2005 - A look back

music in 2005

The year 2005 saw a lot of activity in our music scene, including some great new songs and videos. Not only did the Pakistani artists try to make their presence felt on the local canvas, but many of them also worked towards gaining international recognition. Here are some of the highlights of the year.

Albums
- Ali Azmat released his debut solo album 'Social Circus'. The videos of his songs 'Deewana', which was directed by Jami, and 'Na Re Na', directed by Saqib Malik, gained heavy rotation on music channels. Salman Ahmad also released his first solo effort, 'Infiniti', and the music video for his song 'Al Vida' became the first HIV/AIDS awareness music video ever released in South Asia.
- Call's debut album 'Jilawatan' was released in November. The album includes the songs 'Nishaan', 'Pukaar', 'Shayad', 'Sab Bhula Kay', and 'Bichar Kay Bhi', the videos for which are in the works. Call announced a lineup change earlier in the year, and Xulfi officially joined Junaid and Sultan as a member of the band.
- Noori's second album, 'Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Dunya' was released in September, and the album has yielded the videos for '(Kuttay) Te Tho Uttay' and 'Nishaan'.
- Other notable album releases included Shehzad Roy's album 'Buri Baat Hai' that hosted the song 'Sali', and Shiraz Uppal's 'Jhuki Jhuki' which has spawned the videos for the title track 'Jhuki Jhuki' and the song 'Bolay Mahi'.

Success
- The Strings won the 'Favourite Artist (India)' award at the MTV Asia Awards 2005, performed during the charity concert held at Mumbai as part of a fund raising telethon for the victims of the Asian tsunami, and released the videos of their songs 'Kahani Mohabbat Ki', 'Hai Koi Hum Jaisa', and 'Mera Bichara Yaar', all of which were directed by Umar Anwar. The band was appointed as UNICEF Pakistan's national ambassadors for HIV/AIDS, and performed in New York at the United Nations Secretariat to launch the global campaign 'Unite for Children. Unite Against AIDS'. The band also released the video for their new song 'Zinda Hoon'.
- Ali Zafar won the award for the 'Best Pop Music Album in Pakistan' at the Asian Bollywood Music Awards that were held in Dubai. Ali was also nominated for the MTV Style Awards in the 'Most Stylish Person in Music' category, and directed the video of his track 'Aik Pal'. He also performed at the Dubai Rain Dance Festival (and was the only Pakistani artist performing at the show), and in Norway, drawing one of the biggest Pakistani turnouts in the history of the country.
- Faakhir won the awards for 'Best Pop Singer' and 'Best Pop Song' for his track 'Mahi Ve' at the Sahara Sangeet Awards 2005 that were held in California. Atif Aslam won the 'Best New Voice' award for the song 'Woh Lamhey', and Jal won the 'Best Band' award.

Exports
- Atif Aslam's 'Bheegi Yaadain' appeared on the soundtrack of the Bollywood movie 'Zeher' for which he performed as a playback singer. His first international concert took place in Mumbai in May, and Atif also recorded a new version of 'Aadat' for the Indian movie 'Kalyug'.
- Jal released their debut album 'Aadat' in India.
- EP's album 'Irtiqa' was released in India. And the video for the song 'Irtiqa 3' also came out this year.
- And Ali Zafar also released his album, 'Huqa Pani', in India this year. He co-hosted the MTV Immies 2005 that were held in India last month.

Unity
- The 'Umeed-e-Seher' concert, a show organized for collecting funds for the victims of the earthquake that hit Pakistan on the 8th of October, was held in Lahore and featured performances by Jal, Call, Roxen, EP, and a special appearance by Ali Zafar.
- Salman Ahmad announced that the album sales from 'Infiniti' would go to the earthquake relief fund. His earthquake relief concert in Boston marked the first time a Pakistani artist had ever been invited to perform at the Harvard University.
- Faraz Anwar released the song 'Mere Khuda' which was dedicated to the quake victims.
- And many other artists including Fakhr-e-Alam, Abrar-ul-Haq, and Shehzad Roy, helped out greatly in the earthquake relief efforts.

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News - 6th January, 2006