LG ABS EPISODE 49 - 1st QUARTER FINAL

It’s the quarter finals!

And to throw the competition wide open, it’s Zain who walks up to the stage.

Contestant No. 01:
‘Bintee Karat Hoon’ is the one that Zain’s settled upon. Sung by Amanat Ali, the song has runnings of alaaps all through out it. Zain starts it off with a beautifully executed alaap, intertwined with audience appreciation. Zain’s folkish voice adds that extra flavor to this already spiced up South Asian melody. As he delves deeper into this gem of a track, he only gets better and better. Better alaaps, more better rhythm and an immaculate control over his pitch. The judges were impressed, an all round performance from Zain earns him both the favor and reward from the judges. This guy is a serious contender for the throne!

Contestant No. 02:
Next up is Abdul Ahad. Fresh from a long break before the quarter finals, Ahad has had enough time to practice and sharpen his tools. He sings ‘Men Tenu Samjhawan Ki’, a track from the latest Pakistani film ‘Virsa’, music for which is composed by ‘Jawad Ahemd’. Such a beautiful track! Ahad’s voice goes along with the nature of this song. Ahad softly & gently lifts the track up and gains control of it. Seems like all that time he’s been away is spent on practicing more and more. The judges response is a mix bag though, carrot and stick. Perhaps he could’ve done more with his body language to blend in a bit further with the track.

Contestant No. 03:
It’s Aima! The girl who rocked her way through to the quarter finals. She sang Hadiqa, she sang difficult Bollywood tracks and saw through tough competition from her peers. And she made it through! Earning high praises from Hadiqa, you could see the stars in her eyes every time she took that stage. This time round she settles upon taking on ‘Zindagi Main Kabhi Koi Aaye Na Rabba’, a song from the Bollywood film ‘Musafir’. ‘Musafir’ was labeled as a not so original film due to its resemblance to the storyline of another Hollywood cult classic but the soundtrack was not short of its own perks. In her trademark style, Aima starts the song off, stretching her left hand up front every now and then. Aima manages the track well and finishes it off with a bang too. The judges, who’re always a bit too kind to her, were not short of praises for her this time round as well.

Contestant No. 04:
It’s that boy with his countless hats! It’s Hamza! And this time round he’s praising a girl by saying ‘Tere Naina Tere Naina’, a track from the Bollywood film ‘My Name Is Khan’, sung by ‘Shafqat’. Hamza always manages to bring in a different flavor to the table and this time round he doesn’t fall short of it either. He engages the audience right from the beginning. A broad smile on his face vanishes away every time the track demands a serious touch to it and as soon as he deals with it, it hops back again. Hamza manages to lighten up the mood with a gentle tone, after Aima’s somber performance. The judges, who always appreciate what pleasant personality Hamza owns, don’t hold back this time either, and blend their constructive criticism along with it.

Contestant No. 05:
It’s that girl with the smoky voice, Alycia! And she sings a beautifully arranged composition by Amit Trivedi, ‘Ik Tara’. Taken from the film ‘Wake Up S!d’, the lyrics of the song gently lift your spirit up and thumps the sadness away. Alycia in her signature move gets right into the song and starts moving the audience with an enchanting voice, custom made for this kind of song. As the other contestants and the audience join her in the chorus, the song travels the sands of time like nothing. The judges kind of tilted towards liking the performance but not without a pinch of salt.

Contestant No. 06:
It’s time for the last contestant on this first quarter finals episode. It’s the ‘Engineer Babu’ – M. Ahad. The film is ‘Baiju Bawra’ (1952), the singer ‘Mohammad Rafi’, the Music Director ‘Naushad’ and the song is ‘Duniya Ke Rakhwale’. Singing Mohammad Rafi is a big deal and i.e. for any given contestant and M. Ahad is no exception. He will have to go through the mill to get this one right and put it in order. M. Ahad starts the song off in his usual soft manner. This song will surely test Ahad’s vocal chords. There is a legend attached to this song about when Mr. Rafi sang it, apparently he had a tough time recording it since it does really put stress on your sound box. M. Ahad musters a mix bag of feedback from the judges.