"The love you bring won't mean
a thing unless you sing."
These words by
Francis Healy ring true when one thinks of Pakistan Idol, the show that will
bring music talent of Pakistan from the far flung villages, cities, towns
and pit them against each other in the biggest music fest to ever hit
Pakistan. What Music '89 and Battle of the Bands began in Pakistan is about
to be amplified to the max!
The 'Idol' format most of us know of because of American and Indian Idol is
now all set to unravel in Pakistan in the coming months. Geo TV (in
association with Fremantle Media), have bought the rights to the format and
are bringing it to Pakistan! We're set to create history in this land of the
pure where music has been the most consistent form of entertainment for
Pakistanis for almost two decades now. |
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To mark the inauguration of
this event, a concert was held on Saturday night at the PAF Museum, which
featured some of Pakistan's well-known as well as new music artistes. It is a
different story that the entire concert was on DAT (Digital Audio Tape) and this
is exactly why Pakistan Idol is very welcome. It will promote live music in an
enormous way, the most important aspect of music.
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Coming back to
the event - which was essentially a rehearsal show for Pakistan Idol event
that will follow in the coming weeks and was being recorded for Eid - and
one can't help but thing how much Karachiites love music. In spite of
Ramadan, they came in throngs. From the "biker boys" to children to families
and youngsters, they were all there. The families chose to sit and the kids
as well as the teeny boppers were dashing off behind backstage getting their
pictures taken with Shehzad Roy, Mustafa "Musti" Zahid of Roxen, screaming
for Annie and Atif, and dancing to the bhangra king Jawad Ahmad.
Behind the backstage, a lounge was set up of Pakistan Idol, where artistes
like Sajjad Ali, Alamgir, Faakhir and all others were
sipping on drinks and giving sound bytes to anchors. |
Media booths were set up and
the colour that grabbed one was blue, in the tradition of Idol shows
that take place in over 30 countries.
Alamgir was shaking hands with
Mustafa Zahid, Sajjad Ali was chatting away with Ahmed Jahazneb, some artistes
were just chilling, waiting to go on and others were speaking with the media and
giving their take on Pakistan Idol.
As far as the concert goes,
the artistes list was massive. Jal, Fariha Parvez, Yasir Jawed, Khawar Jawad,
Ahmad Jahanzeb, Adeel, Rabi Peerzada, Roxen, Raeth, Shehzad Roy, Jawad Ahmad,
Fariha Parvez, Huma Khwaja and Nauman Khalid all came to lip-sync to a song or
two.
And the two hosts, Faisal Shah
and Mahira Khan did a fabulous job of keeping the crowd excited. Between the two
of them, Mahira was the crowd pleaser. On whichever side of the stage she would
go, the crowd would roar for her. Faisal Shah was also quite decent. Together
the two kept on coming stage in between performances and cracked jokes and yet
maintained a level of decency that was such a delight to see.
Jal came out of
their self-imposed exile and mouthed out new singles off their album. Amidst
their singing, the sound went out and a huge "booo" and "wooohhh" resonated
from the otherwise calmly seated audience and the gang of boys who stood in
all corners. On an instinct they screamed for Atif and Farhan said, "Mera
mike ki battery khatam ho gayi hai". The crowd wasn't fooled. Karachiites
make for the toughest audience and it couldn't have been truer that night.
But the silver lining for most performers was this: families. Families like
to sit and clap rather than dance, shout and roar, and they find DAT shows
quite acceptable. |
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The clear winners of the night
were: Khawar Jawad, the 'Bandeya' guy, who made a mark on
the music world after singing on the Khuda Kay Liye soundtrack. He took on the
mike and for some 30 seconds, he sang a capella, without any music. As he walked
onto the stage singing, Karachi welcomed him with open hearts. Soon his vocal
magic was replaced by tape. Khawar Jawad is easily one of the most promising
singers on the block and with an album in the making, it seems Khawar is set to
conquer.
Similar was the response to
Ahmad Jahanzeb, who is responsible for singing a major chunk off the KKL
soundtrack. He came and Karachi roared for him. But he was like all others
lip-synching. Another crowd pleaser was veteran Jawad Ahmad. Who doesn't know
the beats of 'Jind Jan Sohniye'? As that song was played, people enjoyed
themselves thoroughly.
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In other
performances, Rabi Peerzada and Huma Khwaja were the entertaining
highpoints. And more than their music, it was them with a few dancers
onstage, confident and grooving women that really caught attention. But even
as they received cheers, it was Annie who Karachiites, especially "the boys"
wanted to see. Annie is a star even though Rabi is a far better singer. Such
is the world of pop. And it was the clique of boys who remains Annie's
devoted followers. After almost every performance, they shouted out Annie's
naming, hoping she might come on. She never did.
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Roxen and Shehzad Roy also
received warm welcomes. When Shehzad came for 'Sali', Karachi boys and girls
grooved with him and sang to Roxen's 'Tera Mera Rishta' that has become one of
the annoyingly addictive ditties around these days.
The other singing diva, all
set to experiment with her next album, Fariha Parvez held her own with her hew
funky track, 'Tu Aa Meray Pas'. Had she been live, it would've added more charm
and energy to this performance.
The lack of live music made
the night somewhat disappointing. Most musicians would've loved to go live but
when a show is recorded for television, they end up lip-syncing to avoid sound
glitches. With Pakistan Idol, this will change. Live singing is a staple of the
Idol format.
Pakistan Idol will bring
forward raw talent that Pakistan has in abundance. Idol has not just created
musical icons, it has created success stories. Indian Idol has struggled because
there is Voice of India and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa airing on other channels and the
audience is divided. One is confident that Pakistan Idol will be different. We
have no counter shows as massive as Idol yet.
The playing field is open…
jeet lo dil!