Scrutiny increases as PSI races towards semi-finals
q Danger Zone eats up Tahir Naeem q Asif, Haroon, Ahsan get Wild Card Entry q Asad Abbas, M.Afzal clean-bowled performance round q 29417 votes registered online
Uzma Zafar
 

PSI

It seems that a lot has been happening at Pakistan Sangeet Icon, all at the same time. This week, if the judges chose Asif Ali Babar, Haroon Shahid and Ahsan Asees, to enter through the Wild Card, there the Elimination Round remained intact this Saturday, sending Ali Asad, Sunny & Vicky, M.Afzal and Tahir Naeem in the Danger Zone, with the latter getting eliminated in the end. This time, the judges gave their separate votes and for each time, the votes of 2 judges were revealed and 1 kept hidden that the anchors said would announce in the end but did not for one reason or the other. The scrutiny of judges have registered a marked increase as the show races towards semi-finals starting from 5th October. It is pertinent to mention here that 29417 votes have been registered online this time.
At the Danger Zone, Ali Asad sang Teri Yaad Saath Hai of Rahat Fateh Ali and got accused of dead singing while Sunny & Vicky sang Na Jind Saadi Rol Vey and got criticized on the weak loop and end note. It was also revealed at the show that the duo is not twin but are in fact, triplets. M.Afzal, for the first time, was seen in the Danger Zone and it was a clear indication of how true Mikaal had suggested to the contestant a week earlier, never to show his weakness to the audience on stage, which were unforgiving. He was also accused of playing it weak though he remained a great singer. Tahir Naeem, on the other hand, sang Tere Bin by Atif Aslam and was though, appreciated for showing improvement, but was also accused of dead singing and Pappu commented that probably the ‘32 shurtian’ instead of 7 surs were reserved for the contestant only! Tahir Naeem, like Haroon Shahid, composes songs and he sang Mujhe Sab Kuch Kehne Do, his 1st ever composition, while strumming guitar, as he got eliminated.
At Sunday night, at the performance round, Asad Abbas and M.Afzal were all praise while Asif Ali Babar gave a good comeback, Sohaib Hassan was average, Ahsan Asees could not create a lasting impact, Vicky & Sunny were fine while Ali Asad gave a mediocre performance. Khalid Anum; eminent singer of Peera Ho, remained the celebrity judge this time around. Asad Abbas from Faisalabad dedicated his song Ranjhe Majian Charaiyan to his nana (grandfather) who he said, had been singing the song. Ali Haider got clueless as to which round the contestant had performed better let that be Semi-Classical, Sufi, Filmi or any round for that matter, he created an environment, engrossing the audience along. Mikaal Hassan, too, termed him a real and rare singer.
Asif Ali Babar sang Jaan Re and was appreciated for singing with feeling the song while performing. Ali Haider commented that Asif had not wasted a single day and practiced well, giving a great comeback, justifying the Wild Card entry that the judges had given him while the other 3 judges also lauded his fabulous comeback. The next to go was Sohaib Hassan and he sang Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein and was criticized for faulty mike control while performing and out of tune low notes. Haroon Shahid, on the other hand, gave a very dynamic performance with Wo Kaun Thi of Vital Signs and was applauded by all the judges except Pappu who accepted of enjoying Haroon’s performance but said that he had issues with the antara, a tuning problem to be exact. However, Ali Haider again compared him with Junaid Jamshed saying that he sang and performed like the star.
Ahsan Asees sang Banvri Chakori but as we have seen him perform flawless in other rounds, thus he was criticized by the judges and asked to practice more so that his Wild Card entry be better justified. Mikaal Hassan, but, gave him flexible comments saying ‘He is not even 15, man! If great contestants here are making huge mistakes, he is just a kid!’ But the fact remains that the audience back home is not that forgiving. Muhammad Afzal, on the other hand, sang Suhneyo. He had been having a high fever since the past 3 weeks now and it showed on his face. All the judges lauded his song choice and performance and in fact, Ali Haider went out to say that ‘Jhung’s Raja had given a good comeback!’ Sunny & Vicky sang Mera Piya Ghar Aya and got jury’s votes in their favour. Ali Haider but, suggested that provided the duo paid more attention towards singing individual lines as well, it would evaporate the audience’s doubts that the two could not sing well alone as well.
The last to go was Ali Asad who by the way, is a face reader. He sang Pehli Nazar Mein of Atif Aslam and got criticized for making the same mistakes again and again. Ali Haider suggested to the contestant that he better listen to his recordings over and over again, for improvement while Mikaal Hassan termed Ali Asad as a very confused person and accused him for lack of concentration saying that he had a stage attitude of saying ‘come on everyone, taliyan’ while the claps would come automatically provided he sang well. Mikaal Hassan went out to say that only he is criticized who is good and so the contestant was and needed to work much harder. Thus, Asad Abbas and M.Afzal clean-bowled yet another performance round while the jury, especially Mikaal Hassan appealed to the audience to vote responsibility as there remained only a one-time Wild Card entry and could not be given again and again!