Finally the most awaited episode is here. I must say the way they have complied all those short VT’s & some amazing performances in the presence of some great guest judges was amazing. No other way to wrap the season with perfection.
Tina Sani was graceful unlike her certain age-fellow who was OTT as always. Tina Sani’s presence was gracious & the way she dedicated her song ‘Bahar Aai’ to the contestants with her gestures was beautiful. She is a senior artist & she acted like one. Sajjad Ali is Sajjad Ali & his unplugged version of ‘Tumhe Pyaar Mujhse Nahi Hai’ was a treat to listen to. He is just so humble & down to earth that even after performing brilliantly he was conscious whether the audience’d like his performance or not. After Ali Azmat Sajjad Ali is the only one who has acknowleged the band & their contribution to the show. It was a perfect episode with some fantastic performances.
The contestants had to perform a medley first & then a solo song. Shoaib’s explaination for the song selection for the medley was that he wanted to show his serious side to the audience followed by something lively to make his performance memorable. Zamad’s justification for choosing folk songs for his medley was that he wanted to show the younger generation that folk songs can be experimented with & he wanted to bring them back in the limelight.
The commentary on the performances is as follows:
Mohammad Shoaib (MS) of Peshawar performed NFAK’s ‘Sun Charkhay Di Mitthi Kook’ & Mika Singh’s ‘Sawan Mai Lag Gai Aag’ as a medley. He sang the very first song soulfully & the second one with the exact feel that was the crux of the song. Hadiqa Kiyani said she loved his performance & commented on the energy he carried. She said the first song was difficult & the second one had him doing his signature actions & in totality she loved both the songs. Ali Azmat said it was an enjoyable performance & he loved how Shoaib chose two different genres & performed them together. Tina Sani again was impressed how he performed two different genres together where she felt in one performance he had that substance that was needed whereas the other one was energy-packed. Bushra Ansari commented that she was really happy with Shoaib’s performance & appreciated his take on the sargam this time but she felt that the first song should’ve been a bit more slow for her to enjoy the real emotion behind but she said the second one was flawless. Sajjad Ali said that the first song had a composition of his own & Shoaib’s improvisation was good when he did it once but the way he kept on doing it again & again, it made it look like the improvisation was the actual composition which was not but other than that he sang it really nice. He said that the second song didn’t give away much of his singing skills but it showed the energy & the audience response to it which was amazing.
Zamad Baig (ZB) of Mandi Bahauddin performed Saein Akhtar’s ‘Tere Ishq Nachaya’ & Allan Faqeer’s ‘Tere Ishq Mein Jo Doob Gaya‘ as a medley. I personally liked the second song much better because he changed the feel of the first song & was running out of breath as well. Ali Azmat said that he has proved himself by his hard work & said that as usual both the songs suited his vocal tone. Sajjad Ali said that more or less both the songs belonged to the same genre & said that he can sing different sort of songs as well & by saying this he very subtly mentioned that Zamad needs to experiment & explore other genres as well. Tina Sani mentioned the same thing that both the songs belonged to the same genre but said that he has a powerful & soulful voice. Bushra Ansari said that she enjoyed but mentioned a technical issue his performance had. She spoke about the breathing issues Zamad had through out his performance & again said that he needs to choose songs from the other genres too. Hadiqa Kiyani said that she felt the breathing issue as well & 2nd song had a weak beginning but overall commented on the uniqueness of his voice.
Mohammad Shoaib (MS) of Peshawar performed Sukhwinder Singh’s ‘Lai Vi Na Gai’ as a solo song. It was truly a soulful performance & I was expecting a standing ovation from either of the judges but again this one being a slow song gave a margin to the judges for nitpicking. Sajjad Ali said he sang it like a professional singer & once again commented on the improvisation but he said he did justice to the song. Tina Sani disagreed with Sajjad Ali & said that if a singer is confident & comfortable about a certain change that he makes in the song than it’s perfectly fine & she like his performance. Bushra Ansari felt some issue with his notes. Hadiqa Kiyani agreed with Bushra Ansari & felt that his notes were weak certain times but other than that she also commented that Shoaib did justice to the song 95% & also stated that the actual singer in one-take wouldn’t be able to perform it this well too. Ali Azmat appreciated his song selection & he said Shoaib has impressed him a lot but this time the projection of the lower notes was weak but otherwise he liked his performance.
Zamad Baig (ZB) of Mandi Bahauddin performed NFAK’s ‘Allah Hu’ as a solo song. It was the strongest performance of Zamad in this round. Ali Azmat said that he sang it well & the stages of lower & higher notes in this songs were attempted beautifully but he felt that he was a bit forceful in some of the notes. Tina Sani said it was a very powerful performance but she told both the contestants about how they can control the breathing because she felt Zamad fell short of it by the end of his performance. Bushra Ansari commented that once again Zamad sang a song of the genre which he is comfortable with & felt that he had breathing issues in this performance as well. Hadiqa Kiyani said this is a beautiful Sufi melody & his performance had the feel of it perfect. Sajjad Ali said that this song suited his vocal tone & no doubt he sings this genre really well.
So this was it from the whole episode. Once again we all got to see who is a versatile singer & who isn’t. This time around even the judges including the guest judge Sajjad Ali spoke about Zamad’s song selection & the only genre he performs. I think Zamad had this last chance to hit the nail in the coffin but he didn’t avail the opportunity well. No doubt he sang his bits well but still I think he should’ve shown what he is capable of. In Zamad’s comparison I feel Shoaib stole the show because of his versatility.
I loved the funny bits they shared with us starting from the auditions of the finalists & then the commenting techniques of the judges. Ali Azmat’s VT was really funny & I am glad they didn’t ignore Hadiqa’s controversial hairstyles that have always remained under discussions. It was a humorous & enjoyable episode.
I loved Shoaib’s vote appeal where he clearly said that he is a Pakistani & not a Pathan, Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi. This is what we needed to hear because people have been categorizing Pakistan Idol as Sindh Idol, Punjab Idol or Pakhtun Idol, which certainly it isn’t. We need to appreciate our talent because by the end of the day they are representing us & our country. So, this is it, now we all are awating the final results. Let’s wait for the best that’s yet to come!!!
Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.
