Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (October 13, 1948 - August 16, 1997) was a Pakistani Punjabi singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali, a type of Sufi devotional music. Known as "Shahenshah-e-Qawwali" (the King of Kings of Qawwali), he is considered by The New York Times to be the greatest Sufi singer in the Punjabi and Urdu languages and one of the greatest qawwali singers in history. In 2016, LA Weekly named him the fourth greatest singer of all time. He was known for his vocal abilities and could perform for several hours at a high level of intensity. Khan is widely regarded as having popularized qawwali music among international audiences.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan made his public debut at the age of 15 at his father's chelum in Lyallpur (Faisalabad). In 1971, he became the head of the family qawwali party, bringing his unique style of sargam, khayal, and rhythm to his family's legacy. In the early 1980s, he was signed by Oriental Star Agencies, Birmingham, England. Khan went on to record film scores and albums in Europe, India, Japan, Pakistan, and the United States. He collaborated and experimented with Western artists, eventually becoming a well-known world music artist. He toured extensively, performing in over 40 countries. He had a significant impact on contemporary South Asian popular music, including Pakistani pop, Indian pop, and Bollywood music, in addition to popularizing qawwali music.