“Opens Instagram”

“Listen to the catchy lyrics of a song on the reel”

“Call it weird but can’t stop humming it”

“finds it on the music app”

“I listen to it over and over again until I get bored of it”

This is the life cycle of a song when we listen to it on Instagram Reels. Thanks to social media, today we have many songs that reach us and people across the world, which would have been lost earlier.

One such song which is trending at the moment and has reached us ‘on the outskirts‘ (crossing the line) – The words from the Instagram comment section, not mine, are ‘blockbuster.’

Viral Hit

If you spend time on social media, you might have come across a viral reel on Instagram, in which a little girl whose hairstyle reminds us of our childhood (oiled middle part) has a mic in her hand, singing the song, “Oye Cutie Tenu Mein Samjhaariyan (You dear, I will explain to you)”.

Well, these lyrics are from the song ‘Blockbuster’ which is on its way to becoming a blockbuster. The song is produced by Coke Studio Pakistan and is receiving love not only from Indians but also from people across the world.

Released on 25 May 2024, this song is currently trending on Instagram and has more than 2,50,000 reels made on it. This song has also received more than 18 million views on YouTube.

Check out some reactions to the song:

Choreographed by Norwegian group Quick Style

‘Blockbuster’ is a Punjabi song and it has an old kalam [folk music] The song is written and composed by Pakistani artists Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan aka Zulfi, Umair Butt, Faris Shafi and Shamroz Butt.

The song is sung by Faris Shafi, Umair Butt and a female group called Gharvi Group, which consists of Abida, Ruha Rawal, Sajida Bibi and Saba Hassan.

The choreography of this song, which made everyone dance, was done by a Norwegian group called Quick Style. It is a Norwegian hip-hop/urban dance group founded by two Norwegian-Pakistani twins Suleman and Bilal Malik and their Norwegian-Thai childhood friend Nasir Sirikhan.

‘Blockbuster’ has all the elements of a hit song, which people using Instagram and other social media apps will agree with.

The catchy music, fast-paced beats, precise stops and unforgettable accents of the ladies of the Gharvi group along with the Urdu rap of viral kid Saba and Faris Shafi make it unique.

The video features vibrant visuals of the streets of a typical village in Pakistan and is directed by Zeeshan Parvez.

A huge set was erected in a village for this song with over 400 extras and over 200 crew members.

How was Saba discovered?

There is no doubt that Saba, the child singing in ‘Blockbuster’, has caught everyone’s attention in the song. But the way she was recognised is also noteworthy.

She was introduced in the song by producer Zufli, who shared the story behind the first conversation between them in his viral interview.

Saba, who had come with the Gharvi group, was busy with her work, taking care of her brother and singing lullabies to him.

Impressed by her singing and bold voice, Xulfi decided to include her in the song. After some training, she became an important part of the song.

Previous Hit: ‘Pasuri’

However, this is not the first time that a Pakistani Coke Studio song has created a buzz in India. Earlier, singers Ali Sethi and Shay Gill gave us ‘Pasuri’ in February 2022.

Data released by Spotify in December 2022 showed that ‘Pasuri’ was the most streamed Pakistani song globally as well as the most streamed song in Pakistan in 2022.

In December 2022, ‘Pasuri’ became the first Pakistani song to enter YouTube’s Global Top Music Videos chart.

The song was also a hit on social media and was later included in the Bollywood film ‘Satyaprem Ki Katha’ starring Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani in the lead roles. The Bollywood version was sung by Arijit Singh and Tulsi Kumar, retaining the original chorus, which received mixed opinions on the internet.

B.R.B., sweetie!