Pakistan’s Amman Mushtaq was also one of the many artists selected from across the globe to attend this year’s Red Bull Music Academy Session in New York. Studio sessions were facilitated in nine custom-built studios in a Chelsea building refitted by architect Jeffrey Inaba. Songs recorded during the session will be available later this year on www.redbullmusicacademy.com.

Check out some pictures of Amman Mushtaq while attending the music sessions in New York.

This post, Pakistan’s Amman Mushtaq attending Red Bull Music Academy Session in New York (Photos) , was originally published at PakiUM.com

12^th Annual LUX Style Awards Nominations list celebrates the best of Pakistan’s Music, TV and Fashion

KARACHI, May 14, 2013: The Awards office of the 12^th Annual LUX Style Awards announced nominations in 22 categories in the field of television, music and fashion in Karachi yesterday. The three distinct juries that debated and voted for the TV, Music and Fashion nominations had an intensive and challenging task to narrow down to five nominations per category.

The Film Jury refrained from suggesting any 2012 release for nomination this year.

The eight TV nominations were divided into satellite and terrestrial for the Best Serial, Best Actor/Actresses categories. The final winner for each of these categories is decided by Viewer’s Choice votes while Nominees for Best Director and Writer Awards will be decided via Jury Votes. Hum Tv’s mega blockbuster hit Humsafar has a presence in all relevant categories as it is now eligible for inclusion this year as against 2011 as per the rules of the LUX Style Awards. The competition in all TV categories is expected to be intense.

Competition for the nine Fashion Categories was tough and challenging. The Jury, made up of Fashion Editors and journalists across Pakistan voted for top five in each category. Fashion’s new vibrancy is gauged most by the entry of so many new practitioners in the Emerging Talent category. The other categories reflected the state of the industry with its blend of entrenched old guard still exciting with new ideas and the push up by vibrant new talent to edge them out and gain a foothold in the big design, styling and photography categories.

The LUX Style Awards for excellence in the field of Entertainment and Fashion in Pakistan are held annually and aired throughout the country on several national channels.

LUX STYLE AWARDS NOMINATIONS 2013

FILM NOMINATIONS

No film nomination in any category for 2012

TELEVISION NOMINATIONS

Best TV Play (Satellite)                                        

Humsafar on Hum TV (Producer Momina Duraid)

Maat on Hum TV (Producer Amna Nawaz Khan)

Manjali on Geo Entertainment (Producer Humayun Saeed & Shezad Naseeb)

Mera Yaqeen on ARY Digital (Producer Asif Raza Mir & Babar Javed)

Shehre Zaat on Hum TV (Producer Abdullah Kadwani, Asad Qureshi & Momina Duraid)

Best TV Actress (Satellite)          

Hina Dilpazeer for Qudusi Sahab Ki Bewa on ARY Digital

Mahira Khan for Humsafar on Hum TV

Mahvish Hayat for Mere Qatil Mere Dildar on Hum TV

Saba Hameed for Manjali on Geo Entertainment

Saba Qamar for Maat on Hum TV

Best TV Actor (Satellite)                                      

Adnan Siddiqui for Mere Qatil Mere Dildar on Hum TV

Faisal Qureshi for Jahez on Geo Entertainment

Fawad Khan for Humsafar on Hum TV

Imran Aslam for Sanjha on Hum TV

Shahood Alvi for Mere Huzoor on Express Entertainment

Best TV Play (Terrestrial)                                    

Mein on PTV (Producer Studio 63)

Mein Muhabbat aur Tum on A Plus (Producer Shehzad Chaudry)

Paayal on PTV (Producer Yamin Malik)

Qeemat on A Plus (Producer Kamran Khan)

Tilafi on PTV (Producer Humayun Saeed & Shahzad Naseeb)

Best TV Actress (Terrestrial)     

Beenish Chohan for Chalo phir se Jee ke Dekhen on PTV

Fiza Ali for Love, Life aur Lahore on A Plus

Mahnoor Baloch for Tilafi on PTV

Mahvish Hayat for Mein on PTV

Resham for Ek Yaad Hai on A Plus

Best TV Actor (Terrestrial)                                  

Babar Ali for Mein on PTV

Kashif Mehmood for Love, Life aur Lahore on A Plus

Nauman Ejaz for Qeemat on A Plus

Saleem Shaikh for Anokha Ladla II on PTV

Sami Khan for Mein on PTV

Best TV Director                                           

Amna Nawaz for Maat on Hum TV

Hassam Hussain for Durr-e Shahwar on Hum TV

Kashif Nisar for Mein on PTV

Nadeem Baig for Manjali on Geo

Sarmad Khoosat for Humsafar on Hum TV

Best TV Writer                      

Amna Mufti for Jahez on Geo

Faiza Iftikhar for Bilquis Kaur on Hum TV

Khalil-ur-Rehman for Manjali on Geo

Seema Munaf for Tilafi on PTV

Umera Ahmed for Maat on Hum TV

MUSIC NOMINATIONS

Best Album

Chahar Balish by Sajjad Ali

Circus in the Sky by Usman Riaz

Khamoshi by Ayesha Omar

Naubahar by Dynoman

The Harvest by Sajid & Zeeshan

Song of the Year

Ankahi by Overload

Jaag by Jarar Malik

Kahani Purani by Mooroo

Katna Nae by Sajjad Ali

Pi Jaon by Farhan Saeed

Best Emerging Talent

Ahmed Siddiqui

Faaris Shafi

Mooroo

Naseer and Shahab

Sibti

Best Music Video Director

Farhad Humayun for Ankahi

Hammad Khan for Ane de

Sohaib Akhtar- for Khamoshi

Taimoor Salahuddin for Awam

Taimoor Salahuddin for Kahani Purani

Best Original Sound Track (OST)

Hain Yeh Silsilay by Zoe Viccaji for Tanhayan Naye Silsilay on ARY Digital

Matae Jaan by Bilal Khan for Matae Jaan on Hum TV

Roshan Sitara by Qurat ul Ain Baloch for Roshan Sitara on Hum TV

Yaar Ko Humne by  Abida Parveen for Shehr-e-Zaat on Hum TV

Zindagi Gulzar Hai by Ali Zafar for Zindagi Gulzar Hai

FASHION NOMINATIONS

Model of the Year (Female)                         

Amna Ilyas

Ayyan

Cybil Chowdhry

Mehreen Syed

Rabia Butt

Model of the Year (Male)                            

Abbas Jafri

Ather Amin

Jahan-e-Khalid

Shehzad Noor

Waleed Khalid

Best Fashion Photographer

Azeem Sani

Fayyaz Ahmed

Guddu Shani

Nadir Feroz

Rizwan ul Haq

Best Hair and Make-up Artist                                  

Creative Team at Nabila

Creative Team at Tariq Amin

Juju Haider & Shammal Quraishi at Toni&Guy, Lahore

Maram Azmat & Abroo Hashmi

Raana Khan

Achievement in Fashion Design – Luxury Pret       

Shehla Chatoor

Iman Ahmed at Body Focus

Khadija Shah at Elan

Maheen Karim

Sania Maskatiya

Achievement in Fashion Design – Pret

Feeha Jamshed

Iman Ahmed at Body Focus

Sanam Chaudhry

Sania Maskatiya

Wardha Saleem

Best Menswear Designer     

Ahmed Bham

Amir Adnan

Ammar Belal

Ismail Farid

Republic by Omar Farooq

Achievement in Fashion Design – Lawn

Khaadi by Khaadi

Mahnoush by Arjumand Amin

Orient by Deepak Perwani

Sana Safinaz by Sana Hashwani & Safinaz Muneer

So Kamaal by Elan

Best Emerging Talent

Misha Lakhani (Women’s wear designer)

Abdullah Haris (Photography)

Natasha’s Salon (Hair & Make Up Artist)

Saima Azhar (Modeling)

Sana Sarfaraz (Modeling)

This post, 12th LUX Style Awards Nominations 2013 , was originally published at PakiUM.com

This performance was, however, rather special. Not only were the current students present, a large majority of LUMS Alumni were also invited. Therefore it was a slightly mature crowd, and the audience wasn’t the typical young university students they were used to performing in front of.

The show kicked off with Asfar and the gang’s smashing rendition of Sar Kiye Yeh Pahar. The band seemed slightly thrown-off as the crowd remained seated in orderly fashion even after the third song. It was time to bring in the big guns!

A saxophone-rich performance of the classic Babiya was exactly what the doctor had ordered. The audience participated encouragingly and they went into an extended version of the song as the crowd loved it.

The mood improved significantly after that as more students from across the campus got drawn to the sound of music, and the Alumni got off their seats and came up close to the stage to cheer the band on. The performance went on well into the night, and things finally wound down around 11PM.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the performance, and was grateful for such a pleasant end to the day.

“It’s important for such events and performances to happen on a regular basis here, as it breaks the monotony of studying and exams and the overall pressure, and gives us the opportunity to unwind a bit”, says Rabia, an MBA junior at LUMS.

Furqan, a LUMS Alumni, also appreciated the NESCAFE Basement performance. “Visiting this place once again and seeing all the familiar places took us all back to the good ol’ days when we used to hang out here for coffee and obsessed over case studies and whatnots, and the music certainly added color to the nostalgia. Great stuff!”

For more information regarding the NESCAFÉ Basement tour, the artists, and the upcoming NESCAFÉ Basement 2013, you can check out NESCAFÉ’s official Facebook page. The recruitment for NESCAFÉ Basement 2013 is still going on, so if you think you have what it takes to be up there, feel free to submit your performance on their Facebook page.

Watch out some exclusive pictures from LUMS Alumbi Concert:

This post, NESCAFÉ Basement Gives LUMinites a Night to Remember! , was originally published at PakiUM.com

In 2008, when the music industry of Pakistan was trembling and Pakistani musicians were crossing borders for singing opportunities, Coco Cola came to rescue with its Coke Studio. Later on, shows like Uth Records and Nescafe Basement were launched to promote the new talent.

This year two new exciting music shows are debuting, one that has started already i.e Cornetto Music Icons and another forthcoming one is Pepsi Smash. The news is Pepsi Smash Pakistan is starting from May 1. The show is produced by talented Farhad Humayun who is a brilliant drummer and music producer and it will also feature the likes of Strings, Noori, SYMT, Jarar and Aag Band etc. and will probably focus more on electronic music fused with rock.

A promo has just been released online which shows the Rockstars performing in a studio.

Watch Now:

and don’t forget to check this blog on May 1 to watch the premiering episode.

This post, Pepsi Smash Pakistan Starting May 1 , was originally published at PakiUM.com

As we all know, Annie Khalid had got married to Noureed Awan last year but unfortunately their marriage couldn’t last longer and both separated after hurling allegations on each other. Seems like her past is still not getting away with her as she somehow remembered her Ex- Husband today.

The question(if any) asked by some unknown, must have been very disturbing for her that she decided to even TWEET about it on a public platform.

Annie Khalid wrote on her twitter account: (NSFW)

Stop asking me if its true that my ex made me a murgha. Ffs its not a sex position and it shouldn’t turn you on.

— Annie Khalid (@annie_khalid) April 27, 2013

Now as soon as it appeared on her follower’s timeline, many just busted into laugh while other showed sympathy to her. Whether its true or just another publicity stunt we are still unaware! but it seems very much a stunt like drama queen Veena Malik.

What do you folks think ? Should she tweet in such bold way ? or she should remain decent as some minor fans also follow her on twitter. YOUR COMMENT

This post, Annie Khalid’s Adult Tweet , was originally published at PakiUM.com

Amman Mushtaq is not the first but the second Pakistani to represent the nation at the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy. Born and raised in Karachi, this talented young musician spends most of his time making music, playing video games, watching cartoons, and most importantly using his imagination while surrounded by creative people. Music has always been an important part of Amman’s life. In his own words “Music has been important to me since I was very young. My sisters would always be listening to music or recording songs off the TV on to cassettes. Most of my closest friends are people who are involved in music. Sound is an amazing force of nature, and I feel all the people in my life have brought me closer to it, and it has brought me closer to them in ways nothing else could. Working on sounds alone is also a pretty mystical experience”

The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is an annual international music event where up and coming producers, singers, arrangers, DJs and musicians get the opportunity to learn from top industry professionals. “I expect to meet new people, work on tunes, and see some awesome shows”, says Amman on his participation at this year’s Red Bull Music Academy in New York. The Academy is a dream place for any young, aspiring musician across the globe, and each year more than a million applications are received from various countries with the hope to win a chance to attend the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy. Hence, it gives us great pride to announce Amman Mushtaq as the official representative of Pakistan at this year’s Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) in New York; starting from April 27 to May 11, 2013.

This post, Amman Mushtaq to represent Pakistan at The Red Bull Music Academy 2013 , was originally published at PakiUM.com

According to our sources, Geo Kahani is replacing Aag TV and it would on air the wildly popular Turkish Soaps with Urdu dubbing, along with some Indian and Pakistani Dramas.

The channel is currently in its “Test Tranmission” and already showing the promos of some of its upcoming dramas.

Take a first look onto this new channel:

This post, Geo Kahani replaces Aag TV , was originally published at PakiUM.com

The Leading Entertainment music channel of Pakistan, AAG TV, today got shut down after being on-aired on Pakistani airwaves for 7 long years.

The music channel of Geo TV networks, Aag TV, was launched first in 2007 to promote the new music and artists of Pakistan. Aag TV was basically a channel to target young audience, and it also started with some youth oriented programs and shows to attract the new generation. The channel did introduce new talent and musicians through its wide reach & “network backing” but after sometime it started losing its viewership as the Youth turned towards other competitive music channels.

Over the years, Aag TV started losing its worth, credibility and even TRPs after it started playing the music of only “Fire Records branded artists”. Fire Records, which is Pakistan’s biggest record label right now with contracts with all major Pakistani musicians, is also facing hardships under the leadership of Mr. Akber Yezdani.

There might be many other reasons for its downfall, but it is quite understood that the channel was not serving its purpose fully and therefore this bold decision is taken by the upper management of Geo Network.

Let us know in the comments what do you think about Aag TV shutting down ?

This post, Aag TV Shuts Down!!! , was originally published at PakiUM.com

Aaroh, who made it big through a  music show Battle of the bands, became one of the most popular rock band of the country. After releasing its debut album “Sawaal” in 2003, which itself was a masterpiece, the band got broken and its backbone Nabeel Nihaal & Kami Jee left it. The band reunited again later and released its second album “Raag Neela” in 2006, but it couldn’t make huge impact due to many reasons. Some years passed and Aaroh completely wiped off from the music scene, while its lead vocalist Farooq also moved & settled to US.

Now recently, the only left founding member, Khalid Khan along with Haider Hashmi and Jason, decided to reunite and comeback again with a new vocalist. For this, they looked for some fresh singers and asked them to record their demos and send it to them online. Out of hundreds of submissions, 5 singers were finally shortlisted. Finalists were then given an original melody of Aaroh on which they had to record their own voice. Eventually, a Lahore based singer Rizwan Anwar impressed them all and he has now been chosen as new vocalist of the reunited Aaroh Band.

Rizwan Anwar is new entrant in industry, but not certainly unknown. Back in 2011, Rizwan along with Saad Sultan released a cover song Laiyaan Laiyaan. The song was an instant hit and later hit the local music charts as well.

It is still not confirmed whether the founding members of the band, Nabeel Nihal(Lead guitarist) and Farooq(Lead vocaslist) know about it and approve this development. (We will try to approach them on this)

Before wrapping it up, we wish all the best to Rizwan Anwar and hope, together they come up with some remarkable hits.

This post, Aaroh Returns! With a new vocalist Rizwan Anwar , was originally published at PakiUM.com

SEE ALSO: Fariha Pervez to be featured in Coke Studio

Yes, you heard it right! the news is like Rohail Hyatt along with his crew recently traveled all the way to Istanbul to collaborate with some Turkish Musicians.

Now there are two possibilities, either Coke Studio Pakistan team went there to record some songs for Coke Studio Season 6

OR

Like Coke Studio at MTV, which is specifically for Indian audience, Turkey is also having a musical show of its own kind. So we think, if it’s the scenario no 2, Rohail – along with some other Pakistani musicians – was there to help them kick-start the show.

We will keep you updated with more on this till then enjoy these Exclusive Pictures from the new sets of Coke Studio.

Sent to us by Muhammad Junaid

This post, Coke Studio Season 6 Shot in Turkey? (Exclusive Pictures) , was originally published at PakiUM.com