Brooklyn-based Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab achieved a historic feat this Sunday that will be remembered for times to come. The artist won her first Grammy for her song Mohabbat in the Best Global Performance category, making her the first Pakistani ever to win the prestigious trophy.
Clad in deep purple and black at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, Arooj was also up for Best New Artist.
“I am beyond thrilled,” the artist told journalists backstage at the pre-gala ceremony, at which the vast majority of awards are handed out. “It feels great. I’ve been very nervous all day. And we’re off to a good start.”
.@Arooj_Aftab‘s “Mohabbat” wins Best Global Music Performance at the 2022 #GRAMMYs.
Aftab is the first Pakistani woman to win a GRAMMY and is also nominated for Best New Artist. 👏 https://t.co/kpqljYmSdy
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) April 3, 2022
After receiving the award, she said, “I think I’m gonna faint. Wow, thank you so much. I feel like this category in itself has been so insane like Burna Boy, Wizkid, Femi Kuti, Angélique Kidjo… this should be called yacht party category. I made [this record] about everything that broke me and put me back together. Thank you for listening to it and making it yours.”
Here is a glimpse of her winning speech:
BEST GLOBAL MUSIC PERFORMANCE.
That is Pakistan’s @arooj_aftab accepting her first Grammy award tonight.
What a moment.
💚🇵🇰
— Change of Pace (@ChangeofPace414) April 3, 2022
“It is just so incredible. It is a proud moment for me and the music industry as well to have this type of limitless unapologetic inclusion. I think, all the nominees in the best new artist category are the 10 strong of us. It is just so beautiful, feels like a great day for music,” Arooj told Variety, right after the event.
Her journey
Arooj moved to the US in 2005 to study music at the Berklee College of Music. She released her first album Bird Under Water in 2014. The 37-year-old has been steadily gaining global attention for her work that fuses ancient Sufi traditions with inflections of folk, jazz, and minimalism.
Born to Pakistani parents in Saudi Arabia, Arooj spent her teenage years in Lahore before relocating to Boston to study musical production and engineering at the prestigious Berklee School of Music.
Her first big breakthrough was when her work for the documentary Armed With Faith won an Emmy Award in 2019.
She released her third studio album Vulture Prince to critical acclaim and gained even more attention after former US President Barack Obama included the track Mohabbat on his 2021 summer favourites list. The song is based on famous poetry by Hafeez Hoshiarpuri.
The album is based on themes of relationships, lost moments, and nostalgia. It was hailed as a ‘heartbreaking, exquisite document of the journey from grief to acceptance,’ by Pitchfork, an American digital music publication. Besides the album was also ranked sixth on Rolling Stone’s Best Music of 2021 list.
Read: Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab lights up Times Square
Arooj has performed at a number of major New York venues including Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art, also opening for Mitski at The Brooklyn Steel in 2018. Speaking to AFP in the days leading up to the Grammys, Arooj praised her fellow artists nominated for Best New Artist, a crop that includes Olivia Rodrigo along with rappers Saweetie and The Kid Laroi. “We’re all so cool — the group itself is kind of like a win,” she had said.
Earlier in March 2022, she was featured on Times Square Billboard as Spotify’s Ambassador for EQUAL Pakistan. As per Spotify’s statement, the popular streaming service’s initiative, EQUAL, aims to celebrate women creators by giving them a platform to share their content with the world. Arooj also sang Mehram alongside Asfar Hussain in Coke Studio Season 14.
Reactions on the historic win
Pakistani celebs are overwhelmed with emotions following Arooj’s win at the Grammys. Many took to social media to send their love, wishes and prayers.
Congratulations @arooj_aftab. You have made us all proud. More power to you 😊🙏🏻#AroojAftab #GrammyAwards
— Rohail Hyatt (@rohailhyatt) April 4, 2022
So so proud! Shine on you crazy star @arooj_aftab ✨🇵🇰🕊 https://t.co/Dgn4rZ5RY6
— Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) April 3, 2022
Such a wonderful news for the industry. @arooj_aftab proves her mettle. The entire world is recognising our country’s talent. Congratulations. Proud moment for all Pakistanis #GrammyAwards pic.twitter.com/k8Uz8FQdXQ
— Adnan Siddiqui (@adnanactor) April 4, 2022
In this chaotic world, I’m very happy to wake up to the most beautiful news, @arooj_aftab has won her first Grammy 🥺🥰 so proud of you. Keep making us proud you rock star!
— Hadiqa Kiani (@Hadiqa_Kiani) April 4, 2022
Wow ! This is amazing. @arooj_aftab Having witnessed your journey since back in the day, your perseverance and pursuit for knowledge in your field gives us great joy and a sense of pride. May you keep shining. Bohat si duyaayein.
The news we should see all over national media. https://t.co/w5AlDKDmq8
— Ali Zafar (@AliZafarsays) April 3, 2022
Only joy in my heart for her. She is the blueprint ufff https://t.co/J0jgej5iVZ
— Natasha Noorani (@rukhsanakartoos) April 3, 2022
Huge win – not just first female to win a Grammy from #Pakistan – but first Pakistani to win a #Grammy!! Congratulations @arooj_aftab ♥️ https://t.co/IMyehjyWe7
— Bakhtawar B-Zardari (@BakhtawarBZ) April 4, 2022
Listen to the winning song here:
May I simply say what a relief to uncover somebody that really understands what theyre discussing over the internet. You certainly know how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More and more people really need to check this out and understand this side of the story. I was surprised that youre not more popular because you certainly have the gift.
I was pretty pleased to discover this great site. I need to to thank you for your time for this particularly fantastic read!! I definitely appreciated every part of it and I have you book marked to see new stuff on your blog
Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.|
Hmm it appears like your blog ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any recommendations for inexperienced blog writers? I’d definitely appreciate it.|
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this write-up and the rest of the website is very good.
Highly energetic blog, I liked that bit. Will there be a part 2?|
I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Very well written!
You made some really good points there. I checked on the internet for more info about the issue and found most individuals will go along with your views on this site.
Hello there! I simply want to offer you a big thumbs up for your great info you have got right here on this post. I’ll be returning to your website for more soon.
bookmarked!!, I like your website!
Thanks a bunch for sharing this with all of us you actually know what you are talking about! Bookmarked. Please additionally visit my site =). We can have a hyperlink alternate agreement among us|
An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a friend who has been conducting a little research on this. And he actually ordered me breakfast due to the fact that I stumbled upon it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some time to talk about this subject here on your website.
That is a very good tip particularly to those fresh to the blogosphere. Brief but very accurate info… Thanks for sharing this one. A must read post!
Hello my friend! I wish to say that this post is amazing, great written and come with approximately all important infos. I would like to peer extra posts like this .|
bookmarked!!, I love your web site.
Very good information. Lucky me I came across your website by chance (stumbleupon). I have bookmarked it for later.
Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon every day. It’s always exciting to read content from other authors and practice something from other sites.
Aw, this was an extremely good post. Taking the time and actual effort to make a great article… but what can I say… I put things off a whole lot and don’t seem to get anything done.
I always used to read post in news papers but now as I am a user of net so from now I am using net for articles or reviews, thanks to web.|
Everything is very open with a precise clarification of the issues. It was truly informative. Your site is extremely helpful. Many thanks for sharing.
I was suggested this blog by my cousin. I am not sure whether this post is written by him as nobody else know such detailed about my trouble. You are incredible! Thanks!|
You are so awesome! I don’t suppose I’ve read through something like that before. So nice to discover somebody with some original thoughts on this subject. Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This website is one thing that is required on the internet, someone with a bit of originality!|
A motivating discussion is worth comment. I do think that you need to write more about this subject, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people don’t speak about these subjects. To the next! Kind regards.
Good post. I definitely love this website. Continue the good work!
Great web site you have got here.. It’s difficult to find good quality writing like yours nowadays. I honestly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
I love reading a post that will make people think. Also, many thanks for permitting me to comment.
I used to be recommended this website by my cousin. I am now not certain whether this put up is written through him as nobody else realize such certain about my problem. You’re incredible! Thank you!|
Pretty! This was an incredibly wonderful article. Thank you for supplying this information.
I blog frequently and I really appreciate your information. This article has really peaked my interest. I’m going to take a note of your website and keep checking for new information about once a week. I subscribed to your Feed too.
For newest news you have to visit internet and on internet I found this site as a best site for hottest updates.|
Your style is unique compared to other people I’ve read stuff from. Many thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this page.
Your style is really unique compared to other people I have read stuff from. Thank you for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I will just book mark this blog.
I go to see daily some web sites and information sites to read posts, but this website gives quality based content.|
I really like it when folks come together and share thoughts. Great website, continue the good work.
Pretty! This was an incredibly wonderful article. Many thanks for supplying this info.
Bclub Login: Access premium dumps & CVV2 data. Explore quality cards from the legendary Briansclub on Bclub.cm & Bclub.tk. Login now!
Howdy! I could have sworn I’ve visited this web site before but after browsing through some of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely happy I came across it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back regularly.
Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve visited this website before but after going through many of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m definitely pleased I found it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back regularly.
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.
Thanks for sharing. I read many of your blog posts, cool, your blog is very good.
I think this is among the most vital information for me. And i’m glad reading your article. But should remark on some general things, The website style is perfect, the articles is really nice : D. Good job, cheers|
With havin so much content and articles do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright violation? My website has a lot of unique content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but it looks like a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my permission. Do you know any ways to help protect against content from being ripped off? I’d really appreciate it.|