≡

Coke Studio 2020 and Velo Sound Station: How The Internet Responded

Manaal Khurram

The coronavirus pandemic inevitably resulted in a rather dull and dreary year. Filling the void was Coke Studio 2020 that left music aficionados gripped with excitement when it revealed its star-studded lineup last month. The first episode of the much-awaited season featured three tracks unveiled by producer Rohail Hyatt. Singer Meesha Shafi, who received ample backlash from netizens for not appearing at court hearings for her ongoing legal tussle with Ali Zafar, made a powerful comeback to the platform with the season-opener Na Tuttya Ve and the recently dropped Gal Sunn. The former, an all-female anthem comprised six artists including Fariha Pervaiz, Sanam Marvi, Shafi, Zara Madani, Wajiha Naqvi and Sehar Gul Khan. Jaag Rahi and Dil Khirki were also well-received by listeners. Meanwhile, Velo Sound Station took off to a great start too, receiving more praise than criticism. The first episode of the new-fangled music show covered performances by Umair Jaswal (Maine Tumhari Gagar Se), Atif Aslam (Kadi Te Hans) and Natasha Noorani (Baby Baby), with all their songs being produced by music composer Ahsan Parvaiz. Shafi’s Boom Boom has also been making waves on social media. Here is how Twitter users are responding to Coke Studio 2020 and Velo Sound Station:

Reactions to Coke Studio 2020:

 

 

 

 

 

Meesha Shafi’s opener Na Tuttya Ve has become all the rage:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many users are looking forward to Yaqeen, a Wajiha Naqvi-crooned song about the journey of self-belief through flavors of Raga Rock and Brit-pop in an East meets West musical fusion:

 

 

 

 

 

Mehdi Maloof’s Dil Khirki has received mixed reviews. While some have referred to it as a masterpiece, others are not for it:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fans are going gaga over Shafi’s Gal Sunn too:

 

 

 

Dil Tarpe, a classic tarana sung by music maestro Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and featuring the talented Zara Madani is winning hearts before its release:

 

 

 

Reactions to Velo Sound Station:

 

 

 

 

Atif Aslam seems to have made up for his absence from Coke Studio with Velo’s Kadi Te Hans:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Umair Jaswal’s Gagar is making the rounds for all the right reasons:

 

 

 

 

 

Meesha Shafi also has fans vibing to her cover of Nazia Hassan’s 80s hit Boom Boom:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comparions between the two:

Twitter users have also been drawing comparisons between the two shows. A handful of them feel Velo is giving tough competition to Coke Studio. “Great things are happening for Pakistani music. So happy to see a fresh sound with amazing visuals and performances,” wrote a user. A post added, “Another great challenge to Coke Studio after Nescafe Basement. “Velo sound station and Coke Studio running parallel, December, coffee, can’t get better than this. Pakistan Has Got Talent!!” Another tweet read, “I think this 1st season of #velosoundstation is far better than the last four seasons of #cokestudio.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Backlash:

Of course, no show is complete without some amount of flak. Calling Velo Sound Station out for prerecorded songs, a user wrote, “At least Coke Studio and Nescafé Basement are recorded live. Velo has pre-recorded/auto-tuned songs where singers can’t seem to lip-sync. In my view Velo sound station is a disaster. Given the class, brilliance and calibre of Bilal Maqsood, Velo is far below my expectations.” Others lamented about how Coke Studio’s latest season cannot compete with its predecessors. Taking a dig at the music platform, a user noted, “But hey, at least they (used to) make decent coke studio songs and cute heartwarming ads.” Some are hoping for the next episode to be better though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Singer Meesha Shafi has grabbed eyeballs for appearing on Coke Studio and Velo Sound Station but refusing to make an appearance in court in her longstanding legal feud with Ali Zafar. Echoing the sentiments, Dubai-based journalist Mahwash Ajaz posted, “This is for all the people who thought it was ‘too controversial’ for #AliZafar to be named as a univ ambassador. This is the backlash for #MeeshaShafi for performing in Coke Studio & Velo Sound Station instead of showing up in court where she was summoned MULTIPLE times. #MeToo.” Similarly, TV host and influence Waqar Zaka recently uploaded a video on Facebook in which he questioned Shafi for the same. He asked why Shafi disappeared right after levelling allegations of abuse against Zafar, adding that she previously claimed she had moved to Canada and would not return but instead made her way back for the two music shows while not being bothered about her court hearings. He also lashed out at Coke Studio for not banning Shafi, mentioning that had it been Zafar in her place, he would have been removed from the platform.

Thirteen Pakistani Universities Among Best Global Universities Rankings 2021: Here’s The Complete List

You can watch his video here:

 

https://fb.watch/2fbpzeu6eE/

Exit mobile version