Abida Parveen is a Pakistani singer counted amongst the world's greatest mystic singers and one of the foremost exponents of Sufi music (Sufiana kalaam). The versatile singer is primarily a singer of ghazals and sings in several languages including Urdu, Sindhi, Saraiki, and Punjabi. Born into a family that boasts of a rich musical legacy, she was introduced to the world of Sufism and music at a young age. Her father recognized the potential his daughter possessed and personally trained her in music when she was young. She started singing when she was three and displayed such a deep love for music that her father decided to defy tradition and chose her as his musical heir over his two sons. She went on to receive her higher musical training from the music school which her father had founded and was also trained by the great Ustad Salamat Ali Khan of the Sham Chorasia gharana. Initially she performed at Dargahs and Urs before embarking on a professional career with Radio Pakistan. She brought Sufi music to a new level and proceeded to become one of the best known mystic singers not just in her native Pakistan, but throughout the world because of which she has been dubbed as the Uncrowned Empress of Sufi Music and Undisputed Sufi Queen.