Pakistan Super League 4 unveils opening ceremony line-up and a new theme song that is sung by Fawad Khan.
Pakistan Super League 4, after years with Ali Zafar as theme song provider, opening ceremony performer and ambassador to one of the teams, is going for a change. Change is good.
PSL 4 unveiled its complete (and somewhat compelling) line-up of performers this past weekend on Twitter and it looks like Dubai, which is where the opening ceremony will be held, is going to have a ball of a time, as will those who will hopefully tune in, in great numbers to see this particular set of performers.
The line-up comprises the global music star Pitbull, Pakistan’s very own superstar Fawad Khan featuring rapper Young Desi, the re-united original Junoon trio, Marcia Barrett “of the legendary old-school outfit Boney M” as well as Aima Baig and Shuja Haider. It’s an interesting line-up.
This fourth edition of PSL 4 opening ceremony will take place on February 14 at The Dubai International Stadium and will be followed by a match between Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars.
Now for the HBL PSL official anthem for the 2019, ‘Khel Deewano Ka’, it is sung by Fawad Khan (who is appearing in The Legend of Maula Jutt later this year) featuring Young Desi, and produced by Shuja Haider.
The song is somewhat catchy; there are elements of EDM and rock but it’s not genre-bending. Young Desi kills it when he appears in the music video that could easily pass off for past HBL PSL videos. But it is good to see a Pakistani rap artist on such a massive stage. Pakistani rap has grown and evolved and is not restricted to the privileged class or certain languages. Personally, I would’ve liked to hear more of Young Desi than what has been created. The real question: Fawad Khan. He’s got a presence and he puts all of himself in the music video including some dancing but as a singer, he sounds overproduced and the Fawad Khan you heard on EP’s debut album, the groundbreaking Irtiqa or Coke Studio (‘Bolo Bolo’) or the single ‘Shor Macha’ (with a music video directed by Bilal Lashari) only appears in pieces. It is also true that none of this will matter at the stadium because the song has beats. That said, those waiting to hear just how Fawad’s voice has truly evolved over the years, will just have to wait for something slightly raw.
