The Grand Finale of Pepsi Battle of the Bands not only has star-studded performances but also revealed the winner of the ultimate Battle from amongst the Top 2 bands, Badnaam and Kashmir.
The host of the show Ayesha Omer was joined by her co-host for the finale, the entertaining Wasay Chaudhry. Together they introduced the four judges, Fawad Khan, Shahi Hassan, Meesha Shafi and Atif Aslam.
The fifth judge to join in for this big finale included the legendary Ali Azmat, who rocked the stage with an exciting performance before joining the panel. The rockstar Ali Azmat performed a song titled ‘Pataal Say’ that he composed with Ahsan Bari especially for the show.
The performance that followed was led by none other than Shahi Hassan, one of the core members of the top Pakistani band Vital Signs. Shahi who is also a judge on the show gave a solid performance on the song ‘Namumkin’ that was written by Shoaib Mansoor and composed by Vital Signs. Shahi mentioned how this song was very dear to him and his band members, Rohail Hyatt and the late Junaid Jamshed. Together with Ahsan Bari on guitars and Daud Ramay from Roots on drums, Shahi’s band came together to perform Namumkin, resulting in an amazing act.
The woman with the powerhouse vocals, who is also a judge on the show, Meesha Shafi brought her A-game to the stage next. With an electrifying performance on a brand-new track titled, ‘Speaker Phar Diyay’ Meesha created an incredibly strong sound on-stage.
Josh, together with their skyrocketing energy came together to perform ‘Haseena Baliye’ on Pepsi Battle of the Bands. Engaging the audience with their spirit, Josh added some fresh bhangra vibes to the show.
Former winner of Pepsi Battle of the Bands, the celebrated Aaroh performed next. With their front-man Farooq, who was also a guest judge during the Auditions round of this year’s season, the band brought back a wave of nostalgia with a terrific performance of their popular song ‘Na Kaho’. The band paid tribute to the late Haider Hashmi, who was the fifth member of the band.
Atif Aslam, the rockstar of Pakistan also blew the audiences away with a fantastic performance on ‘Pak Watan’. Adding a groovy fusion of folk to the original in the Kashmiri language, Atif was truly spellbinding onstage.
Last but not the least, Fawad Khan came forward, but he wasn’t alone. Entity Paradigm, known as E.P made a comeback exclusively for the Grand Finale with a stellar performance on their hit track ‘Hamesha’! Reviving old memories and leaving a mark with their energy, E.P left us all wanting more.
The Top 2 Badnaam and Kashmir also gave their final performances on the show before the results were announced! Their progress throughout the show was truly commendable as they brought some of their finest originals to the Grand Finale. Both the bands took us down memory lane in flashback videos that demonstrated their overall progress and how close they grew to the platform itself.
Kashmir performed Parwana Hun, giving it all they had. From keyboards and rhythm to bass and drums, all the instruments unified to produce a magnetic sound. Vais did his usual magic on guitars and Bilal swept everyone away with his mesmerizing vocals.
Badnaam performed ‘Deh Khudaya’ and it seemed like they were saving their best for last, leaving a remarkable impression on the audience and the judges. The trio, Lala Ahsen, Rahim Shahbaz and their frontman Ahmed Jilani, is the perfect power packed band dedicated to forwarding the message of Sufi saints with a touch of Rock.
Their friends and family were also present at the Finale to cheer them on and support them for this tremendous milestone of their music careers.
After the judges commented on both the bands, the moment everyone had been waiting for finally arrived, the moment of truth where the winners of Pepsi Battle of the Bands were revealed. As the hosts Ayesha Omer and Wasay Chaudhry built the suspense, they invited former winner and front man of Aaroh, Farooq Ahmed as well as Furqan Ahmed Syed, VP and GM of Pepsi Co Pakistan to hand over the award to the winner.
The winners, Kashmir who dominated the votes were awarded the winning trophy as well as 50 lac cash prize, whereas Badnaam was rewarded with 25 lac cash prize for runners-up. Both bands have the opportunity to record albums and perform live in concerts all across Pakistan, with the support of Pepsi.
“Our victory was one we shared with our friends family and fans and we are so grateful that we’ve had the opportunity to witness something so overwhelming to us. We could only dream somehow so many people would get to listen to our music, but to have them like our music is another feeling”, said Shane J. Anthony, drummer of Kashmir band while talking to Runway Pakistan.
With this, Pepsi Battle of the Bands came to an end, but the journey of some of the talented bands that were discovered during the show, has only just begun.
