It’s finally the moment that everyone has been waiting for, Pepsi Battle of the Bands has their top 2 finalists who will battle it out for the title of the victor.
Honestly though, for someone who is into rock, this season has been a treat. Ever since the audition, the bands set a pretty high standard and everyone’s just been in awe as to how it keeps becoming better at every single stage.
And guess who made a comeback to put forth the ultimate tamaasha?
Yeah, we just gave it away, but Tamaasha – the viewers’ and judges’ absolute favorite from Season 3 made a comeback and performed their absolutely new original song called Paisa Phenk. Honestly though, screaming in awe after the incredibly threatrical and amazing performance – just wanna rain all of my money on them how it rained over them at the end, not even kidding!
Last week, E-Sharp won Performer of the Day and chose Aarish to be their opponent for the “mashup” round, and oh boy – we DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!
It’s just how E-Sharp said, “the stage is absolutely brilliant, and it’s just fun performing on it. It’s all about setting up a show jou dunya bus dekhti rehjaye.” and both of the bands did exactly that!
E-Sharp performed their original song called Aik Nayi Subah and mashed it up with everyone’s ever favorite Tu Hai Kahan, originally performed by Strings, Junaid Jamshed and Haroon and that was just a musical journey that none of us were prepared for. They LITERALLY pulled off an Overload with the dhol and everything, and as someone who has been into Pakistani rock since forever, I SCREAMED!
And then they closed it all off with an amazing guitar rendition of the national anthem and cue all of our tears of joy. So, so beautiful.
Aarish, however, gave E-Sharp such a tough competition with their super cool pop number, and they’re literally putting up a fight for the top spot with their magic!
Their original song, Muntazir, was such a soulful journey – and as Faisal rightfully said about it, did make us all cry a little. But here’s where it gets better, when it mashes up into Alamgir’s evergreen Dekha Na Tha. How was that rendition even possible? We do not know. But they managed to pull it off, and they did so brilliantly!
Next up, Black Hour with their original ‘Tanhaiyaan’ and a cover of Fringe Benefits’ Tanhai
Their performance was so well put together, and super energetic. Black Hour did come absolutely battle ready and just killed it on the stage – especially with the drums! Their mashup seemed so seamless, but the ending with the scream just set the entire stage on fire. Ending on such a high, it was an absolute treat to jam along with!
Last but not the least, everyone’s absolute favorite Auj and definitely have to say this: never, even in your wildest dreams, would you ever have imagined Laung Gawacha to be performed the way they performed it.
Mashing it up with their original song Angraiziyan, it was a conversation between two absolutely splitting personalities calling for each other and that showed in their performance – musically and lyrically and it was an absolute work of genius. Angraiziyan, as Bilal and Fawad said, could easily fit into a Strings album. Plus, that Laung Gawacha in hard rock? No one, I repeat, no one ever saw that coming!
But for the verdict, E-Sharp vs Aarish and Auj vs Black Hour – who made it to the Top 2?
Well, the answer to that was part surprising, part super expected. Expected part: Auj won over Black Hour. The surprising part: Aarish came through to the finals, leaving E-Sharp behind. The jury praised all four bands, encouraging them to keep making music after the show and that all bands are ready to go out and perform and lead the industry into the future. Aarish also ended up winning the Performer of the Day, total rise of the underdog type feel. It’s just been an absolutely brilliant journey through and through.
Who are you supporting in the finals? Auj or Aarish? Let us know in the comments!
This post has been made in partnership with Pepsi Pakistan.