What is wrong with being the Justin Bieber of Pakistan?

Teenage singer Asim moots ‘Coke Studio stint’, opens up on being branded as rip-off

KARACHI:

Right around the time when YouTube was breathing its last in Pakistan, a boy in his mid teens began taking the compliments he was continually receiving for his vocal ability seriously. With help from a few friends who had DSLRs and his older brother who made studio access a pushover, the same boy uploaded a few cover songs on social media and then woke up from the slumber only when popular songwriter Ed Sheeran himself gave the seal of approval to the boy’s attempt at revisiting his hit track A Team.

That boy was Asim Azhar, a harmless kid around the block of Pakistani music who gathered a great number of followers and naysayers in little time. With his accent game on point, he was a never-seen-before brand in the industry who was singing English numbers and Urdu, Punjabi classics simultaneously, with equal ease.

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The brand clicked instantly with people of his own age bracket and Asim became what he is today. A little over two years have passed since. He has appeared in South Asia’s biggest music show, Coke Studio, with a song that has racked up over 1.3 million views since its release. “Hina ki Khushbu has to be my biggest achievement so far,” he tells The Express Tribune, with an evident trace of pride in his voice. He was approached by Strings when he was on tour in the US which he cut short without giving it a second thought. “I didn’t want to lose out on the opportunity. I was briefed about my song and was given the liberty to write my own lyrics,” he says. The Noor Jehan tribute did pay off. Although he agrees that the whole ‘tribute/cover’ thing has gone overboard on the whole, he continues, “but it indeed has revived classics. The newer lot knew little about them earlier.”  He finds no shame in admitting that he himself is one of those. “I was influenced by Western music. I always admired artists like Timberlake, Michael Jackson and Chris Brown. I thought why not make the same music here,” he says, adding that deviation helped him cement his own identity.

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Had he not done that, he would never have broken through in an industry where every second person is following age-old methods.“If they say I am the localised version of Justin Bieber, it’s actually a compliment and there is nothing wrong with it.” Asim feels those who criticise, in fact associate him with those who are genuinely talented.

He adds that it surprises him when he is called a burger bacha who has contacts in the industry. “I hail from a very humble background.” Asim quips that it is only the boys who needlessly pour scorn on him. “In these 2.5 years, I have toured the US thrice and UK once. I played at the BBC London Mela, Wembley etc. Had I not been talented, this wouldn’t have happened.” Asim goes on to say that, although aware of his limitations, he knows for a fact that he does not sing off-key.

The teen sensation who will turn 19 in a few days has all the plans to pursue music as a career. “Despite all my professional commitments, I did not abandon my books and just completed my intermediate,” he says.

It all started for Asim when the video of him singing at a cousin’s wedding was uploaded on Facebook in 2011. Having released only singles and covers so far, Asim says a studio album will be out by 2016. The album will comprise both his released singles and more original tracks that he feels might help the cynics understand him better. “I am working on an OST and another single these days. They will be released this year.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2015.

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