Brooklyn-based singer Arooj Aftab — and Pakistan’s first Grammy winner — answered fans’ burning questions in a virtual “press release” and revealed what transpired between her and Korean boyband BTS, who sat next to her at the Grammys.
“Hello everyone, this is my official post-Grammy win press release, I suppose, because I am being inundated by so many questions from you guys and I feel like I should answer at least three so that it’s out there,” the singer explained before diving right in.
“One thing, first of all, [that I] absolutely 100 percent need to talk to you guys about and respond to — what did BTS say? Nothing man, they did not say anything. I went up to them, I said ‘Hey guys, what’s up? Let’s take a photo,’ because we were all sitting next to each other the entire night. And they were like ‘Sure, of course, yeah. Congratulations!'”
“We took a photo and I said ‘The Pakistani BTS army loves you.’ And they said ‘Thanks’ and then I went back to my seat. So that’s what happened with BTS,” narrated Aftab.
Aftab also gave a shoutout to the poet who contributed to the lyrics of her Grammy-winning song and acknowledged his work. “Secondly, lots of love and respect — respect, respect, respect to Hafeez Hoshiarpuri obviously who wrote the poetry of the song ‘Mohabbat.’ Aside from that, you’ve never heard anything like my version of ‘Mohabbat’ and I am so grateful for all the love.”
Addressing the other questions
The singer also expressed gratitude to her fans, hoping she did justice to her cultural roots. “And I am so grateful to all of you who have gone on the journey of that song with me, where I’ve poured my whole soul out into it. I hope you that feel that this iconic standard from our region and from our culture has been done the honors too — or whatever that means.”
Lastly, she shared where her Grammy was, promising to go live with it once it arrives. “The third question is where is the Grammy — they don’t let you [keep it], they don’t give it. They take it back and then they mail it to you later with your name on it. As soon as they mail it to me, I will go live with it [and] we will play with it, don’t worry about that.”
Aftab ended the session overwhelmed, grateful and happy. She thanked her fans and appreciated all the love “coming through from all corners of the internet.” “God bless and onwards,” she concluded.
Read More: Arooj Aftab Says She Does Not Want Her Grammy Nominations To Define Her – But Why?
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