Musicians Who Dominated 2021
Hasan Raheem
From Gilgit to Karachi, Hasan Raheem has taken over the nation’s hearts. His hit single Joona quickly found its way on everyone’s lips during the early phases of 2021. Since then, this swoon-worthy artist has only been climbing up, releasing other hit music along the way while his older music quickly also found its way to the spotlight. With a unique music style, an effortless appearance and the iconic pink hoodie, Hasan Raheem has found himself playing sold-out venue after venue in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad as the world took a break from corona. Here’s to hoping we hear even more from him in 2022!
Taylor Swift
Taylor didn’t just release a music album; she released a lifestyle. There was a point where I couldn’t go anywhere on my university campus without hearing All Too Well or Red blasting from five different speakers at the same time, and when every Twitter profile was (Taylor’s version).
Even though she’s been making music for almost two decades now, it doesn’t seem like anyone’s going to stop obsessing over her anytime soon. Is anyone else cool enough to have their own lyric as their Instagram bio? I doubt it. After all, its Taylor’s world, we’re all just living in it.
Young Stunners
If you stepped foot in Pakistan at any point in the latter half of 2021, there’s no way you didn’t see “Why Not Meri Jaan” plastered on almost every billboard and staring at you from Pepsi bottles in every store. Yes, Pepsi’s marketing department did a great job but there’s no denying that the moment you see this slogan, Young Stunners’ lazy drawl of “Why Not” starts playing on a loop in everyone’s head. The duo took Pakistani rap to new heights by releasing this song, their second major release after featuring in the iconic Pakistan Super League anthem “Groove Mera”.
The Young rappers have indeed stunned everyone in the South Asian rap scene, and don’t seem to be losing any momentum just yet as they hinted at an upcoming collaboration with Coke Studio. Fingers crossed!
Olivia Rodrigo
Making music in the middle of a pandemic is not an easy task, it definitely is brutal out there! But none of that stopped this young teenager from making her mark this year, many have gone so far as to label her ‘the next generation’s Taylor Swift’; can you think of a bigger honor because I can’t! Her album, ‘Sour’, dominated global charts throughout the year, and Spotify confirmed that she was one of the top 5 most streamed artists globally. She has also been nominated for 7 Grammys! So…what were you doing when you were 18?
Maanu
While collaborating with some rising national favorites like Hasan Raheem and Taha G, Maanu has also been releasing some bangers of his own. ‘Kidhar’ has become a must-listen song and can be found in most people’s daily playlists. If it’s not on yours, you might’ve been sleeping on 2021.