Arooj Aftab misses out on second Grammy glory

Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini & Nomcebo Zikode's Bayethe took home the trophy for Best Global Music Performance

LOS ANGELES:

Brooklyn-based Pakistani artist, Arooj Aftab, loses out on bagging her second Grammy at this year's extravagant affair. Aftab was nominated in the Best Global Music Performance category for her song, Udhero Na, with Anoushka Shankar. Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini & Nomcebo Zikode's Bayethe were awarded the trophy.

While she didn't win the accolade, she took the centre stage with Shankar and performed the song at the Grammys, attended by the who's who of the music industry. Aftab previously helped Pakistan win its first Grammy last year with Mohanbbat. 

Beyonce on Sunday, however, broke the record for the most Grammy wins of any artist, scoring her 32nd prize ever and fourth of the night to resounding applause. She clinched the title by winning the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for her smash Renaissance, thus surpassing the late classical conductor Georg Solti, who had 31 awards.

"I'm trying not to be too emotional. And I'm trying to just receive this night," Queen Bey said, wearing a shimmering, curve-hugging gown, with her hair in mermaid waves, as her peers stood to honor the 41-year-old in her history-making moment.

Beyonce's Renaissance, her seventh solo studio album, is a pulsating, sweaty collection of club tracks aimed at liberating a world consumed by ennui. Its release over the summer landed Beyonce at number one on Billboard's top songs list for the first time in well over a decade.

Beyonce's soaring vocals have their place on Renaissance, but it's the rhythmic, urgent call to the dance floor that stands out, and the fusion of influences, paying homage to pioneers of funk, soul, rap, house and disco.

"I'd like to thank my parents, my father, my mother, for loving me and pushing me. I'd like to thank my beautiful husband, my beautiful three children who are at home watching," she told the crowd at the gala in Los Angeles. "I'd like to thank the queer community for your love, and for inventing this genre." Beyonce was still up for several awards later Sunday, including album, record and song of the year.

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