1960–1980: Rise and fall of playback singing After the
independence of
Pakistan in 1947, the most popular form of entertainment in the newly created Pakistan was the medium of film. Cinemas sprouted up in various corners of the nation, especially in
Lahore,
Karachi and
Dacca in
East Pakistan and
playback singing became popular. People that tended to move into the genre had to be trained in
classical music, usually trained by
ustads who mastered its various forms and styles. In 1966, a talented young
playback singer Ahmed Rushdi (now considered as one of the greatest singers of South Asia) sang the first
South Asian pop song "
Ko-Ko-Korina" for the film
Armaan. Composed by
Sohail Rana, the song was a blend of 60s
bubblegum pop,
rock and roll twist music and Pakistani film music. This genre would later be termed as ‘
filmi pop’. Following Rushdi's success,
Christian bands specialising in
jazz started performing at various night clubs and hotel lobbies The 1980s saw a nose-dive in the progress of cinema in Pakistan as the nation was left in a state of turmoil over the changes in the government administration. The number of cinemas decreased rapidly and people preferred watching television over going to a cinema.
New era and revival: (1972–1978) While the
cinema in Pakistan was declining, neighboring
India was gaining in strength in film content and quality. People began admiring the Indian playback counterparts. And when it seemed that
music in Pakistan had no hopes of surviving this foreign influence,
Anwar Maqsood and
Shoaib Mansoor launched the career of Nerissa, Beena and Shabana Benjamin (collectively known as the
Benjamin Sisters) in 1985. The sisters filled television screens with their melodious charms and tabloids started calling it the
Benjamin Sisters Phenomenon. A few years later came Bengali singer
Alamgir. Like all people from his generation, Alamgir was raised listening to songs by bands like
ABBA and
Boney M. He would do renditions of popular
new wave songs in Urdu. In 1973, influenced by
disco and
funk, Alamgir sang
Albela Rahi, an Urdu song literally translated from a famous Cuban hit originally in Spanish. Alamgir brought a new form of music to Pakistan, one that blended the classical forms with a tint of modern Western music. Hit after another, he proved to be the most successful singer and musician of his time. Alongside Alamgir,
Muhammad Ali Shehki also rose to fame with his renditions of the Hindustani classical forms with mediums like
jazz and
rock. She was selected for the nasal quality of the song's delivery. The song became an instant hit in the UK and the
Indian sub-continent. Influenced primarily by
disco beats and
hip hop, Nazia along with her brother
Zohaib Hassan produced successive hits. Their songs
Disco Deewane and
Tere Qadmon Ko became the rage all over
Asia to the extent that their very first album was declared the best selling album of the time in Asia. The hype did not last for long as with
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's regime came drastic decisions to Islamicise the nation. Almost all music videos were banned to air on local television. The public generally welcomed the new hair styles and fashion wear (popular among university female and male students). In the 1980s, various music arrangers held underground rock music concerts in the five-star hotels and university campuses. The success of Vital Signs helped others to follow their suit, and the rock music in the country skyrocketed for the first time in the
history of the country. In a time when there was no hope for the industry to survive, rock/pop music bands notably and much quickly filled the gap that the pop music industry had left. With the rise of Vital Signs and later,
Junoon and others, the rock music, exploded in the 1980s and 1990s, became a vehicle for expressing patriotic nationalist spirit in Pakistan. In 1990, the first privately owned television station, the
Network Television Marketing (NTM) opened up introducing shows aimed at the younger generation. Prior to that, in 1989, Shoaib Mansoor produced a show for PTV called ''
Music '89'' and took the Hassan siblings as the show's host. This show is responsible for single-handedly creating legends out of bands like
Vital Signs,
Junoon,
Ali Haider,
Sajjad Ali and
Jupiters also including underground
alternative rock bands like Final Cut and The Barbarians. According to the editorial written in
The Express Tribune in 2011, the "Vital Signs and Pakistan's ingenious rock music was the only "arsenal" the country had against India's encroaching
entertainment industry." It was during the midst of Zia times, when
Dil Dil Pakistan was released on television and on a short time period, it became a huge success in the country. and overshadow every effort the Pakistani counterpart would make to highlight the talents within. The beginning of FM radio in the mid-90s made Pakistani pop more available. People started enjoying the shades of Paki Pop n rock in their cars. Recording companies like
EMI Pakistan,
Pepsi Pakistan Inc. and Sound Master started taking note of the new and rising stars. They started signing contracts with bands including Strings, Vital Signs, Junoon, Benjamin Sister, and Awaz who would later become iconic pop-rock bands. At this time, various rock/pop bands earned a lot of recognition abroad after Vital Signs made its debut international concert in the United States in 1993.
Hadiqa Kiani made her debut in Adnan Sami & Zeba Bakhtiar starrer "Sargam" in 1995 which became a phenomenal hit and the music album of the movie was a chartbuster in Lollywood Top 10 (PTV), Yeh Hai Filmi Dunya (NTM) and FM channels. But Hadiqa continued her music career more as a pop artist instead of a playback. Her albums "Raaz, Rung and Roshni" sold millions and made her an ultimate female pop star after Nazia Hassan. In 1997, Hadiqa became the second international female singer in the world to be signed by Pepsi. In 1999,
Junaid Jamshed Dubbed the "King of South Asian Pop" released his second solo pop album
Us Rah Par. release in 1999, the album Us Rah Par achieved massive commercial success, peaking at number 3 on the Asian Music Chart where it ranks alongside high-charting releases such as Himesh Reshammiya's
Aap Kaa Surroor (album) and the
Young Tarang by Nazia and Zoheb Hassan. The album became one of the best-selling South Asian solo projects It one of the first albums by a South Asian artist to be ranked among the top 10 best-selling albums globally. As of 2002, over 30 million copies of Us Rah Par have been sold globally making it the third best selling South Asian music albums. Following the
Kargil War, all Indian channel broadcasts were limited or banned in Pakistan and after
Pervaiz Musharraf's
coup d'état, the media was privatised. To cater to the needs of thousands who watched the Indian channels with regularity, programmes were broadcast to match the Indian content. Seeing this as an opportunity, bands returned on the music scene and started producing videos with much richer content. In 2002–03,
Ghazanfar Ali, producer and CEO of the Indus Media Group started his very first venture into the music industry with Indus Music, a channel dedicated to music following the formats used by Western Music Channels. The channel started as a part of the Indus Vision channel and was later started as a separate channel in 2003. With the disbanding of Junoon, Ali Azmat launched his solo career, and his first solo album
Social Circus became a success and gave him an iconic image. New female singers like Ainee Khalid, Abresham, and Abeer kept the music scene alive. After Indus Music, ARY Musik (The Musik) Aag (now off-air), Play, and many other music channels were launched which kept the music scene going on. Aag TV was the first-ever Youth Music Channel of Pakistan which presented many thought-provoking programmes as well on youth issues The band
Jal formed in 2003, with
Atif Aslam,
Goher Mumtaz and others brought in a new wave of Pakistani pop music with hits like
Aadat, Woh Lamhe, and their respective albums. ==Television shows==