Daily Times

In a proud moment for the Pakistani music industry, vocalist Arooj Aftab is set to become the first from the South Asian nation to perform at the Grammy Awards premiere ceremony.

The US-based composer and producer shared the news in a recent post on social media. “I simply cannot wait to play my Grammy-nominated jam Udhero Na featuring Anoushka Shankar with her live for you at the Grammys,” she wrote on Instagram.

Arooj also told her fans to watch her live performance on February 5 at 12:30pm Pakistan time which will be aired on Recording Academy’s site and YouTube channel.

“Oh my God! ‘Udhero Na’ has been nominated for a Grammy. Congratulations to me and to Anoushka Shankar, Maeve Gilchrist and Nadje Noordhuis.

Arooj, the first Pakistani to be nominated for Grammy, garnered praise online as several showbiz stars and social media users bombarded the comment section with love.

Several musical maestros including Luke Combs, Bad Bunny, Mary J Blige, Brandi Carlile, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, Kim Petras, and Sam Smith will also be performing at Grammys this year.

Born to Pakistani parents in Saudi Arabia, Aftab spent her teenage years in Lahore before relocating to Boston’s prestigious Berklee School of Music to study music production and engineering.

She released her third studio album Vulture Prince to critical acclaim. Aftab gained attention after her rendition of a famous Urdu ghazal, “Mohabbat,” was on Former US president Barack Obama’s summer playlist.

Aftab 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. Moreover, the highest honours in music were postponed and moved from Los Angeles to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Thousands of spectators packed the venue and the winners were chosen by some 11,000 voting members of the Recording Academy.