From 'Joona' to 'Pasoori': Here's what Pakistanis are listening to on Spotify

Marking its first anniversary in Pakistan, Spotify – the world's most popular audio streaming subscription service unveiled how its Pakistani listeners relished the platform and discovered artists from the country and beyond, stated a press release.

As Pakistani music lovers became more familiar with Spotify, they used the platform more - and broadened their tastes. Since launch, the average number of artists streamed per user has increased by 60%. Spotify users' appetite for diverse content was also apparent from how they searched for playlists with the most searched playlist words, including English, Urdu, Desi, Bollywood, Coke Studio and Punjabi.

Pakistan's listeners enjoyed listening to homegrown and international artists. They streamed local superstars Atif Aslam, Talha Anjum, and Talhah Yunus along with household names from overseas such as Arijit Singh, BTS, and The Weeknd the most over the past 365 days. These artists all made the top 10 most-streamed artists in Pakistan list.

Spotify also unveiled the top 10 list of the most-streamed songs in Pakistan over the same period. Tu Aake Dekhle by King topped the list, while international songs such as Justin Bieber and The Kid LAROI's STAY and BTS' Butter took fourth and sixth place, respectively. Asim Azhar and Zenab Fatimah Sultan’s Ghalat Fehmi came third. Young Stunners made a great impression on Pakistani fans over the past year, landing two spots in the top 10 most-streamed songs list. Gumaan came fifth, and Afsanay took the ninth spot.

When it came to how Pakistani fans connected with local stars, Atif Aslam was the most-streamed Pakistani artist on the platform, followed by the Young Stunners rap duo, Talha Anjum and Talhah Yunus. The top-streamed local song spot went to Ghalat Fehmi co-sung by Asim Azhar and Zenab Fatima Sultan from the movie Superstar.

Local Hip-Hop and Indie are striking a chord

With eight out of ten of the most-streamed Pakistani songs falling under local hip-hop and Indie, it is clear from the data that Spotify listeners in the country are connecting with these genres the most. Hassan Raheem made a prominent appearance in the top 10 local list with Aisay Kaisay, Aarzu and Joona. At the same time, Young Stunners had five tracks in the same category, including Don't Mind with Rap Demon and Yaad with Asim Azhar.

Music is personal for Pakistani listeners

Pakistani listeners love music and they are all about creating their own playlists to share with their friends and loved ones. According to Spotify, local listeners created 1.9 million user-generated playlists on Spotify. The most musical day in Pakistan was February 5, 2022, in anticipation of Coke Studio's certified hit Pasoori by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill.

There's something about nostalgia

Spotify also revealed Pakistani listeners' streaming data related to its locally curated playlists. Nostalgia is gaining popularity with three nostalgic playlists, All Time Pakistani Hits, All Out 2010s and Pakistani 10s Hits, showing up in the top 10 list.

Spotify’s Streaming Trends In Pakistan Feb 2021-Feb 2022:

Top Pakistani Artists:

1. Atif Aslam
2. Talha Anjum
3. Talhah Yunus
4. Young Stunners
5. Shamoon Ismail
6. Hasan Raheem
7. Asim Azhar
8. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
9. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
10. Ali Zafar

Top Artists:

1. Arijit Singh
2. Pritam
3. AP Dhillon
4. BTS
5. Atif Aslam
6. Gurinder Gill
7. The Weeknd
8. Talha Anjum
9. Talhah Yunus
10. Tanishk Bagchi

Top Pakistani songs:

1. Ghalat Fehmi (Superstar) - Asim Azhar, Zenab Fatimah Sultan
2. Gumaan - Young Stunners
3. Afsanay - Young Stunners
4. Don't Mind - Rap Demon, Young Stunners
5. Aisay Kaisay - Hasan Raheem, Abdullah Kasumbi
6. Aarzu - Hasan Raheem
7. Why Not Meri Jaan - Young Stunners
8. Joona - Hasan Raheem, Abdullah Kasumbi
9. Yaad - Asim Azhar, Talha Anjum, Talhah Yunus
10. Jo Tu Na Mila - Asim Azhar

Top songs in Pakistan:

1. King - Tu Aake Dekhle
2. AP Dhillon, Gminxr, Gurinder Gill, Shinda Kahlon - InsaneAP Dhillon, Gminxr, Gurinder Gill, Shinda Kahlon - Brown Munde
3. Asim Azhar, Zenab Fatimah Sultan - Ghalat Fehmi - From "Superstar"
4. Justin Bieber, The Kid LAROI - STAY (with Justin Bieber)
5. Young Stunners - Gumaan
6. BTS - Butter
7. Lil Nas X - MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)
8. Young Stunners - Afsanay
9. Neha Kakkar, Rajat Nagpal, Yasser Desai - Dil Ko Karaar Aaya (From "Sukoon")

Top locally curated Spotify playlists:

1. Desi Hits
2. Hot Hits Pakistan
3. All Time Pakistani Hits
4. Pakistani Pop
5. Drama OSTs
6. All Out the 2010s
7. Pakistani Indie 101
8. Pakistani Hip-Hop
9. Desi Lo-Fi
10. Pakistani 10s Hits

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