Tag: Pakistani singers

  • ‘We wanted to end Strings at its peak’: Bilal Maqsood opened up about the decision that rocked Pakistan

    On March 25, 2021, Strings announced that after a successful run for 33 years, they had decided to break up the band, with members Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood going their separate ways.

    The decision broke hearts across the subcontinent, as fans grappled with the end of the band they had grown up listening to.

    Now, Bilal Maqsood has opened up about why the decision to end ‘Strings’ was difficult but necessary. He said that because both him and Kapadia wanted to end the band with good memories rather than being cast out of the limelight with disgrace:

    “We were incredibly happy to end ‘Strings’ because the respect we wanted our band to have was our top priority. Both of us had discussed prior to our announcement that if we would ever end the band, we’ll do it at the peak of our career, rather than dragging it on to a point that people beg us to leave and retire.”

    Maqsood made a reference to other members of the sports and music industry, especially senior officials who grow vastly unpopular with audiences because of their denial of the fact that they could lose their fanbase

    “We had noticed this with the sports and music industry, with senior officials who remain in a sort of denial that they could never be unpopular, and since they’ve been here longer they deserve respect from the public. We never wanted ‘Strings’ to go out of the public this way, so we decided that it’s best to end this before that happens. Lockdown provided us with the perfect opportunity because that’s when things began to stagnate, concerts weren’t happening so it was a good opportunity to end with good memories with our fans.”

    Maqsood went on to thank the fans who had kept the band popular for 33 years since they began and promised that even though they had gone on their separate ways, he will have a lot of respect for Faisal Kapadia and wished him the best of luck with everything in his life.

    Maqsood also assured his fans that he was still making more music, and soon they will see other projects that he is working on come to light.

    Listen to his complete video here:

  • Singer Annie Khalid slammed by Twitter for calling Malala ‘puppet of the West’

    Singer Annie Khalid, an icon of our childhood music scene, had given Pakistani audiences such hits as ‘Mahiya’ or ‘Princess’ but looks like not everything that is old is gold. Because now Khalid is getting slammed by social media users for making a controversial statement about education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai.

    In reply to a random post which had asked users to share an opinion they found controversial, Khalid thought she should provide an opinion that is not only outrageous but also insensitive.

    “That Malala is a puppet of the west,” the singer tweeted.



    Twitter users were horrified, asking what exactly had Malala done to prompt such bullying from Khalid? Malala has not made any such comments about Imran Khan, aside from calling him out for his racist views on Pathans, so why solely target her for living in the West because of the threats on her life?

    Twitter users demanded that Khalid apologize, shedding light on the fact that Malala had made more efforts to speak up on the rights of Pakistani women than Khalid had ever done.

    “Don’t embarrass your self Taliban Apologist she resist Taliban brutality she talks about girl’s education you are a nobody like your leader who is taliban apologist who bought Taliban back In KPK shame on you mirasi”

    https://twitter.com/SerotoNiLL/status/1637518625123737601?s=20

    Some actually found it hilarious and ironic that Khalid is going after Yousafzai for living in the UK
 when she actually lives in the UK as well.

    Some were even compared the achievements Malala continues to make while Khalid can’t say the same

    “Girl has one good song in her kitty and audacity check karo buss”

    https://twitter.com/yourdoriangray/status/1637708751439380483?s=20

    We can’t say anything else other than how deeply embarrassing it is to witness a woman flinging accusations on another woman, just because of difference of political beliefs. We sincerely hope that Pakistani celebrities would learn some decorum and stop dissing other women by distorting facts and through sheer bullying.

  • Aima Baig files Rs100 million lawsuit against FMH Pakistan for spreading misinformation

    Aima Baig files Rs100 million lawsuit against FMH Pakistan for spreading misinformation

    Singer Aima Baig has shared on Instagram that she was suing the online celebrity tabloid ‘FMH Magazine’ for spreading misinformation and fake news about her for the sake of likes and traction.

    “This is high time when we should stand against yellow journalism and fake reporting (which is only done for the sake of comments and likes). I have had it enough so here I am standing up for myself and many others to become their next prey.”

    The ‘Washmallay’ singer then shared clips of the defamation notice she has sent to FMH Pakistan for posting a story that was “false, untrue, malicious and highly defamatory.”

    In the next clip, the legal notice read:
    “Being a digital and print media/ news company, you are required under the law to be truthful, honest, correct and highly responsible for the public posts/ stories/ statements / articles/ news you publish…It is evident that the scandalous and false and defamatory statement you have attributed to my client is explicitly intended to harm her reputation and to malign her before the public, for the monetary gain you are getting from clicks, views, comments and shares of your scandalous news..”

    In the last clip, the news organization was directed to pay Rs 100 million for the damages made by their misinforming post, as well as upload a written apology within 48 hours on the receipt of this notice.

  • ‘Sharam karo’: Aima Baig slams FHM magazine for misinformation

    ‘Sharam karo’: Aima Baig slams FHM magazine for misinformation

    Aima Baig called out FHM, an online celebrity magazine, for spreading incorrect information about her and lectured them on the importance of fact checking before publishing stories.

    FHM had published a story about a re-surfaced interiview in which they claimed Baig had said that she had a crush on her elder brother, who was seven years senior to her.

    Baig commented underneath the post, stating that she was horrified because she had never said such a thing.

    “What in the actual f**k is that????
    I never said anything stupid like that wth!
    Kuch to sharam kar lo yaaar. Like seriously is this really something we should be talking about, clearly not knowing how sensitive is this topic.”

    On her own Instagram page, Baig revealed that her publicist had sent her the FHM post. She said she was dissapointed by ‘yellow journalism’.

    “Usually I don’t come forward to clarify my statement but this post caught my attention when my publicist sent this post. I am utterly disguisted by this yellow journalism by @fhmpakistan. What creepy, shameless ideology they are sharing across. I don’t know if they are spreading some shameless agenda but atleast don’t make me a part of this. I literally wanna throw up…like seriously..kuch bhi for views. I mean seriously WORK HARD OR LEAVE ME ALONE. Shame on you guys. Like big time.”

    Baig also clarified that the story was not true, and shared the link to the interview where she had actually said that her crush was her elder brother’s best friend, when she was ten years old.

    Baig also demanded an apology from the online website for spreading degrading information about her:

    “I demand a public apology for such heinous and vile accusation on me. And erase all these unwanted, peevish posts about this unprofitable and absurd news.”

  • Is Shae Gill planning on acting in Pakistani dramas?

    Is Shae Gill planning on acting in Pakistani dramas?

    Shae Gill became the breakout star of 2022 after Pasoori, her debut duo with Ali Sethi on Coke Studio, dazzled listeners across the globe. She is now singing at international concerts and has become an Equal Ambassador for Spotify.

    So what’s next for the singing sensation? We have seen Pakistani singers making their way to the big screen or television, like Atif Aslam, who had starred in the film ‘Bol’ and then ‘Sang-e-Mah’. Will Gill be following in on their footsteps?

    In an interview with Aamna Haider Isani, Gill revealed that she did receive offers to act in dramas and play the role of asinger, but she rejected it.

    “If the script would have been nice then I would have been ok..” she admitted.

    Later on in the interview, Gill agreed that a lot of Pakistani singers have decided to perform as actors, but she will only do so if she finds a good script:

    “My generation doesn’t really watch dramas all that much. We do, but very few. I’ve seen Udaari, I’ve seen Humsafar, a little bit of Bhaagi
they were outstanding..But if a good script comes along, then I could try.”

    Listen to the full interview below:

  • Famed Baloch folk singer Wasu Khan passes away

    Famed Baloch folk singer Wasu Khan passes away

    Famed Baloch singer Wasu Khan passed away Friday morning. According to his family, the singer was suffering from a prolonged illness and was admitted to a private hospital in Sukkur where he died.


    Khan was known for his collaborations with pop singer Shehzad Roy for the show ‘Wasu Aur Mein’ on Geo which explored how the two met. Roy first stumbled across Wasu’s viral Youtube video in 2012 and then began collaborating on songs with him.


    The ‘Laga Re’ singer dedicated a post to Khan and called him someone with ‘great political intellect’, and shared a clip of their song ‘Apney Uloo’.


    “Wasu Khan passed away this morning. He was unable to read and write, but had great political intellect and wrote political satire. We will miss him. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un #WasuKhan”

  • IN PICTURES: Ali at the red carpet of TIME100 Next Gala

    IN PICTURES: Ali at the red carpet of TIME100 Next Gala

    Pakistani musician Ali Sethi has shared pictures from the red carpet of TIME100 Next Gala that took place on Tuesday. Sethi wore a gender neutral dress.


    In September he shared that he has been featured in the TIME100 Next list after churning out a global chartbuster in the form of Coke Studio Season 14’s Pasoori.


    “Proud to be included in the 2022 TIME100 Next list — that too with a write-up from guru Amitav Ghosh. [In] this old-world portrait of me by Umar Nadeeem, I am wearing ZN ALI and looking pyaar-se [lovingly] at the pre-colonial past,” he wrote on his Insta while sharing the news.


    ‘Pasoori‘ has been written by Sethi and Fazal Abbas, while the composition has been done by Sethi and Zulfiqar J Khan, popularly known as Xulfi. The music has been produced by Abdullah Siddiqui and Xulfi.

  • Is Britney Spears hooked to Pasoori? Celebrities react

    Is Britney Spears hooked to Pasoori? Celebrities react

    Singer Britney Spears took to Instagram and shared a reel of a button-dosa preparation with the song Pasoori playing in the background. 

    Celebrated singer Britney Spears made Desi followers blissful when she shared an Instagram reel of a button dosa preparation made by an influencer. The video had the favored music Pasoori within the background. Followers have been overjoyed to see the put up and flooded the video with feedback, saying that it was ‘satisfying to observe’. The music Pasoori has been sung by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill.

    Zulfiqar Jabbar a.k.a Xulfi expressed his gratitude on the transnational popularity of his song as he is heading the coke studio 14 this year.

    Indian Comedian Varun Grover took to Instagram and shared the video on his Tales with the caption, “Britney Spears making Button dosa to the music of Pasoori is the type of international citizen liberals need.”

    READ MORE: Pasoori’: What do the lyrics of the Coke Studio song mean?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K8FJ6o2QGw&t=206s
  • Video: When legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan reacted to Bollywood copying his songs

    Legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a powerhouse vocalist, musician, composer and music director, primarily known for his qawwali. He has been an inspiration to many musicians across the globe.

    While Khan is widely credited for introducing qawwali music to the international audience, he has also had a big impact on contemporary South Asian popular music, including Bollywood music.

    The Shahenshah-e-Qawwali once opened up about music composers copying his music. He even took names of composers Anu Malik and Viju Shah.

    While interacting with Zee TV a few decades ago, Khan was asked about Indian music directors, who were inspired by his work. Responding to the question on who he thought made the ‘best copy’ of his songs and deserved the ‘best copy award’, the Pakistani musician said, “Not best copy, they have done good work. Viju Shah has done well. Anu Malik has also copied me well.

    Bollywood has often been called out for plagiarising Khan’s songs.

    Hindi cinema has been accused of adapting and copying NFAK’s qawwalis and songs a few of which include, Mera Piya Ghar Aya, Kitna Pyara Tujhay Rab Ne Banaya’ which happened to be a rip-off NFAK’s song ‘Kina Sona Tenu Rab Ne Banaya’ and another ‘Mujhe Ek Pal Chain Na Awe’ from the film Judaai that happened to be a copy of ‘Sanu Ek Pal Chain Na Awe’ by the legend himself.

  • Living legends Abida Parveen, Naseebo Lal’s ‘Tu Jhoom’ is magic, fans go crazy

    Living legends Abida Parveen, Naseebo Lal’s ‘Tu Jhoom’ is magic, fans go crazy

    Living legends of Pakistan music industry Abida Parveen and Naseebo Lal have opened the 14th season of Coke Studio with an extravagant song “Tu Jhoom.” The song has sent excited fans on a listening spree while they have gone crazy about it.

    The opening lines are sung by the folk queen Lal, followed by the Sufi maestro Parveen. “As we start on this new journey, we ask you to celebrate life,” read the official caption of the song.

    This year, Coke Studio is produced and curated by music composer Xulfi. Written by Adnan Dhool, “Tu Jhoom’s” music is arranged and produced by Xulfi and budding artist Abdullah Siddiqui.

    This time, Xulfi (Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan) has also used artists, who are performing on the melodious song and powerful vocals of the music queens Lal and Parveen.

    Twitter is flooded with praise and applause for the two veterans.

    The superstar of Pakistan Mahira Khan thanked the legendary singers on Twitter.

    Taking to Twitter, actor Shaan Shahid wrote: “Well done Coke Studio
 the poetry is like journey.. Naseebo lal a traveler.. and Abida jee the Sufi Guide.”

    Similarly, singer Hadiqa Kiani took to Twitter and wrote: “Never knew my soul needed the powerhouse duo of Abida Parveen and Naseebo Lal together. Absolutely breathtaking. Cannot wait to hear more from this season of@cokestudio.”

    While many showered their love on the powerhouse duo.

    Check out the song here: