Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab becomes the first Pakistani woman to make it to the Grammys nomination list. She has acquired a spot in the Best New Artist category alongside artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, FINNEAS, The Kid LAROI and Jimmie Allen. She also bagged a nomination for Best Global Performance.
Arooj is not only the first Pakistani woman to ever be nominated for an award, she is also the first Pakistani to be nominated in the Best New Artist category.
The singer took to social media to share her excitement.
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“2X GRAMMY NOMS,” she posted. “I was screaming at the tv on BEST GLOBAL PERFORMANCE … and then BEST NEW ARTIST brought me to tears man.”
“I have loved being a silhouette, just making music that feels honest and personal, with people around me who get it. Real cosmic magic happens when we start living our absolute truth, no matter the odds. This recognition feels so good, I don’t even know what else to say,” she further added.
“The contenders in both categories are fierce, but let’s bring these gold gramophones home!!” she concluded.
The Grammys nominated the singer’s song Mohabbat from her album Vulture Prince, which has been a favourite since its release. She had made it to the former US president Barack Obama’s summer playlist earlier this year.
Read More: Barack Obama’s 2021 summer playlist features song by Pakistani artist Arooj Aftab
Arooj is from Lahore and attended Boston’s Berklee College of Music where she studied music production and engineering.
Following the news, several Pakistani celebrities took to social media to congratulate Arooj on the achievement.
Doraba Phir Se star, Adeel Husain also congratulated Arooj, adding that he had the privilege to have worked with her.
“Congratulations to the beautifully melodic Arooj Aftab for her Best New Artist Grammy nomination. So proud of her representing Pakistan with her enormous talent. Privilege to have her in our movie- ‘Dobara Phir Se ‘ [2016] – directed by Mehreen Jabbar. Keep flying high,” he posted
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Mehreen Jabbar, Tooba Siddiqui and Sanam Saeed also congratulated the singer.
“So happy to see a Pakistani making it to the Grammy’s. What a long journey she’s had and it’s great to see her still making music. I believe I heard Arooj Aftab at least 15 years ago when Pakistan had a very vibrant music scene with live music happening across the country,” posted singer Haroon Shahid.
So happy to see a Pakistani making it to the Grammy's. What a long journey she's had and it's great to see her still making music. I believe I heard #AroojAftab at least 15 years ago when Pakistan had a very vibrant music scene with live music happening across the country.
— Haroon Shahid (@Haroon_5hahid) November 24, 2021
Actor Osman Khalid Butt also took to Twitter to share the big news.
What fantastic news.
Congratulations, @arooj_aftab! https://t.co/TLk8gM1rgy— Osman Khalid Butt (@aClockworkObi) November 23, 2021
“This is truly incredible news. So so proud and happy.” shared Fakhr e Alam.
BIG CONGRATS @arooj_aftab for becoming the first ever Pakistani to be nominated for best New artist for the 2022 @RecordingAcad GRAMMY award. This is truly incredible news. So so proud and happy. 🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰
— Fakhr-e-Alam (@falamb3) November 23, 2021
Singer turned actor Hadiqa Kiani also congratulated Arooj for the nominations.
Yes!!! Our very own @arooj_aftab has made music history by being nominated by the @RecordingAcad for Best New Artist! This is a very proud moment for our nation.
To celebrate, listen to Arooj’s tracks on her YouTube page right here https://t.co/dfPOalSOr2
— Hadiqa Kiani (@Hadiqa_Kiani) November 23, 2021
The prestigious awards released nominations for each of its 86 categories on November 23.
