Rockin' Us!

music poll - results

Yes, it's result time for our music poll! We asked you guys to vote for your favourite Pakistani artist/band and we would like to thank all of you who participated! Let Us give you an overview of what we saw. On the average, bands got more votes than solo artists. Rock music, in its many forms, seemed more 'in' than any other genre. And there's a tiny little thing that I couldn't help but notice: not even a single vote was cast for any of our female singers...not that I'm complaining, but, well, it's a sign!
So, before we give you the top five, here are some bands that deserve a special mention for coming oh-so-close:
- Aaroh
- [eP]
- Fuzon
- Jal
Should we get to the results now? Yeah, I could go on with my gibberish all day, but I'll spare you guys! Here are the top five Pakistani acts, as voted for by all of Us!

5. Junoon
Probably the biggest rock act of the sub-continent, Junoon have come a long way since they started off in the early 90s. With Ali Azmat on vocals, Salman Ahmed on guitar and Brian O' Connell on bass, this 'Sufi Rock' band from Pakistan is not only respected nationally but has also gained international recognition. And now, seven studio albums and multiple awards later, the group is still going strong. Here's hoping they keep making such fine music for many years to come.

4. Strings
With the release of 'Strings 2' (the follow up to their 1990 debut 'Strings') in 1992, the album that hosted the hit 'Sar Kiye Yeh Pahar', the Strings managed to make an impact on the Pakistani music scene, and even though the band disappeared for many years, their comeback in 2000 was more than noticed; it was felt. And now Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood are among the most valued musicians of the country.

3. Ali Zafar
Ali Zafar: singer, songwriter, artist, model, actor; this multitalented young lad has established himself in the industry in a very short period of time. His debut album 'Huqa Pani' has been one of the most successful albums to hit our music scene in the recent past and I've lost count of the number of weeks for which it has reigned the album charts. At the peak of its sales, the album was selling ten copies for one copy of any other Pakistani album! And, yes, Ali Zafar has been placed at number three according to all your votes. Here's what the very modest star had to say:"Third out of 1.3 million, I'm content :)"No wonder you all love him so much!

2. Mizraab
Faraz Anwar (vocals, guitar), Jamal Mustafa a.k.a Jamie (rhythm), Faraz Arshad (bass) and Irfan Ahmed (drums) make up Mizraab, one band that sure has a very loyal fan following. Upon being placed second in our poll, Faraz Anwar said, "We are very happy...it's great news!" and Jamie added, "That's good news for us I guess. What else can I say. I'm surprised. Since no one really wants any thing to do with us from concert promoters to TV channels. Not bad."Yeah guys, not bad at all!

1. Noori
And the winners are *drum roll* Noori!! Ali Noor, Ali Hamza, Mohammad Ali Jafri and John Louis 'Gumby' Pinto, the foursome who have been rocking this country since the release of their hit debut album 'Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan' have been crowned as your favourite Pakistani act according to all your votes!So we told the lads they'd won our poll and here's the word we got from the noori camp:"All we can say is that it is a great feeling...we must thank all our fans or rather our greatest supporters and we hope to make music that will win their hearts for all times to come...InshAllah."

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News - 7th May, 2004