Pakistan got its first taste of pop music in the late 60’s when Waheed Murad was seen swaying to the tunes of Ko Ko Korina sung by Ahmed Rushdi for the film Armaan. This song revolutionized the music scene in Pakistan as well as across the border.
Singers Alamgir and Mohammed Ali Shehki took pop music one step further in the late 70’s. Their songs were an instant hit and very popular among the younger generation.
In 1980, Nazia Hassan a teenage Pakistan born British became a house hold name with her very first song sung for an Indian movie. Her first album Disco Dewane sung along with her brother Zohaib Hassan enjoyed phenomenal success.
Inspired by the Hassan siblings, a number of singers followed their footsteps some of them are Tehseen Javed, Saleem Javed and Hasan Jahangir. Hasan Jahangir’s “Hawa Hawa” was a super duper hit. In the early 90’s, the band Vital Signs took the music scene by storm with their song “Dil dil Pakistan”.
They were largely helped by their looks and video. Soon many bands such as Junoon, Awaz, and Strings etc joined the band wagon. Of all the bands, Strings still exist. Junoon introduced and popularized a new genre of music the “Sufi Rock”. Shehzad Roy, Ali Haider and Najam Shiraz are some individual singers of the 90’s worth mentioning.
The girls of Pakistan have also contributed to pop music. Besides Nazia Hasan other leading female singers are Hadiqa Kiyani and Fareha Pervaiz. Recently two girls from Peshawar have formed a band Zeb and Haniya. Their music is much appreciated in Pakistan as well as abroad.
TOP TEN POP SINGERS
1. Atif Aslam
2. Ali Zafar
3. Ali Azmat
4. Hadiqa Kiyani
5. Ali Haider
6. Princess Annie
7. Nazia Hasan
8. Junaid Jamshed
9. Shafqat Ammanat Ali
10. Fakhir
