Asim Azhar reflects on Dubai dreams, his song 'Habibi' and Expo 2020

DUBAI: Asim Azhar is a man of many talents. He can sing, act, and potentially light up a room with his smile. He also has the humility and simplicity of a budding artist even though he’s not a young star starting out anymore.

He is now an established name, a popular singer and someone whose name was chanted by hundreds of people at Expo 2020 Dubai in March this year. Add viral singing sensation and beloved TikTok sound to his list of achievements.

We sat down to talk to this sunny young man in Dubai who was overwhelmed with the love he was getting and deeply grateful at the same time.

Azhar believes Dubai chose him, rather than the other way around.

He was on his very first promo tour in UAE in order to interact with various media houses who were already big fans of his.

“There is no better vibe than Dubai. It's an entertainment hub, it’s a hub for the subcontinent. Dubai makes everyone from the subcontinent feel at home. It’s not just Pakistanis. People from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India also feel at home here," he explains.

With 'Habibi', a song about forgiveness and missing your loved ones, he speaks about the creative process that lead to this piece, explaining how 'Habibi' is the result of him having fun in the studio again.

It debuted on number four on Spotify and the song already has nearly 8 million views on YouTube in around five weeks.

“I had forgotten how to have fun with my creative process. And with Habibi I’ve done that.”

Expanding more on 'Habibi', and why it has connected with audiences so much, he stated how he wanted to send a casual message to the youth and “wanted to tell them how it’s okay to be the first one to say sorry. It’s easy to walk out of something, but it’s harder to maintain something,” he explains with his characteristic grin.

“I can’t promote anything that I myself am not able to do. Other than that, I’ll be very happy to leave inspiration to kids in my region to take the music industry forward. The legends from my country have done that for us. As artists, that how we serve and leave a legacy behind.

"Take the example of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Saab, Nazia-Zoheb, Junoon, Vital Signs – they’ve made a mark in the world for their country. That happens when young artists get inspired to do more.”

Reminiscing about the Expo 2020 Dubai, he recalls the experience as amazing when during the last week at Expo he performed on Pakistan’s National Day in front of a full house at the Jubilee Stage.

The crowd couldn’t stop chanting his name and despite waiting for him to arrive finally after a massive array of musicians, the emotion was electric and energetic as Azhar performed all his best hits to the electrified Dubai crowd.

“I was so honoured to perform with such amazing names. And people showed up, man," he grins widely. “The community really showed up. It was an amazing night, I can’t wait to come back and I can’t wait to perform more for my UAE community!”

As a last word, he reminds us to 'stay humble and listen to 'Habibi' as he signs off with a grin.