''Pepsi Battle of the Bands'' is a Pakistani television series, originally based on the concept of Battle of the Bands, first aired in 2002 on

PTV Home PTV Home HD is a Pakistani Free-to-air Television channel owned by the Pakistan Television Corporation. It also broadcast as a Terrestrial television Terrestrial television or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcastin ...

. The show was revived in 2017.

Season 1

''Pepsi Battle of the Bands: Season 1'' aired in July 2002 on

. The inaugural season was directed by Ahsan Rahim and Amena Khan, and produced by Nofil Naqvi. The winners were

Aaroh Aaroh ( ) is an alternative rock band from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, formed in 1998. The band was founded by keyboardist Kamran Khan and lead guitarist Nabeel Nihal . (This name was given to them by Shoaib Mansoor), who were joined by, Vocalist ...

, who beat runners up

Entity Paradigm Entity Paradigm (Punjabi, , in English sometimes shortened as EP) was a Pakistani rock band from Lahore, Punjab, formed in 2000. The band was founded by songwriter and guitarist Xulfi, vocalist, songwriter Fawad Khan and keyboardist and vocalist ...

by a narrow margin. It also launched the success of many other bands who took part in the show, particularly

Mekaal Hasan Band Mekaal Hasan Band (, sometimes shortened to MHB) is an international sufi rock band formed in Lahore, Pakistan in 2000 by composer, singer-songwriter and guitarist Meekal Hasan. The band members have roots in different genres, including pop, ro ...

(which came in third) and Mizmaar. 170 applications were sent to the show's website out of which 70 were registered. The top 20 were selected on the basis of vocals, music and arrangements which was then narrowed down to the top 10.

Bands

The following 10 bands were selected for season 1. *

(1st - winners) *

(2nd) * Mekaal Hassan Band (3rd) *Aks *Brain Masala *Messiah *Mizmaar *Sahara *The Shahzad Hameed Project *Yaar The following bands failed to make the top 10 for season 1. *Aasaar *Azal (no-show) *Just in Case *Naqsh *Once *Punch *Ravens *Saaz *Silence (disqualified) *Still (no-show)

Judges

The judges for season 1 included former members of the band

Vital Signs Vital signs (also known as vitals) are a group of the four to six most crucial medical signs that indicate the status of the body's vital (life-sustaining) functions. These measurements are taken to help assess the general physical health of a ...

and music producers Shahi Hasan and

Rohail Hyatt Rohail Hyatt (Urdu: روحیل حیات) is a Pakistani record producer, Synthesizer, keyboardist, and Music composer, composer. As record producer, Hyatt is largely credited with pioneering Pakistani pop rock music by incorporating western Ro ...

as well as Pakistani fashion and music critic Fifi Haroon.

Season 2

Episodes of ''Pepsi Battle of the Bands: Season 2'' are available in

broadcast syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

on television as well as put up online on Pepsi Pakistan's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel. Shortly after, the episode airs the full video performances are then put up online on Pepsi Pakistan's

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

and

while the full audios are put up on the website as well as on

Patari.pk Patari (Urdu: ) is a Pakistani Comparison of on-demand streaming music services, music streaming service founded in February 2015 by Khalid Bajwa, Faisal Sherjan, Iqbal Talaat Bhatti and Humayun Haroon. The site provides Pakistani music and is kn ...

History

The return of the show and subsequent second season was revealed in early 2017. It also marked the return of season 1 winners

to the music scene after 8 years - although they had released "Mera Pyar" in 2014 with vocalist Rizwan Anwar, it received little attention. Season 2 also marks the return of

Fawad Khan Fawad Afzal Khan ( ur, ) (born 29 November 1981) is a Pakistani actor, producer, screenwriter, model and singer having received several awards including a Filmfare Award, two Lux Style Awards and six Hum Awards. Khan began his acting caree ...

to music.

Promotion

The promo video song was released on 22 July 2017. It featured

Atif Aslam Atif Aslam is a Pakistani playback singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He has recorded many songs in both Pakistan and India, and is known for his vocal belting technique. Aslam predominantly sings in Urdu, but has also sung in Hindi, ...

Meesha Shafi Meesha Shafi ( ur, ) is a Pakistani-born Canadian singer, actress and model.Do Pal Ka Jeevan" and Alamgir's "Dekha Na Tha"; as well as Shahi Hasan on guitars with the trio. The video also showed many young people performing which is the show's main target audience. The Pakistani music streaming platform

put up

's debut album ''

Irtiqa Irtiqa (Urdu: ارتقاء, literal English translation: ''evolution'') is the debut album by the Pakistani rock band, Entity Paradigm. It was originally slated for a 25 September 2003 release date, but was delayed to 1 October. Entity Paradigm r ...

'' on its service along with creating "Best of Playlists" of S1 winners Aaroh as well as

and Mizmaar, both bands which went on to mainstream success because of S1.

Judges and host

The judges of S2 included Fawad Khan, Meesha Shafi and Farooq Ahmed in the auditions round while Khan, Shafi, Atif Aslam and Shahi Hasan were the jusdes in the knockout round.

Ayesha Omer Ayesha Omar (born 12 October 1981) is a Pakistani actress and YouTuber. Considered as a style icon in her home country, Omar is one of the most popular and highest-paid actresses of Pakistan. In 2012, she released her first singles "Chalte C ...

was the host of the season.

Episodes

Episode 1: Auditions round

Episode 1 premiered on Sunday, 30 July 2017. The bands that performed included:

Episode 2: Auditions round & Final selection

The auditions round continued and the bands that performed included: The bands that were selected in the top 8 included in alphabetical order: *Aura * Badnaam Band *Darvesh *Pindi Boys *

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

*Madlock *Roots *Shajr Positive was originally in the top 8 but were disqualified because they performed with a temporary member in the auditions round which was against the rules of the show. The bands that were in the waiting list but did not get selected and their performance not being shown on TV or online included: *Visaal *Kainat *Xaviar *The Grovers: Quetta Boys *Sikandar Ka Mandar *Raakh *Amigos The episode ended with last season winners Aaroh performing Raag Neela with

Kashan Admani Kashan Admani ''(Full name: Muhammad Kashan Admani) (Urdu: کاشان ادمانی)'' is a Pakistani musician, composer, music producer, film producer, film director, guitar player, founder of music band Mizmaar, and the CEO of Dream Station Pro ...

, lead guitarist of the band Mizmaar on lead guitars.

Episode 3: Top 8 knockout round

The theme of the episode was favorite song. Each band had to perform their favourite song in front of the judges and the live studio audience. The episode started with Atif Aslam performing his new song titled "Yaad Tehari". The bands performed in the following order: The bands that ended up in the danger zone were Roots, Aura and Shajr. Aura and Shajr were eliminated leaving 6 bands in the show.

Episode 4: Top 6 knockout round

The knockout round continued with top 6. The episode started with musician

Sara Haider Sara Haider is a Pakistani singer-songwriter and musical and film actress from Karachi. She started her music career as a backing vocalist and later became singer at Coke Studio. She has also won a Lux Style Award after making debut in Coke ...

performing her new song "Zindagi". The theme of this episode was that the each band had to perform an original song in front of the judges and the live studio audience. The bands performed in the following order: The bands that ended up in the danger zone were Roots, Darvesh and Madlock. Darvesh and Madlock were eliminated leaving 4 bands in the show.

Production

Produced by

* Saad Bin Mujeeb * Faisal Rafi

Lighting Director

* Jack Lineker

Open & Show Packaging

* Rashna Abdi * Ahmed Aleem * Hadi Gala

Set Design

* Imtisal Abbasi * Misbah Ghani

Music Team

Music Producer: Faisal Rafi Exec. Producer: Ali Diwan Music Director/Mentor/Composer: Ahsan Bari Music Director/Mentor/Composer: Faisal Baig Project Manager: Agha Fahad Chief Recording Engineer/Sound Designer/Audio Post Supervisor: Kashif Ejaz at The C'Ion Collective Studios Lyricist/Consultant: Asim Raza Assistant Producer: Daniel Hayden Assistant Producer: Haris Noor, Quaid Ahmed Assistant Engineer: Zyad Ahmed Tariq Mixing Engineers: Chris Bolster & Paul Pritchard at Abbey Road Studios Mastered by: Alex Gordon and Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios Live Sound Engineer: Obaid Haq Chief Audio Tech: Nadeem Ducrrani & Saif Ullah

Line Producer

* Noor Daudpota

Broadcast

Following television channels aired the show:

Reception

Season 2 has mostly received positive reviews. Maheen Sabeeh of '' The News'' said, "Whether the show manages to accomplish its mission statement to the letter remains to be seen but, having spoken to almost all major players in the production, it can be said with certainty that it has just the right motivation behind it and that matters more than we care to admit." ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'' wrote, "With such an eclectic mix of sounds and energies, right from the get go - we are rooted to our televisions, waiting with bated breath till the second episode of the inevitably and justifiably iconic, biggest music battle in the country; Pepsi Battle of the Bands." Vafa Batool of ''

Pakistan Today ''Pakistan Today'' is a Pakistani English-language daily newspaper, published by Nawa Media Corporation from three Pakistani cities Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab; Karachi, Sindh; and Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory. The newspaper late ...

'' wrote "The first episode showed how the judges focused on grossly distinct aspects of the performances. Fawad Khan preferred to acknowledge the raw live energy on stage while Meesha Shafi's focus remained largely on vocal quality. Farooq Ahmed offered technical help to the bands as a well-nuanced musician who was more concerned about improving the sounds further."

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

wrote "Looks like we're in for a great show" However, the second season has been criticized by some as well. Pakistani music, fashion critic and Season 1 judge Fifi Haroon on her

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

called it ''"bland, listless"''. Speaking to ''

Gulf News ''Gulf News'' is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was first launched in 1978, and is currently distributed throughout the UAE and also in other Persian Gulf Countries. Its online edition was launch ...

'' journalist Usman Ghafoor, Pakistani culture critic

Nadeem Farooq Paracha Nadeem Farooq Paracha ( ur, ), also known as NFP, is a Pakistani journalist, author, cultural critic, satirist and historian. He is a columnist for Pakistan's largest English-language daily ''Dawn''. Career He is the author of seven books on ...

said, "Pepsi is 10 years too late. When the last season went on air, the reality was quite different; we still had underground and mainstream music happening at the time. From mid-2000s on, the bands started to whittle away for all sorts of reasons — political, social, and security. Besides, today, we are talking about a different generation — not even the millennials but generation Z, the kids who were born in early 2000s or late 1990s. The dynamics of understanding and listening to music have changed all around the world. No one listens to albums or CDs now; they listen to singles and stream videos. BOTB, in my opinion, has failed to capture the imagination of this new generation." Some critics even compared the show with ''Coke Studio'' though the comparison has been rejected by those involved with the show. Pakistani actor

Shaan Shahid Armaghan Shahid PP ( ur, ; born 27 April 1971), better known by his stage names Shaan Shahid ( ur, ) or Shaan, is a Pakistani actor, producer, model, writer and director. Shaan has established himself as one of the most popular leading acto ...

criticized the format of the show and said on his Facebook that Pepsi should stick to critic as ''

Coke Studio Coke Studio may refer to: * ''Coke Studio'' (Pakistan), a Pakistani television series featuring live music performances. * ''Coke Studio'' (India), an Indian television series featuring live music performances. * ''Coke Studio Bangla'', a Banglade ...

'' owns the music scene. His comments received a lot of criticism. The decision to not include some bands in the top eight particularly the band Khamaaj was criticized.

Season 3

Season 3 started in 2018 and Xarb and Bayaan fought for the title with the latter going to clinch the title..

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{Pakistani reality television series 2002 Pakistani television series debuts Pakistani music television series