Islamabad – As avid listeners and fans from around the world celebrate World Music Day on June 21, Spotify in Pakistan continues to stand out in the local space as a global platform that connects listeners with their favorite music from around the world. With over 100 million hits, Pakistani users have shown strong love for international artists and local favourites.
Global music, local trends
This World Music Day, Spotify revealed listening data from January to June 2024, highlighting local trends and local music gravitas and treating its fans to a source of information that reveals interesting insights into Pakistani music tastes. Among the most popular artists among Pakistani users on Spotify, familiar names like Arijit Singh and Pritam lead the charts, reflecting the country’s affinity for Indian music. Shubh, Sidhu Muz Wala and Karan Aujla complete the list of most popular international artists from Pakistan. These artists demonstrate the aspirations of cross-border music and Spotify’s role in fostering cultural exchange.
In 2024, songs from across the border once again dominated the list of most played international songs by Pakistani music fans. The list includes Anuv Jain Husn and Raj Shekhar and Vishal Mishra’s Pehle Bhi Main. They were followed by ‘King Shit’ from Shub, ‘Ve Haaniyaan’ by Faheem Abdullah and Rauhan Malik, ‘Ishq’ by Avvi Sra, Danny and Sagar.
Apart from these songs, three local songs like Hasan Rahim, Talwiinder and Umair’s ‘Dreams’, Ashir Wajahat’s ‘Sadakai’, NAYEL and Nehal Naseem and AUR’s ‘Tu Hai Kahan’ show an interesting trend.
Sequel to K-Pop Craze
According to Spotify’s listening data, the K-Pop phenomenon continues to capture the hearts of Pakistani listeners with incredible growth. Since 2021, the flow of K-Pop music in Pakistan has increased by 290%, showing the growing interest in the genre. Audience demographics further show the extent of K-Pop’s popularity, with 55% of the audience being between the ages of 18-24. This demographic has led to the growth of the genre in the country.
The top 5 most popular K-Pop songs in Pakistan include Jung Kook’s “Standing On You”, V’s “Love Me Again”, Jung Kook’s “Sevenedi” and Latto’s “FRI(END)S”. V and TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s “Chase This Feeling” saw BTS members dominate the Spotify charts alongside other popular K-Pop acts. BTS, TOMORROW X TOGETHER and BLACKPINK are the most popular artists with BTS members Jungkook and V. Popular K-Pop playlists include “This is BTS,” “K-Pop ON! .
The most popular international singer in Pakistan
- Arijit Singh
- Pritam
- Shubh
- Sidhu Moose Wala
- Karan Aujla
Most-Streamed Songs in Pakistan - “Husn” by Anuv Jain
- “Pehle Bhi Main” by Raj Shekhar, Vishal Mishra
- “Wishes” by Hasan Raheem, Talwiinder, Umair
- “King Shit” by Shubh
- “Sadqay” by Aashir Wajahat, NAYEL, Nehal Naseem
- “Tu Hai Kahan” by AUR
- “Ishq” by Faheem Abdullah, Rauhan Malik
- “Ve Haaniyaan” by Avvy Sra, Danny, Sagar
- “Akhiyaan Gulaab” by Mitraz
- “You and Me” by Shubh
Most-Streamed K-Pop Artists in Pakistan - BTS
- Jung Kook
- V
- TOMORROW X TOGETHER
- BLACKPINK
Most-Streamed K-Pop Songs in Pakistan - “Standing Next to You” by Jung Kook
- “Love Me Again” by V
- “Seven” by Jung Kook, Latto
- “FRI(END)S” by V
- “Chasing That Feeling” by TOMORROW X TOGETHER
Most-Streamed K-Pop Playlists in Pakistan - This Is BTS
- K-Pop ON! (온)
- This Is BLACKPINK
- Energy Booster: K-Pop
- K-POP for PK