Atif Aslam ranked Spotify's most-streamed Pakistani Artist of the Year

This year’s Spotify Wrapped is a celebration of a year gone by, stated a press release. At the same time, the world’s most popular audio platform is also unveiling the top artists, songs, and playlists that made up the vibrant kaleidoscope of listeners in Pakistan.

The artists who stole the hearts of Pakistan

Year 2022 has turned out to be the year of Atif Aslam as the most-streamed Pakistani artist who has continued to dominate his fans’ hearts, followed by Talha Anjum who has made it to the top of the lists and remains listeners’ favourite.

The local artist list also included Talha Yunus, Young Stunners, and Asim Azhar along with the legendary singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Joining the Top 10 for the first time are Abdul Hannan, Hasan Raheem and Ali Sethi.

Meanwhile, sitting at the helm for most-streamed artists in Pakistan is AP Dhillon this year, followed by Arijit Singh who remains widely popular in the country. Other prominent names among the top most-streamed artists include Pritam, Gurinder Gill, Sidhu Moose Wala, The Weeknd and Tanishk Bagchi.

An addition that comes as no surprise to the list, given a dedicated fanbase and the growing love for K-Pop in the country, is BTS. The boy band that has carved a strong presence for itself amongst local listeners also made it to the list of the most-streamed artists in Pakistan this year.

The Pasoori craze continues

People still can not get enough of Ali Sethi and Shae Gill’s Pasoori with the hit becoming the most-streamed song in Pakistan. Earlier this year, the Coke Studio's number became the first ever Pakistani song that hit the top 3 on Spotify’s Global Viral 50 list, proving its global appeal.

Gill, who is the most-streamed local woman artist and undeniably one of the prominent breakout stars of Pakistan this year, is also being featured as Spotify’s program EQUAL Pakistan’s Ambassador for the month of December.

Other most-streamed songs in Pakistan included Excuses by AP Dhillon and Gurinder Gill, and Bikhra and Iraaday by Fresh Finds Pakistan artists, Hannan, and Rovalio, taking second, third and fourth spots respectively on the list. No Love by Shubh came in fifth.

The rise of the next generation of artists

The year 2022 belonged to some rising stars that not only took over the local music scene but the world by storm. Hannan, who has been consistently topping the local charts, is a true example of Pakistan’s indie music scene’s tremendous success. His journey on Spotify began with the Fresh Finds Pakistan playlist last year in November. 

And since then, his followers have increased by 4,600%, and his average daily streams have witnessed a whopping jump of 7,600% over the same period. A year later, his name is shining bright in the top most-streamed local artists list.

Raheem and Justin Bibis’ Peechay Hutt, and Kaifi Khalil’s Kahani Suno 2.0 and Kana Yaari, which he sang along with Eva B and Wahab Bugti were part of the cohort that made up the most-streamed local tracks this year. 

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