Arooj Aftab

Arooj Aftab was born on March 11, 1985, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to Pakistani parents. At age 10, her family moved to Lahore, Pakistan. In her early years, Aftab independently developed her musical style by listening to artists such as Billie Holiday and Mariah Carey, despite limited access to Western online platforms. She was among the first musicians in Pakistan to use the internet to promote her music in the early 2000s, with her renditions of “Mera Pyaar” and “Hallelujah” gaining viral attention. In 2005, at 19, she relocated to the United States to study music production and engineering at Berklee College of Music in Boston, graduating in 2010. She then moved to New York in 2010, where she began working as an editor and film scorer, becoming an active part of the city’s jazz and new music scene.

Aftab’s career advanced significantly through her unique sound and compositional approach. In April 2011, NPR and WQXR-FM’s Q2 included her in their “100 Composers Under 40” selection. Her debut album, “Bird Under Water,” released independently in 2014, received critical acclaim. Her second album, “Siren Islands,” released in 2018 through New Amsterdam Records, was featured on NPR’s “Favorite Electronic and Dance Music of 2018.” In 2020, she contributed vocals to Residente’s Latin Grammy-winning single “Antes Que El Mundo Se Acabe” and composed music for the Student Academy Award-winning film “Bittu.” Her third album, “Vulture Prince,” released in April 2021, garnered widespread critical praise, with its single “Mohabbat” being selected for Barack Obama’s summer playlist and recognized as one of the best songs of 2021 by Time and The New York Times.

The year 2022 marked a significant milestone for Aftab when she became the first Pakistani artist to win a Grammy Award, receiving Best Global Music Performance for “Mohabbat” at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. She was also nominated for Best New Artist. In August 2022, she was honored with Pakistan’s Pride of Performance Award. In 2023, she made history again as the first Pakistani artist to perform at the Grammys ceremony. Her collaborative album “Love in Exile” (2023) with Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily won an Edison Jazz Award in 2023 and earned two Grammy nominations in 2024 for Best Global Music Performance and Best Alternative Jazz Album. She continues to be a prominent figure in the global music scene, with her latest album, “Night Reign,” scheduled for release in 2024 and receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Global Music Album.