Indian artistes are the hot faves for Reels

Social media’s video feature, reels, could easily be considered to have been the best, easily accessible entertainment right from the time it launched in 2020, bang in the middle of the pandemic. While one would recall international hits like Love Nwantiti by Nigerian artiste CKay and Runaway, by Norwegian songmaker Aurora Aksnes, it is interesting to note that the year 2022 has seen more of our desi numbers top the list of most used songs globally.According to the Meta Platforms’ 2022 Reels in Review report - 15 of the top 20 most used songs on Reels on Instagram globally, are songs by Indian artistes. Top trending songs include ones from regional films, Bollywood as well as some by Indie artistes.

According to Kabeer Kathpalia, aka OAFF, whose song Doobey (part of the Bollywood film Gehraiyaan), which he produced with his college friend Savera, got more than 50 million views on YouTube, social media has definitely started to play a massive role in popularising music. The emergence of reels, where people are exposed to thousands of trending songs each day, has increased music discoverability by around 10 times what it used to be, he says. "With Doobey, the song was a success as soon as the trailer of the movie Gehraiyaan was released. People using the song on social media reels provided an extra boost, making the song the rage that it became," he says.
Savera agrees. "For the music industry too, social media has proved to be a beneficial platform that gives artists a better reach," he says, while adding that relying on social media alone might not be a great idea. "Though reels are here to stay, artists should maintain a proper balance in promoting their music across platforms including music streaming platforms and continue to focus on creating relevant music," he says.

Playback singer Sanjith Hegde, who has voiced many hits, also had one of his remixes go viral on reels recently. A remix reel he made of the song Sathyabhame, from the 1980 Kannada romance drama Ravichandra, was reused around 1,21,000 times on Instagram! The video has over 6 million plays now! The singer, however, says his social media is all about having fun, and artists shouldn't feel pressured about creating viral content. "My social media is where people connect with me. I wouldn’t think much of it otherwise. I don’t think this viral reel culture should pressure any artist to question or change their art," he says.
Accidental hits
Reel music doesn't always come from film songs or popular tracks. Sometimes they go viral quite accidentally.
For example, November 2021, a Pakistani woman, Ayesha, did a dance to the remix of Lata Mangeshkar's Mera Dil Ye Pukare Aaja, which was an instant hit. Since then, the ‘girl in green salwar suit‘ trend grew so much that the audio has been played in over two million reels on Instagram so far .

Bhuban Badyakar became a worldwide sensation with his tuneful cry to sell 'Kacha Badam', which is one of the original hit reels on Meta’s list. Bilal Saeed’s heartbreak ballad Aadhi Aadhi Raat that came out in 2012 also became popular in India in the last few years.
On top of the game
Top songs that are a hit across all age groups
*Source: Reels in Review report:
- With inputs from Debarati S Sen