Pepsi Battle of the Bands: The top 4 get filmy!
Episode 6 of Pepsi Battle of the Bands saw the top 4 bands fight for the final 2 spots in the competition. Since there were no eliminations last week, this week 2 bands were eliminated and the episode was definitely a thrilling one.
With a movie song theme, the hosts went all out to play the filmy part and that too very well. Especially Ahmed Ali Butt, whose costume was as dramatic as him!
The episode began with a power packed performance by Meesha Shafi and her band, who performed Madam Noor Jehan’s ‘Koi Sarda Aye Te Sare’ with the perfect pizzazz! Meesha’s vocals are meant for such upbeat songs and her band was perfectly in sync. It was especially cute to see her perform with her husband Mehmood, who is also a part of the band.
From the top 4 contestants, the first one to grace the stage was Bayaan. Although they had a shaky beginning in the competition, Bayaan came out pretty strong last week and this week they performed ‘Tha Yaqeen’ by Naheed Akhtar. The lead vocalist played the rubab beautifully, and brought a really nice touch to the song. All in all, the performance was very enjoyable and was well received by all the judges.
Next up came Xarb, whose rendition of ‘Jhanjar di Pawan Jhankaar’ by Madam Noor Jehan, proved to be the star performance of the episode. Everything was perfect, the sounds were effective and the vocals really did justice to the song. Meesha commented that it made her want to dance while Fawad acknowledged that they had taken an ingenious approach to the song.
The third performance was by Tamasha, the strongest contenders for the winning spot so far. They sang ‘Tumhe Kaisay Bata Doon’ by Ahmed Rushdie and put on an entertaining show, especially the lead singer Bilal who brought in some fun dance moves and hat action. While the judges acknowledged their energy, they felt that the song choice was not right and that this was Tamasha’s weakest performance so far.
Last up came 21- the band who performed a cover of ‘Kabhi Main Sochta Hoon’ by Mehdi Hassan. This turned out to be quite disappointing, with the vocals sounding weak. The judges too felt that the performance was not up to mark and Fawad generously advised them to believe in their music and stick to punk rock, even if they do not make it ahead in the competition.
After a suspenseful few minutes, the judges announced that Xarb was safe while 21- the band had been eliminated. Bayaan and Tamaasha were then left to fight it out for a position in the top 2. Bayaan chose to perform ‘Azaadi’ by Junoon, making for a truly powerful and touching rendition, and received a standing ovation from Bilal and Meesha.
Tamaasha, on the other hand, did not live up to expectations in their second performance of the night either. They sang ‘Chief Saab’ by Sajjad Ali , and although enjoyable, it did not strike the same chord with the listeners as Bayaan’s performance. In probably the biggest surprise of the season, Tamaasha was eliminated.
Next week, we will see the super talented Xarb and Bayaan give it their all to be crowned the winner of Pepsi Battle of the Bands season 3! Plus, voting will also begin next week, so who will you be voting for?
- Promotional Feature