Arooj Aftab enchants on US television debut

Grammy winner wows host Stephen Colbert

Grammy-winning singer Arooj Aftab marked her debut on US television through her recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. On the programme, she performed her enchanting track Raat Ki Rani from her latest album Night Reign, a feat which transcended the limitations of language and was received as such by international users in the comments section of the YouTube upload.

"It's wonderful to hear music like this that I'd never find on my own. I'm glad Colbert brought them on," wrote one user. "Stunning. I didn't understand a word of it, but I didn't need to. I felt it, all the way through. That was amazing!" added another.

Others spoke of how captivated they were by the singer and the band's individual performances that brought together an ensemble of harmony. Some local enthusiasts even praised Arooj for being the "pride of Pakistan" and described Urdu as "a beautiful and poetic language".

Night Reign, which was released in May of this year, earned Arooj two more Grammy nominations, in the categories of Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Global Music Performance for Raat Ki Rani.

Commemorating the feat in an Instagram post, she wrote, "OMG yes! This will be the fourth year in a row that the (Recording Academy) and industry peeps have celebrated my music with these noms and it feel so good. Also, I am nominated alongside literally everyone I love so thank you, thank you, thank you for the beautiful music, and keep spinning Night Reign. We are just getting started. Huge hugs to all my collaborators." She ended the caption naming a long list of associates.

In 2022, the singer made history as the first Pakistani vocalist to score a Grammy for her track Mohabbat in the Best Global Performance category. "Thank you so much to everyone who helped me make this record, all of my incredible collaborators for following me and making this music that I made about everything that broke me and put me back together. Thank you for listening to it and making it yours," she spoke after receiving the award.