Armin van Buuren Unexpectedly ‘Marries Music’ with Craig David & Anurag Saikia – Ishq Hai Becomes the Global Explosion of 2025!

What happens when an Indian streaming soundtrack, a Dutch trance legend, and a British R&B icon collide? The result is Ishq Hai (This Is Love) — a track that has leapt from Netflix’s Mismatched Season 3 to global music charts, reborn as a cultural bridge uniting genres, continents, and generations. Released worldwide on August 29, 2025, the reimagined version has already stormed playlists, dance floors, and viral video platforms. The collaboration between Armin van Buuren, Craig David, and Anurag Saikia is more than just a remix — it’s a bold statement that music written in one language can resonate with the entire world when reimagined with passion and innovation.

From Local Soundtrack to Global Anthem

When Ishq Hai was first introduced in 2024 as part of the hit Netflix India series Mismatched Season 3, it wasn’t expected to become a phenomenon. Yet, the soulful composition by Anurag Saikia — known for blending modern pop with classical Indian roots — hit listeners like a lightning bolt.

More than 300 million streams later, including 175 million on Spotify India alone, it’s clear this was no ordinary soundtrack. The song became the unexpected soundtrack of wedding aisles, rainy car rides, TikTok dances, and countless Instagram reels. Across Asia — from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to Nepal, Singapore, and the Middle East — the song spread organically, becoming one of the most influential South Asian releases in years. The emotional depth of the track, coupled with its placement in Mismatched, gave it an intimacy that listeners carried into their daily lives.

Why the World Was Ready for a Reimagining

By mid-2025, Ishq Hai had already transcended borders. The song’s timeless melody and universal theme of love made it ripe for global reinterpretation. Enter Armin van Buuren, the trance DJ who has been defining electronic dance music for decades. Known for transforming ballads into euphoric festival anthems, Armin was the perfect architect to give Ishq Hai a new life on global dance floors.

Alongside him, Craig David, fresh from the buzz around his album Commitment, infused the track with a smooth English verse, balancing raw R&B with electronic drive. Together with Saikia’s original soul, the trio created a version that feels both familiar and brand new — a song with emotional weight and club-ready energy.

The Sound of Love Reimagined

In its new form, Ishq Hai (This Is Love) is no longer just a soundtrack ballad. It is a cross-genre anthem that blends Indian instrumentation, electronic trance drops, and silky R&B vocals into one seamless experience. Armin van Buuren brings his trademark high-energy production, lifting the track into something built for stadiums and festivals, while Craig David’s soulful delivery adds accessibility for global listeners. Crucially, Saikia’s original heart and melody remain untouched — giving the song both authenticity and global reach.

Behind the Collaboration: Why It Matters

This collaboration is not just about star power. It signals a larger cultural shift: Indian music is no longer regional — it is global. Platforms like Netflix have given South Asian soundtracks unprecedented visibility, while collaborations with Western icons push them further into international spaces. Ishq Hai now sits at the intersection of Bollywood, EDM, and R&B — a space few songs have dared to occupy. This union reflects a future where cultural fusion isn’t niche but mainstream, and where a track sung in Hindi can resonate with someone in Amsterdam, London, or Los Angeles without translation.

Fan Reactions and Chart Performance

Within days of release, the new Ishq Hai began trending on Spotify Global Viral 50, charting in markets far beyond India, including the UK, Netherlands, and U.S. On TikTok, users jumped on the track’s build-up-to-drop transition, using it for dance routines, emotional story edits, and even wedding entrance videos.

Fans across continents have called it “a song that feels both familiar and futuristic” — and many are predicting it will become one of the most defining global collaborations of 2025. Social media buzz shows a split between those nostalgic for the soft intimacy of the original and those celebrating the electrifying new version. Either way, the conversation itself proves that the collaboration has captured worldwide attention.

Why This Collaboration Works

Three reasons explain why Ishq Hai (This Is Love) is connecting so powerfully worldwide:

1. Emotional Authenticity – Anurag Saikia’s original composition ensures the track retains genuine depth, preventing it from being “just another EDM remix.”

2. Star Power – Armin van Buuren brings credibility to the electronic space, while Craig David opens the door to R&B and pop audiences across Europe and America.

3. Cultural Fusion – By weaving Hindi lyrics with English verses, and classical Indian melodies with global beats, the track feels inclusive rather than exclusive.

What This Means for the Future of Global Music

The success of Ishq Hai represents more than just a viral hit — it marks a turning point in how we think about the future of global music. For years, the industry treated cross-border collaborations as special events, but now they are fast becoming the norm. Where K-pop once stood as the lone outlier to crack Western charts, South Asian music is beginning to step onto that stage with confidence.

If Ishq Hai is any indication, India could soon be at the forefront of a new wave of international hits — tracks born from local culture but reshaped through partnerships with global icons who can amplify them into entirely new cultural spaces. This is not just about one song; it’s about a blueprint for the industry. The boundaries between East and West are dissolving, and the future of music might very well be multilingual, multicultural, and universally resonant.

Conclusion

The rebirth of Ishq Hai (This Is Love) is a moment that music fans will remember — not only for its sound but for what it represents. A track born in India, nurtured by streaming audiences, and now reborn through collaboration with international legends, has proven that love is a universal language and music is its most powerful messenger.

This isn’t just another song release. It’s a cultural milestone — one that tells us the future of music will be global, inclusive, and boundless.