surviving A Week at The Real Conjuring House, Sam and Colby
  10. QUI EST L'IMPOSTEUR ? (ft Eric & Ramzy), SQUEEZIE

Top Shorts:

  1. Rating Strangers Shots (Crazy Fail compilation) 😭🏀, Tuvok12
  2. How long do trickshots take?, Tricksters
  3. Gostra in Malta, The Wonton Don
  4. Kid Fried Rice, Uncle Roger Shorts
  5. The World's Strongest Chef, Jake Ceja

Top Canadian Creators:

  1. Anna McNulty
  2. Corey Tonge
  3. Iron Chef Dad
  4. Kallmekris
  5. Matt Larose

Canadian Breakout Creators:

  1. Corey Tonge
  2. Iron Chef Dad
  3. Dori Roblox
  4. Top Pops
  5. Shahin
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H.E.R.
Steven Moran
H.E.R.
Awards

See Who Was Nominated — and Who Was Passed Over — in Oscars’ 2025 Music Categories

This is the fifth year in a row that one or more non-English language songs has been nominated for best original song.

Diane Warren received her 16th Oscar nomination for best original song on Thursday (Jan. 23) — a tally equaled by only three other songwriters in the 91-year history of the category. Sammy Cahn leads with 26 nods, followed by Johnny Mercer with 18 and Paul Francis Webster, also with 16. Warren was nominated this year this year for “The Journey,” sung by H.E.R. in The Six Triple Eight.

Moreover, this is the eighth year in a row Warren has been nominated, which enables her to tie Cahn for the longest continuous streak of nominations in this category. Cahn was nominated eight years running from 1954 to 1961.

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