Pakistani musician Arooj Aftab is nominated for two Grammys for this year’s ceremony, scheduled for January. Aftab is in the running for the category of Best New Artist, alongside Olivia Rodrigo, The Kid Loroi, and Glass Animals, among others. The musician has also been nominated for the Best Global Performance award.
Aftab hails from Lahore and made headlines earlier this year when her music made it to the former US president Barack Obama’s summer playlist. She has been featured with music legends such as Rihanna, The Rolling Stones, Jay-Z, Bob Dylan with her popular track, Mohabbat. She released her third album Vulture Prince in May. Last year, Aftab won her first Latin Grammy for her contribution to Residente’s Antes Que El Mundo Se Acabe.
Pakistani celebrities took to Twitter to congratulate Aftab on her achievement with actor Osman Khalid Butt tweeting, “What fantastic news. Congratulations, Arooj Aftab!”.
Singer Fakhr-e-Alam also wrote a message full of pride, “Big Congrats, Arooj Aftab, for becoming the first ever Pakistani to be nominated for Best New Artist for the 2022 Grammy Awards. This is truly incredible news.” Singer Meesha Shafi also shared a congratulatory note on her Instagram stories.
The prestigious awards announced the nominations for each of its 86 categories on November 23. The 64th Grammy Awards have also been huge for singer, songwriter Jay Z, making him the most Grammy nominated artist in history after it added three more nominations to his list.
Jazz musician Jon Batiste led with 11 nods, followed by Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, and H.E.R with eight apiece. According to the organizers, Batiste and Bieber will battle for the top prize – album of the year – along with Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, H.E.R, Kanye West, Tony Bennett, and Lady Gaga, newcomer Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift.
Nominees in the top three categories; album, song, and record of the year were increased from 8 to 10 for the first time. Announcing the change in the number, recording academy chief executive Harvey Mason Jr said, “Adding more nominees is a way to cast a wider net for more music, more artists and more genres”.
Eilish, Rodrigo, Bieber, and Batiste were also among the 10 nominees for Record of the Year, along with Swedish band Abba’s new single, I Still Have Faith in You.
But Swift, who scored a best album nod for Evermore, was left out of both the Record of the Year and Song of the Year races. Teen phenomenon Rodrigo (18) who made it onto the US charts in January when her single Drivers License went viral snagged seven nods, including one for her debut album Sour.
