Still going strong: Atif Aslam

o music story is complete without Atif Aslam. He’s been around for 20 years, released his own records, appeared on Coke Studio under various producers, and has also been a part of other music shows, including Pepsi Battle of the Bands (resurrected in 2017) and Velo Sound Station (two seasons so far). He has sung for major Bollywood films and even acted in a Pakistani television drama serial Sang-e-Mah. Audiences at home and abroad still love Atif Aslam.

So, it isn’t entirely surprising that Atif Aslam is the third most-streamed artist in Pakistan and the number one export artist with audiences abroad who use Spotify to listen to his music. His popularity doesn’t end there, though. Four out of five exported songs that were popular with audiences abroad in 2024 belonged to Atif Aslam. While none of them came from his records and instead were Bollywood playback efforts, this highlights that Atif Aslam knows exactly what he’s doing. Among them were massive hits (in order of popularity) are: ‘Tera Hone Laga Hoon’ from Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, ‘Dil Diyan Gallan’ from Tiger Zinda Hai, ‘Jeena Jeena’ from Badlapur and ‘Tu Jaane Na’ from Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.

Among newly discovered artists by global listeners, Atif is again the number one artist (followed by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Mustafa Zahid, Shafqat Amanat Ali, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan). Irrespective of what anyone might think or say about Atif Aslam, you must give him credit for being consistent.

Atif Aslam has always maintained that it is easy to sing a song that appeals to your personal artistic values, but to be able to sing songs that appeal to audiences across the board—that’s not an easy thing to do. Atif, however, makes it look easy.

Note: If you’re wondering about the distinction between export and newly discovered global listeners: export refers to artists and songs heard by an international audience, while newly discovered means those who have gained considerable new listeners and fans recently. This distinction explains why newly discovered artists may not feature on export artists lists. Atif is on both lists, which means he is gaining fans in new international markets, and continuing to be heard on a colossal scale in markets where he is already known.

Export, export, export

Other than Atif Aslam, Pakistani artists who have made a significant mark with international audiences include (in order of popularity) Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mustafa Zahid, Javed Bashir, Shiraz Uppal, Bilal Saeed, Jawad Ahmad and Nehaal Naseem. How Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is ahead of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan when a brand-new Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan album, produced by Michael Brook, has just been released boggles the mind.

Breakthrough artist
of the year: Kaavish

Kaavish (which means ‘struggle’) are not exactly new to the music scene. Their debut album, Gunkali, is a national treasure. Before disappearing from the music scene, Kaavish (featuring Jaffer Zaidi and Maaz Maudood) performed beautiful songs on Coke Studio such as ‘Nindiya Re.’ Jaffer Zaidi also played an instrumental role as a member of the original house band when Coke Studio Pakistan first began. After several seasons, Jaffer Zaidi eventually bowed out of the popular series to pursue other music-based projects.

While several musicians turned to acting, Kaavish stopped being as prolific as a band as they once were.

However, to the delight of their old fans and newer ones, the band has resurfaced. While many might remember them from Coke Studio 15 and their beautiful collaboration with Abdul Hannan for the song ‘O Yaara’, Kaavish returned to music before their Coke Studio 15 hit. They dropped a few new singles, including ‘Tere Naam,’ a stripped-down version of ‘Faasle,’ and a live version of ‘Raat Yun Dil Main Teri’ (written by Faiz Ahmed Faiz and originally sung by Nayyara Noor, Jaffer Zaidi’s mother).

This is a band that is criminally underrated. To see them make a comeback is one thing, but to see them leading from the front as the number one breakthrough artist of the year makes you realize that, irrespective of changing listening habits and genres, some artists who are worthy of our time are finally getting noticed. We hope to see more of Kaavish in 2025.

The other four breakthrough artists of the year, in order of popularity according to data exclusively released to The News, are AUR, Annural Khalid, Nehaal Naseem, and Maanu. While we’re happy for all the success that has followed AUR since their emergence on the scene and their collaboration with Zayn (former group: One Direction), what makes me happy is that female artists (Annural Khalid and Nehaal Naseem) have also made the cut in a year heavily dominated by male artists.

EQUAL x Female

Spotify’s program, EQUAL Pakistan, which strictly promotes female artists, has revealed that in 2024 Annural Khalid is the most-streamed name from this program, followed by Momina Mustehsan, Abida Parveen, Aima Baig, and Shae Gill within the country.

It is surprising to see to note that other artists such as Arooj Aftab, Natasha Noorani, Natasha Humera Ejaz, and the late Haniya Aslam did not make the cut. But again, it just goes to show that when it comes to music, listening habits continuously change, and what was popular last year may be out this year. What appeals to my taste may not necessarily appeal to a younger demographic. Of course, Abida Parveen was and will always be the exception.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
lives on through his music

All said and done, 2024 was a good year for the late (and forever great) Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and here’s how.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s lost album, Chain of Light had its moment. Fans in Pakistan pre-saved his four-track album, produced by Michael Brook and released in 2024, nearly four times more than Billie Eilish’s new album. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was the fourth most-streamed local artist in the country. He was also the fourth most-exported artist from Pakistan (meaning he appealed to an international audience). Another album by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Reformed, was the fourth most-streamed album of 2024.

Boys to Men

The convergence of electronic music, beats, and rap is the new love of Pakistani music fans. For example, Talha Anjum, a hip-hop artist who collaborates with Talhah Yunus under the moniker of Young Stunners and also works as a solo name, is Pakistan’s favorite artist (if we consider listeners who use Spotify to find and consume music). His record, Open Letter, is the second most-streamed local album within Pakistan.

Apart from Talha Anjum, Umair has had a good year. His record, ROCKSTAR WITHOUT A GUITAR is the most-streamed local album of 2024. One must give credit where it’s due. Umair’s album features an illustrious list of artists, including Talha Anjum, Shamoon Ismail, Hasan Raheem, Hassan Khan, Rehman Ansary, Natasha Noorani, JJ47, and CALM (an Indian rapper). Apart from Umair’s ROCKSTAR WITHOUT A GUITAR at number one and Talha Anjum’s Open Letter at number two, the most-streamed records include Unforgettable by Imran Khan at number three, Reformed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan at number four, and BEMATLAB by Asim Azhar at number five.

Surprise winner of
Coke Studio 15

If you asked me: what’s the best song that came out of Coke Studio 15? My answer, without any hesitation, would be ‘O Yaara’ by Abdul Hannan and Kaavish. If you asked me what I think was the most popular song to come out of Coke Studio 15, I would say ‘Blockbuster’ by Faris Shafi, Umair Butt and Gharwi Group (produced by Talal Qureshi). But as it turns out, the big winner of Coke Studio 15, the second most-streamed song in Pakistan, is ‘Jhol’ by Annural Khalid and Maanu. I loved the music video that accompanied the song, courtesy of director Jamal Rahman, but surprisingly, it is the song that has surpassed every other track on the music platform. To be fair, ‘Jhol’ is a decent song. Why? It has recall value. It is a sonic party and one that makes the case for how Pakistani music is breaking away from tradition. You have Annural Khalid, who has slowly worked her way up and has the voice for it.

She has gone from singing covers to original material, and Maanu can do everything from hip-hop to R ’n’ B like our very own Baby Keem, minus the themes the American rapper likes to sing about. Maanu is original, and he, too, has worked hard to get to a point where he has built a significant listenership. Combining them for this song was a good idea, and clearly, it has worked. ‘Jhol’ is still going viral in December in countries like India and the UAE.

We live in a time when records and singles are released faster than we can keep track of them. So, if any song maintains recall value, it should be applauded. Plus, Annural Khalid is a rising star, and this song confirms it.

Apart from ‘Jhol’, no song from Coke Studio 15 has made it to any Spotify list, which confirms my initial assessment that, by and large, Coke Studio 15 has been a weaker season compared to its predecessor, Coke Studio 14, which was gold. It took almost two years, and that is not the time-frame for a Coke Studio season. This was the first time that such an extended gap was given to any producer. Given these details, it looks like executive producer Xulfi (if he is still onboard for a season 16) needs to go back to the drawing board.

Dethroning others:
Annural Khalid

Apart from the success of ‘Jhol’ from Coke Studio 15, Annural Khalid, the first female artist to be featured on Spotify’s RADAR earlier this year, has emerged as Pakistan’s top female artist of the year 2024, solidifying her place as a trailblazer in the music industry. Fans who listened to her belonged to 173 different countries and/or regions. The top three of those countries are Pakistan, India and the United Kingdom. There is a significant rise (185%) in her streams, which means she is the popular female artist of 2024.

Most streamed women artists in Pakistan

1. Shreya Ghoshal

2. Taylor Swift

3. Alka Yagnik

4. Shilpa Rao

5. Neha Kakkar

6. Sunidhi Chauhan

7. Annural Khalid

8. Asees Kaur

9. Billie Eilish

10. Lata Mangeshkar

Most streamed throwback songs
(released more than 20 years ago)

1. Eminem – ‘Mockingbird’

2. Asha Bhosle, Mohammed Rafi – ‘Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar’

3. Daddy Yankee – ‘Gasolina’

4. Keane – ‘Somewhere Only We Know’

5. Ace of Base – ‘Happy Nation’

6. Coolio, L.V. – ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’

7. N’SYNC – ‘Bye Bye Bye’ (From Deadpool and Wolverine soundtrack)

8. Abrar Ul Haq – ‘Nach Punjaban’

9. Sabri Brothers, Sonu Nigam – ‘Tumse Milke Dil Ka’

10. Coldplay – ‘Yellow’

Most streamed local artists in Pakistan

1. Talha Anjum

2. Umair

3. Atif Aslam

4. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

5. Talhah Yunus

6. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

7. AUR

8. Hasan Raheem

9. Abdul Hannan

10. Maanu

Most streamed albums in Pakistan

1. Making Memories by Karan Aujla, Ikky

2. Still Rollin by Shubh

3. Moosetape by Sidhu Moose Wala

4. Ghost by Diljit Dosanjh

5. ROCKSTAR WITHOUT A GUITAR by Umair

Most streamed local songs in Pakistan

1. ‘Jhol’ by Maanu, Annural Khalid

2. ‘Wishes’ by Hasan Raheem, Umair, Talwiinder

3. ‘Tu Hai Kahan’ by AUR

4. ‘Sadqay’ by Aashir Wajahat, NAYEL, Nehaal Naseem

5. ‘Tera Mera Hai Pyar’ by Ahmed Jahanzeb

6. ‘Bikhra’ by Abdul Hannan, Rovalio

7. ‘Long Time No See’ by Taimour Baig, Raffey Anwar, AUR

8. ‘COME THROUGH’ by Umair, Abdullah Maharvi, Talha Anjum

9. ‘Shikayat’ by AUR

10. ‘Iraaday’ by Abdul Hannan, Rovalio

Most streamed songs in Pakistan

1. ‘Husn’ by Anuv Jain

2. ‘Jhol’ by Maanu, Annural Khalid

3. ‘Jo Tum Mere Ho’ by Anuv Jain

4. ‘Ishq’ by Faheem Abdullah, Rauhan Malik, Amir Ameer

5. ‘Wishes’ by Hasan Raheem, Umair, Talwiinder

6. ‘Tu Hai Kahan’ by AUR

7. ‘Pehle Bhi Main’ by Vishal Mishra, Raj Shekhar

8. ‘King S***’ by Shubh

9. One Love’ by Shubh

10. ‘9:45’ by Prabh Singh, Jay Trak, Rooh Sandhu