London-born pop singer, musician, composer, producer and father to Pakistan’s first animated series Burka Avenger, Aaron Haroon Rashid is our Hotstepper this week. Here’s why…

After running successfully on television in Pakistan, Burka Avenger bagged the Peabody Award, the Rising Star Award, and most recently the International Gender Equity Prize, which is a huge deal for Pakistan – a country where the oppression of women makes headlines. The TV series has also been covered by local as well as international publications, including securing a spot in TIME magazine. We do feel that’s a wow moment for a musician anywhere in the world, more so for one from Pakistan!

There’s more. We feel Haroon has given us one too many reasons to be our Hotstepper! Let’s start with what a huge influence Awaz was for Pakistani youth. ‘Aye Jawan’, ‘Mr Fraudiye’ and ‘Pyaareya’ were iconic and even today, new musicians are making renditions of these songs because they deserve to be relived.

Even without Awaz, Haroon was still an unstoppable singer. He spruced patriotism up for us and gave it a hip, new face. While we love our good old mili naghmas, we cannot help but hum ‘Dil Se Maine Dekha Pakistan’ on. It still echoes in schools across the country on Independence Day.

After taking a break from singing, it is hard for most pop stars to resurface gracefully, but that was never a problem for Haroon. With a fresh concept like Burka Avenger, he extended his stay in our hearts and brought Pakistan global acknowledgement and appreciation. We wish Haroon the best of luck in his endeavours – educational or entertainment related – and can hardly wait for what he’ll bring home next that will make us proud!