Pepsi Battle of the Bands is gradually drawing close to its conclusion and Episode 6 aired yesterday, selecting the top 2 finalists in the round. The episode paid tribute to film music sung by some of yesteryear’s renowned musicians like Noorjehan, Ahmed Rushidie and Mehdi Hassan.
Meesha Shafi started the show with an electrifying performance to Noorjehan’s famous Punjabi track ‘Koi Sarda Aye Te Sare’ which had a fun yet rebellious undertone to it. Dressed in a rather retro attire with a neon yellow printed jacket, she had her vocals in place and gave a foot tapping, rocking rendition to the song. The only thing left to do was headbanging which would have surely been apt for such a performance.
Since last episode saw no eliminations, this episode came with double elimination and the consequent selection of the top 2 bands.
Bayaan performed first with their rendition of ‘Tha Yaqeen’ by Naheed Aktar. Interestingly, the band chose a song with a female voice and added a classical touch to it, which won them praise by the judges. Previously, the band somehow lacked a unique identity but since the last two episodes, Bayaan has upped their game.
Next came Xarb with their rendition of a very famous track by the legendary Noorjehan. ‘Jhanjhar Di Pawan Chankar’Â incorporated a fun disco groove to the song which totally worked for Xarb and managed to impress the judges. Bilal, however felt the guitar soles were needless but Fawad was quick to disagree and pointed out that they sat well with the funk blues, that was the chosen genre.
The third performance came from one of the show’s most revered bands, Tamasha and they chose Ahmed Rushdie’s hit track ‘Tumhain Kaisay Batadoun’ featuring the iconic pairing of Waheed Murad and Shamim Ara. The song, even though performed with great energy, lacked the soul it needed to keep the interest alive. The performance being enjoyable couldn’t do much to make the song fun and hummable, which was very surprising for a song like that. Tamasha’s rendition had a theater musical feel, which they thought would work but unfortunately, the vocals being the main element were the weakest. Clearly, the song wasn’t the most sensible choice made by lead singer Bilal.
Last to perform were 21 – the band with their rendition of ‘Kabhi Mein Sochta Hoon’ by Mehdi Hassan. The original song being a light melodic track was turned into catchy punk rock number, which is the band’s strength. While the performance could be summed up as an electrifying one, the vocals were weak and that lead to the compromise on the melody. The song had more lyrics and what the band chose got too repetitive as pointed out by Fawad.
Given the four performances, Xarb managed to secure a lead position in the top 2 bands selection while 21 – the band had to bid farewell, which we were a bit sad about.
Surprisingly Tamasha, for the first time, ended up in danger zone with Bayaan, which seemed to be a bit of a routine exercise for the latter and they even joked about the situation.
To redeem themselves, Bayaan performed to Junoon’s soulful track ‘Azadi’ which won them two standing ovations while Tamasha’s performance to Sajjad Ali’s ‘Chief Saab’ paled in insignificance. By now, we already knew who was going to make it to the top 2 and it was Bayaan who indeed mesmerised everyone with their performance.
Who will you be voting for?
You may also read: Pepsi Battle of the Bands: No eliminations in the spirit of independence
Here’s the full episode:
