KARACHI: Singer Arooj Aftab is the first Pakistani woman to have made it to the Grammys nomination list.

She has secured a place in the Best New Artist category alongside artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, FINNEAS, The Kid LAROI and Jimmie Allen as well as a nomination for Best Global Performance, according to a Dawn.com report.

Arooj is also the first Pakistani to be nominated in the Best New Artist category. Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was nominated in 1996 for Best Traditional Folk Album and Best World Music Album.

The Grammys nominated the singer’s song Mohabbat from her album Vulture Prince, which has been a favourite since its release and made it to former US president Barack Obama’s 2021 summer playlist as well.

Arooj Aftab hails from Lahore and attended Boston’s Berklee College of Music where she studied music production and engineering. Her sound is heavily inspired by classical music, such as ghazal. She grew up listening to artists such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and American singer Jeff Buckley.

The Grammys, the highest honours in the music industry, will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on January 31. Nominees in each of the top three categories — album, song and record of the year — were increased to 10 from eight for the first time this year.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2021