I must admit that I found this week of Pakistan Idol a bit better than the onsetting one. I know a few bits & bobs were still there which pulled the show from stirring the WOW factor but I am sure it is getting better.
This week the judges paid visits to Multan & Faisalabad for the auditions & some really good voiced surfaced. Before coming to those parts, I would once again raise an objection at the editing team of this show for using Indian Songs at the background to fit a certain situation or anyone’s selection. I am sure there are a numerous Pakistani songs which can definitely be used but to actually hear Indian songs in Pakistan Idol hardly speaks some sense. I really want to feel the touch of PAKISTANI music in Pakistan Idol but just because of the Indian songs in the background & even the Indian songs sung by the contestants, I am finding it hard to jump into the bandwagon of Pakistan Idol because till now it sounds more like Sub-continent Idol, they should’ve at least briefed the contestants for singing Pakistani songs but sad about that!
Another thing that really made me worried was the rudeness of the judges. Bushra Ansari proved herself in the first week that even though she has NO know-how of singing, she is here to revive her inner-conscience as one & she is going to give the contestants a hard time but to add to my woes, Ali Azmat seems to be taking the first place in being unnecessarily stern towards the contestants now. I know it’s a tough job to go out there & listen to thousands of people & for that you really need to keep your cool but at times I really felt that he & Bushra Ansari – both were quite rude & passed remarks which were uncalled for.
I found the Faislabad episode obviously better than the Multan one because in Multan auditions, more focus was on the humorous side & on those people who were there for time-pass. Not sure if they were paid actors or what but I know there are definitely a few people out there who suffer from a disease called ‘over-confidence’, so apart from that a few voices that surfaced brilliantly in Multan Auditions were Gopal Guddu Ram, Waqas Ali Vicky, Nadia Hashmi, these three got the Golden Tickets to Karachi but a few contestants are worth a mention here too. One of them was Dr. Mohammad Usman, who sang different songs with the guitar but without it, he sounded still better than many of them. I still believe that he should’ve gotten the ticket, if not for the final round, they should’ve at least selected him for the next round because he did have versatility which the judges keep speaking of.
One special guy who became a laughing stock was Naveed Ali who even sang the table of 2 in Urdu just because Ali Azmat asked him to. I am sheepishly ashamed to admit that I found that part way too funny & it left me in a laughter fit. That sort of humour was alright but I think it was now wrong on Naveed Ali’s part to actually appear in the auditions. LOL!
Ohkay so Faisalabadis shocked us with some awesome voices & those who got the Golden Tickets were Salman Cecil, Rimsha Noor, Mohammad Aijaaz, Ramzan Ali. They all were good but after listening to Aun Ali who happens to be the younger brother of Amanat Ali, I thought it was absolutely a wrong decision to let him go because his voice was just perfect. I really don’t understand what they are looking for because that guy had a complete knowledge of singing but according to Bushra Ansari he ran out of breath & hadn’t been practicing. I thought it was definitely a loss of Pakistan Idol to let a guy with that sort of a voice go & Hadiqa Kiyani’s remark on him was hideous where she thought he wasn’t taking his singing seriously, I must say he never sounded like one who didn’t take his singing seriously. In comparison to Aun Ali, I thought Rimsha Noor didn’t deserve to go to the next round at all. Maria Meer & Aqsa Rani both sounded nice too but yes their voice was one dimensional, hence, they didn’t make it through this round.
I am not convinced with the judges remarks at times because some people really sound good but are not qualified where as the other few really don’t sound that impressive but they get the Golden Ticket. They do say that they are looking for versatility so I think they must adopt the thing from Indian Idol where when the judges are not too sure of how much variety a contestant can offer, they make them sing 2 or at times 3 songs just to be sure & I think our Pakistani judges are being too hasty in giving the verdict here, plus I do really want to hear their remarks on the lines of technicality but the comments aren’t that convincing till now. Another thing that I noticed was, if Bushra Ansari is convinced with someone’s voice, she would try & influence the other two judges as well but if she ain’t convinced, she wouldn’t let them put forward their opinions too. I think if she is a senior in age, she shouldn’t act like a senior in singing too!
I’m taking Pakistan Idol for review every week because it would get a lot more interesting & I am sure people would have a lot to say about it in the coming weeks too. Do share who is your favorite so far. My favorites from Multan & Faisalabad are Nadia Hashmi & Ramzan Ali.
Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.