Pakistani musician Arooj Aftab bags two Grammy nominations

Musician Jon Batiste leads 64th annual Grammy nods with Billie Eilish, Kanye West among album of the year nominees

LOS ANGELES:

Pakistani musician Arooj Aftab is in the running for two Grammys at this year's ceremony, set to be held in January. Aftab has been nominated in 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.

The artist, who hails from Lahore, had made it to the former US president Barack Obama's summer playlist earlier this year. She has been featured with the likes of Rihanna, The Rolling Stones, Jay-Z, Bob Dylan with her popular track, Mohabbat. Her third album Vulture Prince was released in May. Last year, Aftab picked up 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 the achievement with actor Osman Khalid Butt tweeting, "What fantastic news. Congratulations, Aroof Aftab!" Singer Fakhr-e-Alam also took to Twitter to share a message full of pride, writing, "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 shared a congratulatory note on her Instagram stories.

What fantastic news.
Congratulations, @arooj_aftab! https://t.co/TLk8gM1rgy

— Osman Khalid Butt (@aClockworkObi) November 23, 2021

BIG CONGRATS @arooj_aftab for becoming the first ever Pakistani to be nominated for best New artist for the 2022 @RecordingAcad GRAMMY award. This is truly incredible news. So so proud and happy. 🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰

— Fakhr-e-Alam (@falamb3) November 23, 2021

The prestigious awards released nominations for each of its 86 categories on November 23. The 64th Grammy Awards have also been monumental for singer, songwriter Jay Z, making him the most Grammy nominated artist in history by adding three more recognitions to his list.
Jazz musician Jon Batiste also led with 11 nods, followed by Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, and H.E.R with eight apiece. Batiste and Bieber will compete 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, organisers said.

Nominees in the top three categories – album, song and record of the year – were increased to 10 from 8 for the first time. “Adding more nominees is a way to cast a wider net for more music, more artists and more genres,” Recording Academy chief executive Harvey Mason Jr said while announcing the change on Tuesday. 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 snagged a best album nod for Evermore, was shut out of both the Record of the Year and Song of the Year races. Teen phenomenon Rodrigo (18) who burst onto the US charts in January when her single Drivers License went viral nabbed seven nods, including one for her debut album Sour.

Here is a list of nominees in the major categories for the 2022 Grammy Awards, which will be handed out January 31 in Los Angeles.

Album of the Year
We Are - Jon Batiste
Love for Sale - Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga
Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe) - Justin Bieber
Planet Her (Deluxe) - Doja Cat
Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish
Back Of My Mind - H.E.R.
Montero - Lil Nas X
Sour - Olivia Rodrigo
Evermore - Taylor Swift
Donda - Kanye West

Record of the Year
I Still Have Faith in You - ABBA
Freedom - Jon Batiste
I Get a Kick Out Of You - Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga
Peaches - Justin Bieber Featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon
Right on Time - Brandi Carlile
Kiss Me More - Doja Cat Featuring SZA
Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish
Montero (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X
Driver’s License - Olivia Rodrigo
Leave the Door Open - Silk Sonic

Song of the Year
Bad Habits - Fred Gibson, Johnny McDaid & Ed Sheeran, songwriters (Ed Sheeran)
A Beautiful Noise - Ruby Amanfu, Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, Alicia Keys, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Linda Perry & Hailey Whitters, songwriters (Alicia Keys And Brandi Carlile)
Driver’s License - Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Olivia Rodrigo)
Fight for You - Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas, songwriters (H.E.R.)
Happier than Ever - Billie Eilish O´Connell & Finneas O´Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
Kiss Me More - Roget Chahayed, Amala Zandile Dlamini, Lukasz Gottwald, Carter Lang, Gerard A. Powell II, Solana Rowe & David Sprecher, songwriters (Doja Cat Featuring SZA)
Leave The Door Open - Brandon Anderson, Christopher Brody Brown, Dernst Emile II & Bruno Mars, songwriters (Silk Sonic)
Montero (Call Me By Your Name) - Denzel Baptiste, David Biral, Omer Fedi, Montero Hill & Roy Lenzo, songwriters (Lil Nas X)
Peaches - Louis Bell, Justin Bieber, Giveon Dezmann Evans, Bernard Harvey, Felisha "Fury" King, Matthew Sean Leon, Luis Manual Martinez Jr., Aaron Simmonds, Ashton Simmonds, Andrew Wotman & Keavan Yazdani, songwriters (Justin Bieber Featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon)
Right On Time - Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile)

Best New Artist
Arooj Aftab
Jimmie Allen
Baby Keem
FINNEAS
Glass Animals
Japanese Breakfast
The Kid Laroi
Arlo Parks
Olivia Rodrigo
Saweetie

Best Music Video
Shot In The Dark - AC/DC
Freedom - Jon Batiste
I Get a Kick Out Of You - Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga
Peaches - Justin Bieber Featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon
Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish
Montero (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X
Good 4 U - Olivia Rodrigo

Best Rap Album
The Off-Season - J. Cole
Certified Lover Boy - Drake
King´s Disease II - Nas
Call Me If You Get Lost - Tyler, The Creator
Donda - Kanye West

Best Rap Performance
Family Ties - Baby Keem Featuring Kendrick Lamar
Up - Cardi B
m y . l i f e - J. Cole Featuring 21 Savage & Morray
Way 2 Sexy - Drake Featuring Future & Young Thug
Thot S*** - Megan Thee Stallion

Best Rock Album
Power Up - AC/DC
Capitol Cuts Live From Studio A - Black Pumas
No One Sings Like You Anymore Vol. 1 - Chris Cornell
Medicine at Midnight - Foo Fighters
McCartney III - Paul McCartney

Best Pop Vocal Album
Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe) - Justin Bieber
Planet Her (Deluxe) - Doja Cat
Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish
Positions - Ariana Grande
Sour - Olivia Rodrigo

Best Global Music Album
Mohabbat - Arooj Aftab
Do Yourself - Angelique Kidjo & Burna Boy
Pa Pa Pa - Femi Kuti
Blewu - Yo-Yo Ma & Angelique Kidjo
Essence - WizKid Featuring Tems