He was behind 2017's Big Surprise, and Prateek Kuhad was in for just that yesterday.
The Indian singer-songwriter has revealed he is "totally flipping out" after his track cold/mess was named as one of Barack Obama's top songs of 2019.
The former president of the US gave his seal of approval to the folky tune on Monday, including the song as part of his 35-track-strong list.
From hip-hop to country to The Boss, here are my songs of the year. If you’re looking for something to keep you company on a long drive or help you turn up a workout, I hope there’s a track or two in here that does the trick. pic.twitter.com/mQ2VssyDwt
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 30, 2019
"From hip-hop to country to The Boss, here are my songs of the year," wrote Obama on Twitter when announcing his picks. "If you’re looking for something to keep you company on a long drive or help you turn up a workout, I hope there’s a track or two in here that does the trick."
Other earworms to receive the accolade include Lizzo's Juice, Beyonce's Mood 4 Eva, Frank Ocean's In My Room and Bruce Springsteen's Hello Sunshine.
Kuhad's cold/mess was released in 2018 as part of his album of the same name, and currently has more than 4.7 million views on YouTube and more than 3.6 million streams on Spotify.
The 29-year-old artist, who was born in Jaipur, studied at New York University before moving to Delhi to pursue a career in music.
He made his debut with 2015 album In Tokens and Charms, which won an MTV Europe Music Award, and has released tracks in both English and Hindi. Kuhad cites Elliott Smith, Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie among his influences, and has supported acts such as Alt-J and Mike Posner during his career.
Despite his success in his home country and the US, the musician was surprised by the nod from Obama, taking to Twitter to reveal he was "totally flipping out".
— Prateek Kuhad (@prateekkuhad) December 30, 2019
"This just happened and I don't think I'll sleep tonight. I have no idea how cold/mess even reached him but thank you Barack Obama, thank you universe," he wrote.
"I didn’t think 2019 could’ve gotten better, but was I wrong. What an honour."
Obama's top songs of 2019 follows similar lists released by the politician in recent days, including his round-up of the year's best films and books.
Next up are my favorite movies and TV shows of 2019. Of course, there’s also American Factory, a film from our own production company, Higher Ground, that was recently shortlisted for an Oscar. Here’s the full list: pic.twitter.com/PEcgwotcxm
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 29, 2019
_________________
Read more:
Let him entertain you: Robbie Williams to perform in Dubai in January 2020
From Mohammed Assaf to Mashrou’ Leila: 10 Arabic pop songs that defined the decade
Beyonce, Taylor and Adele: the 10 female stars who ruled music in the 2010s
_________________
