Brooklyn-based Pakistani vocalist Arooj Aftab scored her first Grammy, winning a prestigious trophy for her song Mohabbat in the Best Global Performance category. This makes her the first Pakistani artist to win a Grammy. The singer who has lived in New York for some 15 years – has been steadily gaining global attention for her work that fuses ancient Sufi traditions with inflections of folk, jazz and minimalism. She's also up for the coveted Best New Artist prize, which will be presented during the main Grammy telecast later. "I am beyond thrilled," the artist told journalists backstage at the pre-gala ceremony, at which the majority of awards are handed out. "It feels great. I've been very nervous all day. And we're off to a good start." She released her third studio album Vulture Prince to critical acclaim, and gained even more attention after former US president Barack Obama included the track Mohabbat on his 2021 summer favourites list. Aftab has performed at a number of major New York venues, also opening for Mitski at The Brooklyn Steel in 2018.