Every day I wake up in a new dream: Arooj Aftab on Grammy performance

She has now shared glimpses of the big night on her Instagram, as she penned a gratitude note. “Every day I wake up in a new dream, and each dream seems to get more and more beautiful than the last,” Aftab shared. “Every day I wake up and it’s all actually real too. So thank you to the hand on my shoulder, the touch of the celestial, for protecting me and guiding me to these places.”

She went on to add, “Music is often referred to as a healer, a balm over a wound, a spiritual practice. but it is also an instigator of change. The two of us, Anoushka Shankar and I, standing on the Recording Academy stage together, performing Udhero Na, I think the power of art did say f**k you to politics that night.”

The singer set the tone for the night with her grammy-nominated track and haunting vocals. The song may not have won Aftab her second Academy Award but her meditative voice and range, accompanied by the British-Indian sitar player’s mastery over the instrument, sure did win hearts.

The Brooklyn-based star has on numerous occasions made Pakistan proud since winning last year for Mohabbat. Even before that, Aftab had a loud and loyal fanbase in Pakistan. Her iteration of Hafeez Hoshiarpuri’s 1921 composition racked up several million streams before earning a coveted place in Barack Obama’s 2021 summer playlist and eventually winning at the Academy Awards.

Aftab was also the only artist to have won a Grammy for Best Global Music Performance before Sunday, considering the category was introduced last year, beating out the likes of Burna Boy, Yo-Yo Ma, and Wizkid.

This time, however, Aftab was nominated for one Grammy Award for Udhero Na, once again in the Best Global Music Performance category. The year before, she also took home the inaugural award for Best Global Music Performance with Mohabbat, along with her Best New Artist nomination. Shankar, on the other hand, has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards to date.