Music contest held

Islamabad: Sajjad Ali Hussain, a young singer from Faisalabad, won the Sarangi Season 6 Finale after defeating the four other shortlisted contestants.

His first music album will be produced by a professional production studio with the support of the Serena Hotel, which organised the event under its initiative Sarangi, which is meant to encourage young and talented singers and bands to celebrate the nation’s cultural heritage through their music. Former Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal (r) Mujahid Anwar Khan gave away prizes to the winner and other contestants.

Aziz Boolani, CEO of Serena Hotels, lauded the talented performers and encouraged others to participate in the next season of Sarangi. He also appreciated the three jury members for their voluntary services in this wonderful community initiative and presented them with mementos on the occasion.

“This Sarangi programme is dedicated to promoting the hidden talents of Pakistan by providing them with our hotel’s platform to showcase their musical talent with a wider audience – an opportunity to become the nation’s rising stars,” he said. For Sarangi Season 6, a total of 360 contestants showed up and five of them were selected by professional jury members. The shortlisted contestants, who belonged to different backgrounds and exhibited an intriguing mix of musical talents, included Asma Aslam from Karachi, Muqaddas Younas from Lahore, Minhas Khan from Islamabad, Sajjad Ali Hussain from Faisalabad, and Rahat Francis from Quetta.

The judges said the contestants’ experience and training were reflected in their vocal styles as they performed in front of over 300 guests, including a large number of diplomats, government functi­onaries, corporate heads, bus­ine­ssmen, and music lovers; proving their mettle to the highly acclaimed musical genius Sarmad Ghafoor, whose well-known works include Atif Aslam’s two platinum albums including ‘Jal Pari’ and he is

the man behind the music of last year’s cinematic hit ‘The legend of Maula Jatt.’