Karachi-based childhood friends Ahad Khan and Usama Ali bonded over their common love of poetry and started writing songs together in their teens. But it wasn’t until they met producer Raffey Anwar that the singer-songwriters began recording their tunes and formed the trio Uraan. They soon started releasing their lyrically heavy R&B and rap-influenced material, launching with debut single “Rastay” in November 2021. Each subsequent release, from “Dooriyan” to “Chehre” (with rapper Taimour Baig) and “Sometimes” went a little more viral, but it wasn’t until half-sung, half-rapped ballad “Tu hai kahan” blanketed short-format video platforms that they broke through. Just as things were taking off, another, older act called Uraan claimed rights to the name—prompting Ahad, Usama and Raffey to rename their group AUR, after the initials of their first names. And there was a silver lining to that cloud of uncertainty as they signed to Sony Music around the same time. Consequently, “Tu hai kahan” returned to the upper regions of the charts in Pakistan, India and several other countries. A remix—which had British-Pakistani superstar Zayn Malik singing in Urdu—further fuelled its success, while singles like “Shikayat” have strengthened AUR’s position at the forefront of the Pakistani heartbreak-pop movement, dominating the playlists of Gen-Z south Asians across the world.