'Pasoori' Breaks Record as First Pakistani Music Video Hits 1 Billion YouTube Views
Coke Studio's 'Pasoori' has become the first Pakistan-made music video to reach 1 billion views on YouTube, achieving this milestone just shy of four years and seven months after its release. The soulful duet by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill was released on February 7, 2022, as part of Coke Studio's Nu.WAV series.
The song has been incredibly popular since its release, with over 90% of its YouTube views coming from outside Pakistan. It has also been remixed by Coke Studio Africa, with Sethi collaborating with Marwan Moussa and Reekado Banks to create a version infused with Nigerian Afrobeats.
Coke Studio thanked fans for helping the song reach this milestone, saying that 'Pasoori' shows what can happen when a song remains deeply rooted in its identity while connecting across borders. The song's global success has also inspired numerous covers and adaptations, including a version by Arijit Singh that was widely criticized as a bad move.
'Pasoori' is still both Sethi and Gill's most-streamed song on Spotify, with almost 405 million streams to date. Its impact can be seen in its popularity on other platforms as well, such as Google, where it was the second most searched term in the Songs category in 2022.