The fifth episode of the fourth season of Pepsi Battle of the Bands has recently broadcasted. Some bands like always impressed the judges. Some on the other hand did not. This resulted in their elimination. The hot topic of that episode is the battle between Neon and Aarish.
The episode format was that each band had to perform their favorite songs. Aarish paid tribute to the late Junaid Jamshed by performing Na Tu Ayegi. Their attempt was appreciated by the judges. However the audience on the other hand as seen on social media thought it was average as compared to their other performances.
It is important to note here that Aarish has a pop rock sound. This was more of an alternative rock song. It was something along the lines of hard rock and dark rock. This was something different from Aarish but was not good as their performances before.
You can watch the performance here:
You can watch the original song here:
Their competitor was the Neo Rock band Neon who performed Junoon’s Mahi Aja. They performed it in a funky style format. The original is similarly a funky feel. However it has more of a Sufi rock and soft rock touch to it. Another important thing to mention here is that the bass plays a major role in it. Brian O’Connell has done an amazing job with the bass line of the song. This song is one of Junoon’s underrated songs.
You can watch the original song here:
Now let us talk about Neon’s version. It had a completely different style. There was a strong funk as well as Neon’s own neo rock touch to it. They went experimental with Junoon’s Mahi Aja. The bass did not deliver much however it was just the amount of touch needed for the song. Neon’s stage presence is undoubtedly the best among all the bands.
However their experiment did not sit well with the judges. The song received negative feedback from all the judges. Bilal Maqsood of Strings criticized the Neon’s version heavily. He said that it was terrible and the band was not skilled enough to cover the song. This resulted in Neon’s elimination.
Neon was clearly better than Aarish in this episode. However favoritism got the better of them and they were eliminated. This also reveals the mindset of the judges and Pepsi Battle of the Bands. The elimination of bands such as Neon who are bringing something new to the table are not fit for the show. It’s all about making money and in Pakistan pop rock is popular with the youth and that is the only thing Pepsi is concerned about.
Bilal’s comments were way too harsh. He should remember that Neon are way better than Strings when they were at this age. Unfortunately it is a commercial show and experimenting is useless.
You can watch Neon’s version here:
You can watch the full episode here:
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