Season 8 became one of the most successful seasons of all time, earning the title of "Best of Coke Studio has ever Offered". Many songs became the headlines of newspapers and media outlets including
Atif Aslam's rendition of the popular
qawwali "
Tajdar-e-Haram" as a tribute to its original performers, the
Sabri Brothers. The rendition received an overwhelmingly positive response and the track gained over 241 million views on YouTube. Despite achieving critical success many media outlets and viewers praised the original version by Sabri's and criticized Atif diction to the song, Amjad Sabri the son of
Ghulam Farid Sabri says, "I really like how the music was arranged. Atif didn't do badly. I wish he could have worked on his diction a little more, as long as the essence remains untouched, there is no harm." He further said, "it was an honest accolade to his father and uncle". Imane Babar Wahedi of
Express Tribune declared
Nabeel Shaukat Ali's song "Bewajah" the Coke Studio's best production so far. She said "Nabeel Ali's composition and voice quality are the backbone of the song; his extraordinary vocals literally gave goose bumps. Haider Ali's guitar riff on the keyboard complements the composition extremely well." Episode two was the most successful episode .
Ali Zafar marked his appearance with "Rockstar" (the only original song in episode 2), after six years of a gap from the show. The song received highly critical acclaims for its variation in vocals, jazzy tune and freedom of lyrics and was praised by Many media celebrities and personalities including
Hrithik Roshan,
Mahira Khan,
Fahad Mustafa,
Imran Khan and
Adnan Sami. On the success of "Rockstar" Ali stated that, "I partly lead the rockstar life I've made fun of." He explains that, "The lyrics of the song remind me of how I used to perceive rockstars when I was a kid. There's an aspect of vanity and arrogance 'Rockstar' which required me to get more animated." The folk-song "Sammi Meri Waar" by
Umair Jaswal and
QB was heavily criticized for the poor coordination and presence. The duo were called "ridiculously photogenic" and media outlets lambasted Coke Studio's first negotiation with a folk song. The third episodes mark the debut of Pakhtun singer
Gul Panra in
Lollywood, who sang a Persian duet "Man Aamadeh Am" with
Atif Aslam. The song went viral and was viewed more than 37, 000 times in five hours. Panra received highly positive acclaim and recognition in her debut in season eight.
Arif Lohar's "Rung Jindri" was also met with positive response.
The News Tribe wrote "his [Arif Lohar] song lift up the Coke Studio to another peak of fame." The fourth episode was also reviewed positively, Ali Raj of
The Express Tribune gave three and half stars out of five by saying, "The episode reflects the good, the bad and the largely ugly of an approach that is seemingly here to stay." Episode five also garnered positive reviews. The release of
Ali Azmat's song "Rangeela" was widely praised The second song from episode "Hina Ki kushboo" by Samra Khan and Asim Azhar, with a fusion of
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's qawali "Kina Sona Tenu" aimed as a tribute to
Noor Jahan received mixed to positive reception from media outlets. Episode six saw the third appearance of
Atif Aslam who sang Marwari duet "Kadi Ao Ni" with folk singer
Mai Dhai. Singer
Shazia Manzoor appeared in CS for the first time singing a qawali with duo
Rizwan & Muazzam. Fiza Javed who briefly appeared in
season one of
Pakistan Idol appeared first time on national television with singer Mulazim Hussain, performing a duet of
Reshma's song "Meri Hamjoliyaan". The episode ended with "Jiya Karay" by
Ali Haider and
Sara Raza Khan. Haider also appeared on both CS and television after a long gap. Episode seven marked the season finale and its reception was highly positive. Specially the appearance of
Farida Khanum was the highlight of episode. Khanum appeared on national television screens after a significant gap. In the finale episode she sang her most popular
ghazal "
Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo". Strings even went on to thank her in the opening monologue of song saying, "We would like to thank Farida Khanum Sahiba for accepting our request and gracing Coke Studio with her presence."
ARY News praised the rendition saying, "Finally a reason to watch Coke Studio: Farida Khanum singing 'Aaj Jane Ki Zidd Na Karo'." Besides Khanum,
Ali Zafar's third appearance to sing "Aj Din Vehre Vich" originally written by
Shahnawaz Zaidi received positive reviews
The Nation wrote, "With this season of Coke Studio, Ali has proved that he is an all-rounder. Just like he has essayed different types of characters in his films across the border, in his music also Ali has reaffirmed his versatility like no other artist of his generation, which is on ample display in Coke Studio." The other songs by
Alycia Dias, Malang Party and Siege were also praised. ==See also==