KARACHI:
At the end of 2013, The Express Tribune compiled a list of 10 Pakistani songs that left an impact on the music industry and on the listners. The list included songs from legends such as Sajjad Ali and Strings to up-and-coming musicians like Asrar and The Sketches.
After the list was compiled, a poll was conducted to determine the rankings of the songs according to our reader’s choice and here’s the list of the songs according to your rankings.
1 It was no surprise that Sajjad Ali’s soothing number Har Zulm retained the number one song of the year spot after the polls. He received a whopping 41% of the total votes which was twice the amount of votes the second best song of the year received. Such is the aura and musical ability of the singer that even if he sings a nursery rhyme it would probably end up as one of the most melodious songs of the year on many people’s Top 10 list.
2 Zohaib Kazi’s Black Coffee Khwabon Mein emerged as the real dark horse in the race. The song which finished as number six on our own list jumped four places to take the number two position on the public poll. The song, which may be considered as a tribute to Pakistani pop scene of the 90s, was packed with stars such as Abbas Ali Khan, Gumby and Omran Shafique.
3 Possibly the biggest revelation on the list was the song Main Sufi Hoon by the Jamshoro-based The Sketches. The song which was number 10 on our list was probably the greatest beneficiary of the audience polls and reached the coveted number three position on the list.
4 Despite criticism, former producer of Coke Studio Rohail Hyatt fizzled out of the show with a hit or two. One of which was the song Laili Jaan by Coke Studio veterans Zeb & Haniya.But the rendition of the Darri folk song was not enough for the audiences as the song dropped one place to the number four position.
5 Faraz Anwar’s Tension mixed Bhangra with a rock groove impressing the audiences the right amount to weasel into the top five songs for the previous calendar year.
6 The fact that not one but two songs from Pakistani movies managed to make it into the top 10 should come as a sigh of relief for audiences. Like the movie, which almost managed to make it to the Academy Awards, the song almost sneaked into the top five. The Punjabi folk song, Paar Chana Dae, which saw the pairing of virtually unknown Saleema Jawed with Arif Lohar narrowly, missed out on the number five position to Tension by just 7 votes.
7 What was rather shocking to see was that Pakistan’s most popular band, Strings, finished at number seven with their song Jeevan from Pepsi Smash. Despite being a trademark Strings song, Jeevan was a long way from some of their best work featured on their albums Duur, Dhaani and Koi Aanay Wala Hai.
8 The real surprise package of the year 2013 was Asrar’s song Waris Shah. The song became famous for Asrar’s raw vocals and his rendition of Amrita Pritam’s poem against minimal music arrangements. A major reason why the song ranked at number eight according to the audiences is because Asrar was relatively unknown back then.
9 Pariyaan by the Karachi-based Blues band, Bell. The song, which is a mellow number, was ranked number 5 on Tribune’s Top 10 list but experienced a drop in audience polls. This could be due to the slow and mellow nature of the song where it was competing with other upbeat songs.
10 Aakhir Kyun featuring vocals by Tanseer Dar of Karavan and produced by Nabeel Nihal (former Aaroh) finished at number 10 through the audience poll. The song, though impressive, did not have the same feel as that of other Karavan or Aaroh singles of the past.
Trivia:
A total of 3,992 votes were cast for the poll.
Tension outpaced Paar Chana Dae with 7 votes, denying it from a spot among the top five.
Sajjad Ali’s song Har Zulm garnered 41 per cent of the total votes.
Main Sufi Hoon jumped from number 10 to number 3, the highest shift in ranking.
Note: The Express Tribune will publish a similar list for the top 10 songs of 2014. You can vote for your favourite song here.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2014.
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