Night Reign is the fourth studio album by Pakistani singer and composer Arooj Aftab, released on May 31, 2024, by Verve Records.

It was preceded by two singles, "Raat Ki Rani" and "Whiskey", with the former receiving a music video directed by Tessa Thompson.

The album features contributions from Gyan Riley, Kaki King, Maeve Gilchrist, Jamey Haddad, and Petros Klampanis, as well as guest musicians including Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily, Moor Mother, Elvis Costello, and Thompson's father Chocolate Genius, Inc.

It was received positively by critics, calling the album experimental and saying it deepened and expanded her sound, and was nominated twice at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.

Night Reign follows Aftab's breakthrough album, 2021's Vulture Prince, for which she became the first Pakistani Grammy winner,[1][2] got a song placed on Barack Obama's 2021 summer playlist,[1][3] and signed to Verve Records.

[1] Aftab brought a host of collaborators in for the record, including harpist Maeve Gilchrist, bassist Petros Klampanis, poet Moor Mother for a guest verse on "Bolo Na", and Elvis Costello playing the Wurlitzer on "Last Night Reprise".

[5] Aftab started writing "Bolo Na" in high school, inspired by teenage heartbreak and angst, but shelved it because she found it too cheesy.

[5] Aftab said that while Night Reign mainly focuses on the "sassy, fun" side of her personality and sees her "talking about whiskey and queens", she didn't want to ignore darker aspects of the world, saying it would be tone deaf and dishonest to do so.

[7] With the announcement came the lead single, "Raat Ki Rani", which Aftab said was about "a person whose allure, magnetism, and charisma floats through a beautiful evening garden party.

"[7][8] It was named after cestrum nocturnum, a flowering plant also known as night-blooming jasmine, which is known in Urdu as "raat ki rani", meaning "queen of the night".

[12][13] It features contributions from Kaki King and Gyan Riley on guitars, Maeve Gilchrist on harp, Linda May Han Oh on bass, Jamey Haddad on percussion, and TimaLikesMusic on synthesizer and piano.

[20] The Guardian's Ammar Kalia said Night Reign was "one of [Aftab's] most spirited and experimental records to date, aiming to embody the nocturnal setting that provides the inspiration for her music", and called it "a welcome step forward".

[22] The Wall Street Journal's Mark Richardson said the album "expands [Aftab's] sound in important ways while remaining true to the path she's traveled so far.

"[16] Spin's Vrinda Jagota said that, as opposed to Vulture Prince's showcase of restraint, grief, and yearning, Night Reign's "songs carry the unbridled excitement of a child equipped with a marker and an endless expanse of white wall.