LG AWAAZ BANAEY STAR ROCKED PAKISTAN

MUQADDAS CROWNED AS LG STAR
PAKISTAN’S NEXT SINGING SENSATION

Muqaddas from Szabist seized the ultimate honor of LG Star and wins the grand prize worth Rupees five million

‘LG Awaaz Banaey Star’, Pakistan’s first ever student singing competition recently concluded on Geo TV. The competition had been highly entertaining and engaging with highest viewership ratings. Keeping the spirit of the competition high, the extravaganza had its thrills and excitement throughout, performances by all the participants were full of energetic vibes and participants tried their best to be crowned for country’s first ever ‘LG Star’. The show was produced by BBCL sponsored by LG Mobile.

The Grand Finale night was a real entertainment. A galaxy of leading film & TV stars and LG Mobile style & fashion walk by top models including Iraj, Rubab, Fauzia, Maha, Uzma & Ayesha sizzled the ramp with LG mobile handsets and added flair & color to the grand finale at which this glorious journey reached its zenith. The Grand Finale was very well conducted by Muzna & Tipu. All the guests praised the concept, the talent, anchors and the judges of the show. On this occasion the program director, Arshad Iqbal and the creative director Shahid Iqbal thanked Team LG Mobile, Team GEO, participating educational institutions, the students, their parents, the judges, the anchors, the guests and the entire team for their untiring efforts during the production of 55 episodes of LG Awaaz Banaey Star.

Arshad Iqbal also mentioned that BBCL is Mashallah the only company which has been successful in selecting and grooming the talent for music industry in Pakistan from educational institutions across the country. BBCL will continue the mission by further grooming the talent who could not make it to the final. BBCL also pledges to launch one song each for selected participants to encourage them and continue the journey. Conceptualization and production of LG ABS has been very interesting and rewarding for all and we look forward to more opportunities for the students of Pakistan. As it goes without saying that BBCL is all set to produce the album for Muqaddas, Pakistan’s next singing sensation, very soon.

The grand Finale was held at Karachi Expo Centre which was transformed into an arena one seldom experiences. The celebrities and guests including the legendary film & TV star Nadeem to Fatima Suraiyya Bajiya, one of the greatest writers South Asia has produced, Behroze Sabzwari, Shakeel, Qazi Wajid, Badar Khalil, Aisha Umer, Angeline Malik, Asad and Tanseer Dar of Karavan, Khalid of Aaroh and many others started pouring in on time. After an array of arrival drinks for the guests, a multi course dinner was served to the taste delights of the incomers. As they came out of the dining area, a red carpet awaited them, where the celebrities and the corporate guests were being interviewed by two of the brightest stars of contemporary generation of Pakistani TV hosts, Anoushey & Faizan.

Anoushey & Faizan’s light banter and interesting questions kept the red carpet alive. Hundreds of people took advantage of this opportunity and took photos with their stars. As you entered the main arena where the main stage was set, you are immediately struck by the vastness of the performance area, the size of the place and an impressive set design. The lighting effects in the hall gave the atmosphere an amazing aura and the sound system was state of the art. The seating arrangement was immaculately planned out and the audience were extremely enthralled.

Mr. C. S. Kim, LG’s Head of MEA Business Support Team in Mobile Communications Company, acknowledged the effort made by team LG & Team BBCl. He also mentioned that Pakistan is his second homeland. Fatima Suraiyya Bajiya and Pervez Iqbal Managing Director BBCL presented an award to Mr. C. S. Kim on taking the great initiative of launching Pakistan’s first and the biggest student singing competition.

As the film & TV star Nadeem & Behroze Sabzwari took their places on the sofa that was placed on the stage, Tipu & Muzna, who’d taken over from Anoushey & Faizan, asked Muqaddas to come and open the show. Muqaddas chooses to sing ‘Albela Sajan’ from the film ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’. Seems like Muqaddas has a thing going on for Raag ‘Ahir Bhairav’ as it’s the second time he chooses to sing a song which is done in Taal ‘Kherava’. Muqaddas, as expected, fabricated the song well. The judges were quick to respond positively and Muqaddas seemed to be one up on Zain. Next up, Zain was called up. Zain’s choice for the night was Shafqat Amanat Ali’s ‘Kheriyan De Naal’. Zain swirled his way through the track but the judges were not impressed and gave Zain an average rating.

Hamza came on stage and performed ‘All Iz Well’ accompanying all the participants and Aima once again dragged the audiences back into the 80’s with her track ‘Piya Tu Ab To Aaja’. A dance performance by ‘Nomi King’ and his group was staged before Nizar Lalani & Hadiqa took the stage. Hadiqa did her track ‘Az Chashme Saaqi’ with Nizar Lalani accompanying her on the piano and whirling dancers to bring a Dervish feel to this sufist track.

Back to the finalists, and Muqaddas takes the mic again. This time round Muqaddas’ choice was ‘Tere Naina’ from the film ‘My Name Is Khan’. Muqaddas goes through the track almost effortlessly and makes the judges nod their heads one more time. For Zain the choice was ‘Tere Naina’ from the film ‘De Dana Dan’. Zain struggled in his earlier performance and failed to impress the judges, this time round though he got applauses from the judges and seemed more at ease both with his voice and the choice of the song.

A few more awards were given away to both Team LG and Team BBCL by Aisha Umer, Shakeel & Angeline Malik before Salamat Ali Khan & Azra Salamat Ali took the stage to render one of their ghazals. And then it was back to the finalists for their last performances in the show.

Muqaddas’ choice was ‘Ae Watan Pak Watan’ by Noor Jehan. The track did wonders for Muqaddas. The audience loved it. You could hear them clapping every time Muqddas closed on the canto and after he finished it, you could hear the audience clapping for a good few seconds, standing up. Was it Muqaddas’ voice or the ignited patriotism through the lyrics of the track, remained a mystery. It is now Zain’s turn and he chooses ‘Deewane’ by Shafqat Amanat Ali. A near disastrous start of the song for Zain as he skips the first line of the track and picks it up from the second one. May have gone unnoticed for some in the audience but judges sure did spot it. Zain didn’t stop there, he again fumbles in the middle of the track and seals this performance as his worst in the entire show. What an occasion to save your worst performance for. The judges obviously were not prepared to buy into anything positive that Zain may have mustered towards the end of his last performance and brought him down.

So there you go, all three performances by the two finalists are out of the way and now it’s time for the judges to reveal who will walk away with a grand prize of Rupees Five Million, an album recording contract and become the country’s first ever ‘LG Star’. The judges come onto the stage and after several suspense filled agonizing moments, they announced that the first ‘LG Star’ to be crowned is: MUQADDAS!

The air filled with confetti, the audience rose from their seats, party music in the background, everyone’s on stage and Muqaddas lifts the ‘LG Star’ trophy in the air.