The story of Blockbuster, the song by Coke Studio Pakistan that went viral on Instagram

“Open Instagram”

“Listen to catchy lyrics on the reel”

“Found it embarrassing but can’t stop humming it”

“Find it in the Music app”

“Listens to it so often until he can no longer stand it”

This is what the life cycle of a song looks like when we hear it on Instagram Reels. Thanks to social media, we now have access to different songs that reach us and people around the world that would have been lost before.

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One such song that is currently trending and has reached us from ‘Sarhad Par“(Crossing the line) – The words in the Instagram comments section that are not mine are ‘Blockbuster.'”

The viral hit

If you spend any time on social media, you have probably come across a viral reel on Instagram in which a little girl with a hairstyle that reminds us of our childhood (oiled middle parting) with a microphone in her hand sings the lyrics: “Oye cutie, make my life long (Sweetheart, I’ll explain it to you).”

The lyrics are from the song ‘Blockbuster’ which is all set to become a blockbuster. The song is a production of Coke Studio Pakistan and is very popular not only among Indians but also people all over the world.

Released on May 25, 2024, the track is currently trending on Instagram and has been captured over 250,000 times. The song has also been viewed over 18 million times on YouTube.

Check out some reactions to the song:

Choreography: Norwegian group Quick Style

“Blockbuster” is a Punjabi song and sounds like old kalaam (folk music). The song was composed and written by Pakistani artists Zulfikar Jabbar Khan aka Xulfi, Umair Butt, Faris Shafi and Shamroz Butt.

The song was sung by Faris Shafi, Umair Butt and an all-women group called Gharvi Group, consisting of Abida, Rooha Rawal, Sajida Bibi and Saba Hassan.

The choreography, which has everyone grooving to the song, is by a Norwegian group called Quick Style. It is a Norwegian hip hop/urban dance group founded by Norwegian-Pakistani twins Suleman and Bilal Malik and their Norwegian-Thai childhood friend Nasir Sirikhan.

“Blockbuster” has all the ingredients of a hit that users of Instagram and other social media apps would agree.

The catchy music, fast-paced beats, perfect stops and unforgettable accents of the women of Gharvi Group, along with Saba, the viral kid, and an Urdu rap by Faris Shafi make it irresistible.

The video shows a lively scene from the streets of a typical village in Pakistan and was shot by Zeeshan Parwez.

For this song, an extensive set was built in a village with over 400 extras and more than 200 crew members.

How Saba was “discovered”

There is no doubt that Saba, the child who sings in “Blockbuster,” caught everyone’s attention with the song. However, what is also remarkable is the way in which she was discovered.

She was featured in the song by producer Xufli, who shared the anecdote about their first interaction in his viral interview.

Saba, who had arrived with the Gharvi group, was minding her own business, taking care of her brother and singing him a lullaby.

Xulfi was impressed by her singing and her powerful voice and decided to let her participate in the song. After some training, she became an important addition to the song.

Previous hit: “Pasoori”

However, this is not the first time that a song from Pakistan’s Coke Studio has caused a stir in India. Previously, singers Ali Sethi and Shae Gill gave us “Pasoori” in February 2022.

Data released by Spotify in December 2022 showed that “Pasoori” was the most streamed Pakistani song worldwide in 2022, as well as the most streamed song in Pakistan.

In December 2022, “Pasoori” 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 adopted in the Bollywood film ‘SatyaPrem Ki Katha’ starring Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani. The Bollywood version was sung by Arijit Singh and Tulsi Kumar, retaining the original chorus, about which there were differing opinions on the internet.

I’ll be right back, sweetie!