Momina Mustehsan

Momina Mustehsan (born 5 September 1992) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter and musician.

Mustehsan has become one of the most popular and high-profile celebrities of Pakistan.

Mustehsan was born on 5 September 1992 in Quetta, Balochistan, in a Shia Muslim family of Urdu-speaking parents.

Her mother, Huma Mustehsan, is a doctor, and father, Kazim Mustehsan, is a retired brigadier from the Pakistan Army, and a recipient of Sitara-i-Imtiaz, the third highest honour and civilian award of the country.

She has two siblings: an elder brother, Hashim Mustehsan, a doctor, and a younger brother, Haider Mustehsan, an interne at the Pakistan section of the United Nations.

Due to her father's profession as an army officer, the family was posted in a number of places in Pakistan and around the world, including Multan, New York, Paris and Kyiv, but was particularly raised in Islamabad, which she considers as her hometown.

Her first encounter with the music came in 2004, when she recorded her first cover of Irish singer Damien Rice's song "The Blower's Daughter".

Despite having no background of musical training she was praised at that time.

At Junoon's twentieth anniversary, Mustehsan recorded a song "Sajna" for their album Junoon 20 in Volume I, the song was written by Ali Azmat and was a bonus track on album.

In 2012, she wrote the lyrics for the song "Pee Jaun", and sung with Farhan Saeed.

Mustehsan rose to prominence as a co-singer and writer in Farhan Saeed's single "Pee Jaun", and later sang the acclaimed song "Awari" for the Indian thriller film Ek Villain (2014).

In 2014, she recorded a song "Awari" for Pakistani band Soch who approached her, without telling her that they are going to use the song in Indian film Ek Villain, she explained, "I was approached by Soch and they wanted me to feature on their track without disclosing what it was for," she recorded the song in her university dorm, "It was an extremely casual process and I never met anyone in person. I recorded the song on my own in New York. The contract was signed after the track had been lined up for release."

On her future ventures she said, "I'm always working on new pieces. Music is a passion for me and not a profession. I have plenty of time on my hands... I might be working on a Pakistani project later this year. It's something that I am excited about."

The song was also featured in 2015 Nescafé Basement with Mustehsan singing along with Hamza Tanveer.

Her claim to fame came later, when in 2016 she made her Coke Studio debut as a featured artist in season 9, with the ghazal song "Afreen Afreen" and "Tera Woh Pyar."

Following her debut, she became one of the most sought-out media personalities in Pakistan, and the songs became two of the most viewed songs of Pakistan, both garnering over 400 million views.

Mustehsan completed her A-Level from Lahore Grammar School and later moved to the United States for higher studies and graduated with degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Applied Mathematics from Stony Brook University in 2016.

At the time of her graduation, she was on the Dean's list.

Mustehsan at first learnt to play violin and sang in public for the first time in a choir of her grade school, without any formal music training.

Recalling, Mustehsan told that her teacher had asked her if she had something to show and had said, "I think you sing well".

She further told that she realized she had interest in music after when she had sung for the first time then.

In 2016, Mustehsan recorded her first song "Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hay" for the romantic drama film Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hay, and marked her Coke Studio debut as a featured artist in season 9 later that year.

Her first song "Afreen Afreen", alongside Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, broke all previous Coke Studio records by accumulating over 2.5 million views in one day, and has since garnered more than 300 million views.

Additionally, the song made her the second Pakistani artist to reach 100 million views on YouTube.

The other two songs she performed were "Main Raasta", partially written by her, and a medely of two of Shuja Haider's songs, the critically acclaimed "Tera Woh Pyar (Nawazishein Karam)", along with Junaid Khan and Asim Azhar respectively.

The later has since gained 175 million views on YouTube collectively.

Commenting on her Coke Studio success she said, "it was very overwhelming for me because these are classics I am singing with very well-known singers. For me it was a great honour. I was also very nervous, I never get nervous for anything. But I got appreciated a lot once the songs were recorded."

Revealing on her future in music Mustehsan said "I don't want to pursue music as a career. For me, it was hard to make a decision since I had no references. Maybe after me, people would come out to show their talent," and explained "I don't think releasing number of albums defines a musician. I do music for myself and not for the masses. I'm not into the idea of being a celebrity or having people know or follow me."

In 2017, BBC named her one of the 100 most influential women, and the following year, Forbes featured her among its "30 Under 30" Asia list along with nine other Pakistani individuals.

That same year, Mustehsan was honored by Stony Brook University, which named her among their "40 most successful graduates."

Born in Quetta and raised in Islamabad, Mustehsan earned her degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Applied Mathematics after double majoring at Stony Brook University.

In February 2017, she released the anthem for the Pakistan Super League franchise Islamabad United.

Leading media outlets, The Express Tribune and Geo News criticized the heavy use of auto-tune and the lack of substance in the single, titled "Cricket Jorrey Pakistan" (Cricket Unites Pakistan).

On 3 November, "Afreen Afreen" became the fastest Pakistani origin video to mark 100 million views on YouTube, and become the most viewed Pakistani origin YouTube video on 10 November, leaving behind Atif Aslam's rendition of "Tajdar-e-Haram" and Imran Khan's "Amplifier".

That same year, she collaborated with the Coke Studio for a second time, and released three songs, one of which was the "Qaumi Taranah" (national anthem of Pakistan).

which she sang with the other featured artists of the season.

Released on 14 August, critics criticized the rendition, saying that it failed to "win hearts".

Her next song released was "Muntazir", which was composed and written by Strings.

Mustehsan's next three singles, "Aaya Na Tu" (2018), "Baari" (2019) and "Uchiyan Deewaran" (2020) peaked on YouTube within 24 hours upon their releases and all of them have since gained more than 200 million views collectively, and received critical compliment for her voice in the original soundtrack of the television series Alif (2019).

Alongside her singing career, Mustehsan is vocal about issues such as the role of women in Pakistan and feminism.