Arooj Aftab becomes ‘first ever female Pakistani’ to win Grammy

PTI, Apr 4, 2022, 11:56 AM IST

Los Angeles: Brooklyn-based Pakistani vocalist Arooj Aftab has won a Grammy Award for her song ”Mohabbat” in the best global music performance category at Hollywood’s biggest music awards night.

According to the Recording Academy, with the feat the 37-year-old singer-composer has become the ”first ever female Pakistani GRAMMY winner”.

”And the first ever female Pakistani GRAMMY winner is… Arooj Aftab Best Global Music Performance: Mohabbat,” read the post on the Recording Academy’s official Instagram page.

Born to Pakistani expatriate parents in Saudi Arabia, Aftab took to Instagram after she bagged the coveted gramophone trophy.

”Oh my gosh. I am so proud of this moment personally, but also for the industry itself,” Aftab, who works in various musical styles and idioms including jazz, minimalism, and neo-Sufi, wrote.

”… tonight we celebrated music as a collective, unapologetically making what we want to make in all its genre-less limitless crossover glory. Thank you and congratulations (sic)” she added.

Pakistani star Mahira Khan said she was ”proud” of the award-winning musician.

”Shine on, baby! Shine on,” Khan wrote on her Instagram Stories as she shared Aftab’s photograph.

In her post, Aftab also shared pictures with singers Jon Batiste, Jimmie Allen, Arlo Parks, Angelique Kidjo, BTS members Jin, J-Hope, V and Jungkook, and experimental pop band Japanese Breakfast.

She reshared Grammy’s post from its Instagram page. It is, however, unclear if Aftab is the first Pakistani artist or the first ever female Pakistani to win a Grammy.

The singer was also up for the best new artist Grammy, which was later bagged by Olivia Rodrigo.

Aftab’s song ”Mohabbat” from the album ‘Vulture Prince’ has featured on former US president Barack Obama’s 2021 summer playlist.

The 64th Annual Grammy Awards, conducted by the Recording Academy, was held on Sunday night in Las Vegas.