Aarish and Auj win the battles, E-Sharp wins the hearts

BY ALI NAQVI –

The rocking Pepsi Battle of the Bands is inching towards an epic conclusion. The episode 6 of the show eliminates two more bands leaving the other tow to fight for the final glory. Arish, E-Sharp, Black Hour and Auj battled hard to cement their place in the final.

One-on-one competitions become awfully cruel at times especially when you want both teams to win. E-Sharp VS Aarish was apparently an easier battle for a band who was awarded performer of the day twice. They also had the advantage of choosing the band they were to compete with. It wasn’t that easy.

It has been a learning curve for Aarish as a band. Since auditions Aarish has evolved as a unit. For episode 6 ‘Muntazir & Dekha Na Tha’ was a top notch performance on the whole. E-Sharp was equally good. They had been exceptional throughout Pepsi Battle of the Bands.

E-Sharp’s first half of the mashup, the band’s original ‘Aik Nayi Subah’, was a bit too slow to start with. It was compensated really well in the second part of the song with ‘Tu Hai Kahan’. The 5 minute and 11 seconds long track was a treat to listen to. E-Sharp has all the potential to excel at the highest level. They have also one particular thing about them, and that is the ability to win hearts of the people with their melodic music.

Auj VS Black Hour was again the toughest of battles. Auj performed a mashup ‘Angraiziyan & Laung Gawacha’. The choice of the song was not good enough to leave a perfect impression. It was the vocal quality of Abdur Rahman that saved the day for Auj. On the other hand Black Hour did well to connect their original Tanhai with Tanhai Main Chain Na Aye. Their performance made the job of the judges a lot more difficult.

To the astonishment of all, E-Sharp was eliminated from the competition. The band who did not make a single mistake throughout its journey on the show was out of the race. It was a shocker. In the eyes of the judges E-Sharp was somehow ‘outplayed’ by the resilient Aarish. With hard work and dedication you can certainly make a real difference. But music lovers all over Pakistan are devastated to see the best band depart unceremoniously.

Auj’s win against Black Hour did not come as a surprise. But the band could have done much better. What happened to E-Sharp could have happened to Auj as well. They were also on a margin where things could have gone either way.

Auj is lucky to have a place in the final of Pepsi Battle of the Bands and so is Arish. There is nothing much to choose between the two. A band who performs best on a given day will have the chance to win the title. Now, most importantly, they will also have to keep in mind that they will not be judged by the critical Fawad Khan, Stings and Meesha Shafi. The audience will decide which band comes out as the winner of Pepsi Battle of the Bands.