You may have not googled Faheem Abdullah's name before Saiyaara's title song broke your heart only to mend it again, but you sure must have heard his voice unless you were living under the rock. He is the same singer who lent his voice to Ishq, one of the most popular music sensations that went viral on Instagram in 2024.
The song Ishq, from the album Lost;Found, was performed by Faheem Abdullah, Rauhan Malik, and Amir Ameer. The trio also collaborated on the song for its haunting, heartfelt composition. The impact was such that every next reel on Instagram was set to Ishq, with the song getting several listens on music streaming platforms.
The lyrics, "Main aa likhoon, tu aa jaye" have the same heartache and longing for one's love as Saiyaara's "Saiyaara tu toh badla nahin hai...", penned by Irshad Kamil and composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah, and Arslan Nizami.
Who Is Faheem Abdullah
Faheem Abdullah is a Kashmiri artiste, who is a multihyphenate personality dabbling in singing, music, lyrics, poetry, cinema, and even event management. Before he introduced himself to the world with his real name, Faheem Abdullah was widely known as The Imaginary Poet by his stage name, an identity he shed earlier this year.
The recording artiste, who has captured the fancy of several listeners both on and off social media with his latest chartbuster Saiyaara, has over 1.98 lakh subscribers on his official YouTube channel.
In his YouTube profile, Faheem Abdullah refers to himself as "a singer-songwriter based in Srinagar, Kashmir. He is an Indie filmmaker and a screenwriter".
He has over 117,000 followers and counting on Instagram.
On Spotify, Faheem Abdullah has close to 2 crore monthly listeners, with Ishq as his most listened to track with over 32 crore streams, followed by Saiyaara at a far second with 3 crore streams.
Not only Ishq, his other songs such as Sajde, Ae Yaad, and Jhelum have also topped the charts.
When Faheem Abdullah Spoke About Social Media's Role In His Popularity
At a time when mainstream Hindi film music is as good as dead, independent artists like Faheem Abdullah are making inroads through social media and audio streaming apps.
Acknowledging the role of social media in bringing him to the forefront, the musician in an earlier interview said, "Social media has really opened doors for a lot of people who were not able to put out their music otherwise. Longevity depends on the quality of the track. If you are honest, and have a story to tell, longevity will follow. If they're able to relate to it, the song will make it to their playlists. As artists, we're not supposed to consciously focus on longevity, we can only ensure it sounds good lyrically, musically and then vocally."
But success didn't come easy for Faheen Abudullah.
"I had to struggle a lot. Being a musician from Kashmir which lacks infrastructure, my work was limited to one single a year and I wanted to be more productive. I had to struggle a lot to feed the artiste in me. I think struggle refines you and art, without it, I wouldn't have done half of what I could and it's an essential part," he said in a separate interview.
Just like Saiyaara, Ishq also dealt with themes of love, longing, and loss. Homeland is also an important aspect in Faheem Abdullah's music, he once said.
"My works are a reflection of my personal experiences. There are three things - either you can write about what you've experienced, or the experiences of someone you've been with very closely and almost lived their experiences with them. The third is imagining an ideal setup and the desire to live a certain way. My album has touches of all three," he spoke about Lost;Found of which Ishq was a part.
Saiyaara Released And Then There Was No Looking Back
A day before the release of Saiyaara, Faheem shared a video of an impromptu jam that he did with Arslan on the title track of Saiyaara. In his heartfelt post, the singer urged fans and followers to go watch Saiyaara in theatres and "carry tissues".
"Saiyaara releases tomorrow. What a surreal feeling to be a part of something so beautiful. Forever grateful to @mohitsuri Sir for believing in me & @arslannizaami and trusting us with Saiyaara. It wouldn't have been possible without Dada @tanishk_bagchi who has always been there for us like a big brother and a guide.
"Thanks to Almighty for making us all feel what we have felt in our lives, it sure did shape us as artists and made us make what we have made with utmost passion, love, care and madness. Having grown up watching his films and listening to his film music and now having co sung and co composed the title track for his latest, I am indebted to @mohitsuri for the trust, love, comfort and the shared pain. Saiyaara would mean nothing without @arslannizaami," he wrote.
Saiyaara is gaining popularity and love with every passing day and there's a bright chance that Faheem Abdullah is set to become one of the most sought-after independent artistes who will be welcomed to the so-called mainstream by open arms.