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personally, i found ali asad's attitude to be quite negative which made him less likable. every time he got criticism, he would fold his arms and pinch his lips as if it was a personal assault on him. it got pretty irritating by the end. i didnt feel moved by his singing also and hadiqa pointed out that calculated aspect to his style.

asad abbas did sing pop songs and bhangra songs as well and everything he did, he did well. with the crore rupees contract, he has a great chance to use that as a springboard to start his career. when somebody can sing classical with such great skill, pop is just halwa for them because it is so basic.

if the idea was to choose who is the most likely to have the most successful pop career, haroon would have been the runaway winner there- he's the most good looking plus he already composes music too.

well if you want another annie or jal type name to come out of the industry aima or ali assad wouldve been a better choice.. if you want someone along the lines of Rahat Fateh Ali khan or Shafqat Amanat Ali khan to be the next young star of Pakistan I think the program made the right choice...

Personally speaking I like the idea of pakistan being represented by real talent, not someone whose appearence is the cause of their stardom. Such an icon would be forgotten in a few years....

Haroon had a painfully limited vocal range... anything in the upper octaves and his voice would change... he didnt belong in the last 4..

hopefully they have new hosts for the next one.. if she said awww one more time i wouldve broken my screen...

hehe, yeah the hosts were pretty irritating. haroon wasnt a strong singer but he was something of an audience favorite and thats what got him in the top 4. he was also the one who was most willing to bring out his own personality by changing arrangements of songs and that creativity element also helped him.

There is no doubting that Ali Asad had a major attitude issue throughout the competition. I didn't like him at first...but you had look beyond that to see that he is actually a pretty decent singer despite his shortfalls. And since he did make it to the top 2...there must be something the public & judges saw in his ability. While Assad abbas is no doubt a great singer, the best of the lot, when you think of him u just don't think pop...u think classical...and those can be two very different things. So, it will all depend on what route this contract takes him in extracting the pop star out of him, if it's there.


Yes, if we are looking for the next shafqat or rahat (which to be honest is pretty damn difficult to become)...assad abbas is no doubt the right choice. Question is...is that what our 'pop' industry is about? Those two do not define pop as we have known it, in my opinion, though they are fabulous singers. It's people like atif aslam, ali zafar, strings, haroon, fakhir, jal, junoon, noori etc. that define our pop music and they come nowhere close to touching the technical abilities of shafqat and rahat. But maybe we need a change...so assad abbas 'may' bring more of that classically trained freshness to the current music scene...

Haroon fit the bill perfectly for the title and that is who I wanted to see win because I felt he is the kind of person the pop industry is looking for, and not because he's good looking, but because he's talented and determined, and I have no doubt that he will be the most successful of the lot regardless of how far he got.

The disappointing thing was that he wasn't the favourite when you look at the voting patterns alone. The reason he was able to make it to the top 4 was because of the power the judges got in the latter part of the show to decide who got eliminated...and thanx to that he stayed. Barring one episode, Haroon was always in the danger zone week after week, which lead to him being eliminated earlier in the show and brought back through wildcard. It baffled me why that was the case, but he just didn't get the votes. He has the confidence, the style sense, an unconventional voice and the creative edge...all which will contribute to taking him places in this industry.

I wish all these contestants lots of luck. I'm sure we'll hear all of them at some point. Tahir Naeem already has his first video done and ready to go supposedly. So it's time to sit back and enjoy their efforts.

I guess to each his own.. I still think being technically proficient makes a singer more enjoyable.. i would hate to see pakistan music scene taken over by annies, atifs and jals while Mekaal hassan band etc remain obscure...

^ 'unfortunately' that is what the reality is...we've never been about classically oriented singers...that's just the fact...and our music industry has always been all about these kinds of pop stars. Being classically trained is an awesome thing but our pop has just never been about that. As I said, maybe it's time for change...but you cannot deny that most of our generation listens to the kind of pop you are hoping doesn't take over (even when it already has). Classical singers have to incorporate pop to make it big in this industry because churn out a completely 'classical' album and you will shrink your market 10 fold, and so I think it's brilliant that people like AJ, Shafqat/Fuzon etc. have tried to bring about change in the industry by fusing their classical abilities with pop. Our pop is all about the vital signs, nazia hasans, hadiqas, junoons, strings, noories, abrars, joshs, calls, atifs, fakhirs and jals...and that's just the reality of it all. And frankly, I don't have any problem with this reality, because we are what we are and our pop music continues to make us proud!

PSI's first icon, Asad Abbas, on Indus Vision this Sat-Sun @ 8:00 p.m.

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Asad Abbas becomes the 1st ever Pakistan Sangeet Icon

Uzma Zafar

Though it was pretty obvious that Asad Abbas was the best amongst the rest but when his name was announced as the winner of the 1st ever Pakistan Sangeet Icon title, one’s mind couldn’t believe that yeah, it was happening! Having seen too many biased reality shows like Indian Idol for that matter where Amit Paul stands out but in the end, Prasand is given the Indian Idol title! However, Pakistan Sangeet Icon has been justified all through and as it was up to the judges to make the big decision, so Asad Abbas rightly took on the PSI title along the Rs.1 Crore music contract and a car! All the singer celebrities were called onstage to welcome the latest singing talent of Pakistan!

The Grand Finale began with the judges’ take on the show. Mikaal Hassan termed the overall journey as unexpected, with a variety of 12 main contestants, having a flow for folk, bhangra, semi-classical, pop-rock and classical, having interest in separate genres of music and being aware of it as well. Muhammad Ehsan Pappu, when jovially asked about his snide comments, stated that they naturally came out of his mouth on someone who was good at his singing but did not sing up to it, in some round or the other. Ali Haider, on the other hand, appreciated the Indus TV Network for taking the initiative of setting up such a great talent hunt, giving the platform for budding talent to grow while rewarding one outstanding singing with a Rs.1Crore contract!

The celebrity guests at the occasion remained Strings, Jawad Ahmad, Mishi Khan, Humayun Saeed, Fakhir, Haroon, Adnan Siddiqui, Hiba Ali (actress), Suroor Band, Suhail Javed (filmmaker), Jalal (video director), Nazia Malik, Raeth Band, Adbul Sammad (designer), fashion designers; Huma and Minaal Lakhani (Milabis) and lots more! The contestants who were seen sucking away lollypops on the Red Carpet aired on Saturday, were seen this Sunday performing onstage. A.Samad had done the wardrobe of the guys while Malabis had taken care of the gal contestant wardrobes, the latter being decent as compared to the former which was a bit too colourful and conspicuous for the male contestants. For a change, the contestants sang though for the last time at PSI but not as they were getting eliminated but in support of the winner and would’ve been relieved for the fact that they were not getting judged, at least not by the judges, just the audience!

Tahir Naeem from Peshawar started off with Garaj Baras and it seemed that he had rehearsed well as a lot of improvement was seen in his performance. M.Afzal followed, entertaining the audience with his flawless, Abrar-like singing, as always, with his Tenun Eko Gul Kehni Ae. Roop Raza sang Bolo Bolo followed by Sohaib Hassan with his own version of Purani Jeans. Both were simply o.k., Roop better in fact! Vicky & Sunny sang and performed at Nein Se Neinon Ko Mila and were great as expected. Daanish Farhan came next and sang Dekha Jo Meine Tujhe and was just o.k. Ehsan Asees was unfortunately just o.k. as he sang Honton Ke Saagar and one expected much more from him. Aima Iqra sang Kehnde Nein Naina and was average while Haroon Shahid was great in his Pyar Di Ganderi Choop Le

Asad Siddiqui; owner of Dedicated Records, was invited onstage who announced that he would be releasing the album of the 1st ever contestants of Pakistan Sangeet Icon. He promised to hold numerous concerts of all the 12 contestants in various parts of North America. It is pertinent to mention here that the 12 contestants might have started off as separate individuals but Pakistan Sangeet Icon has given them new identities and set of names that they would proudly carry along their names, all their lives. Asad Abbas would always be known as the 1st Pakistan Sangeet Icon, M.Afzal as Jhang’s Raja, Vicky & Sunny as the Dynamic Duo, Daanish Farhan as the English singer, Haroon Shahid as the pop star and Ali Asad the stud, to name few. And just as titles are given out to the pass-outs at college, PSI fondly gave the awards for Best Vote Appeal to M.Afzal, best excuse to Haroon Shahid, Drama Onstage to Asad Abbas and Best Retake Onstage to Tahir Naeem, replaying the stolen moments that split the audience into fits of laughter. The judges’ comments entitled ‘Forgettable Moments’ were replayed as well, entertaining the masses some more!

Asad Abbas sang after he was declared the PSI King; Neenon Ki Mat Suniyo as Ali Haider sat there with his mouth open in applause and Jawad Ahmad, ever so immersed in the song, as if they were transported back in their youthful years though are still young of course! Asad Abbas couldn’t say much as he was overjoyed with delight. He said that he was glad that he had finally fulfilled his mom and his own dream, of becoming the 1st ever Pakistan Sangeet Icon! Ghazanfar; CEO of the Indus TV Network, expressed his views that when he noted around him that 3-4 music channels had come up, playing the same kind of Pakistani music, he got the idea of promoting new talent and presenting fresh faces through a talent hunt which was far better than the contemporaries, putting the skepticism of the masses to rest, once and for all, that there was no music talent in Pakistan while also proving why Indians admit of our music talent far better than theirs and why they keep requesting our singers to sing backstage for them. And to say the least, it was worth the effort!

Usman Munir; Brand Manager for Head & Shoulders; Proctor & Gamble Limited elaborated, on the other hand, the link between the show and his brand, saying that wherever there was spotlight, there was Head & Shoulders. It was a pity that Asif Ali Babar and Ali Asad did not get to sing in the show but seeing the amount of tension on the faces of all the 3 finalists prior to the result, it would’ve been practically impossible for them to perform just then. All the contestants got to sing the songs they had already sung in various rounds of PSI which made the Grand Finale a success perhaps! Black, Silver, Red and Dust remained the colour scheme at the show. Though one wanted PSI never to end, but as all good things finally come to an end, so did the show and in the end, all the 12 contestants sang the title song of Pakistan Sangeet Icon which seemed pre-recorded, putting everyone in the most excited as well as blue mood though Ali Safina and Ayesha Omer promised that PSI would soon be back with it’s next season while Mikaal hoped that the next time around, there would be a tough tie between the 3 finalists and the result would not be quite the expected!

link: The Daily Mail - Daily News from Pakistan - Newspaper from Pakistan

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