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Zayn Malik sure still has the 1D touch. He dropped his first solo album today and caused a furore.

Part of the hullaboloo was about just one song in the album.

Titled 'Flower', the intermission track features 104 seconds of Zayn singing in Urdu.

According to NME, the two-lyric number goes like “Jab tak is mohabbat ke phool na khilay / Tab tak is dill ko sukoon na miley” (Until the flower of this love has blossomed/This heart won’t be at peace).

You can imagine the delight of his desi fans.

And even his non-desi ones were impressed.

People are making a really big deal about this.

We mean, really big.

However, this isn't the first time us desis went global in the music sphere.

From the music of maestros like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Lata Mangeshkar getting a western treatment to the likes of Bohemia making Punjabi rap mainstream, desis have been making waves for a while. Let's take a closer look.

1) Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

The Qawwali King had become a rocker favourite in his lifetime.

Peter Gabriel and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder made full use of his powerhouse qawwali vocals in the soundtracks of films like The Last Temptation of Christ and Dead Man Walking. NFAK further experimented with fusing his qawwali with Western music in Peter Gabriel's Real World label albums, Mustt Mustt and Star Rise.

He also worked with Canadian musician Michael Brook on the albums Mustt Mustt (1990) and the Grammy-nominated Night Song (1996), and contributed to several songs on The Prayer Cycle, an orchestral album that features his vocals in French, German and Latin compositions.

Derek Trucks Band released two versions NFAK's qawwali/naat 'Makki Madni', the latter features his nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

2) Lata Mangeshkar & Asha Bhosle

Lata's vocals have been sampled by numerous modern-day musicians from the West, including Bombay Bicycle Club, who have excerpted tracks like 'Man Dole Mere Tan Dole' and 'Apne Pyar Ke' (with Kishore Kumar) in 'Feel' and 'Overdone' respectively.

Even Britney Spears took a liking to Lata's music, and included strains of her duet with , 'Tere Mere Beech Main' in her smash hit 'Toxic'.

Lata's younger sister Asha Bhosle is also not far behid. Black Eyed Peas borrowed the beat and melody of Asha Bhosle’s ‘Aye Naujawan Hai Sab Kuchh Yahan’ in 'Don't Phunk With My Heart' and they also took samples of 'Asha Bhosle’s ‘Kisi Ki Jaan Lete Hain’ in 'My Humps'.

Jay Sean also used the chorus of Bhosle's ‘Chura Liya Hai Tumne’ classic in 'Stolen', the same track he's seen jiving with Bipasha Basu!

3) Bohemia

Bohemia introduced the world to Punjabi rap, and his song quickly became chart toppers. Bollywood took a shine to Bohemia's music, and he's been featured on three film soundtracks, including Chandni Chowk to China, 8x10 Tasveer and Breakaway.