An A to Z of the musical highs and lows in 2020

HOW THE COVID-19-HIT YEAR BECAME A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE FOR ARTISTS

by ASJAD NAZIR

NOISE generated by the Covid-19 pandemic and cancellations caused by the subsequent lockdown turned 2020 into a rollercoaster ride for the music industry.

There were melodic highs, magical moments, musical misfires, low points and unexpected song-related surprises.

Eastern Eye went back through the past 12 months to present a musical A to Z of 2020.

A is for AR Rahman: The Oscar winner had an interesting year that included a winning soundtrack for Dil Bechara and getting superstar actor Dhanush in the studio to record a song. He also generated headlines after alleging dark forces had been blocking him from Bollywood by spreading false rumours about him.

B is for Bollywood: Covid-19 cancelling most film releases and halting shooting meant it was a relatively quiet year for Bollywood music. One bright spark was action-thriller Khuda Haafiz, which had arguably the best soundtrack of the year and standout numbers, including the title track.

C is for Crowdfunding: British singer Bhavik Haria successfully crowd-funded a bhajan album and his fundraiser was so effective that he exceeded his target, managing to raise money to also promote it. The versatile performer took on the challenge of crowd-funding his album to keep bhajans alive and connected to a new generation.

D is for Dhol: Midlands-based music maestro Aman Singh initiated a Drop The Knife Pick Up The Dhol initiative, which aims to give youngsters a musical alternative to weapons and crime. It was announced that the UK’s first female dhol player Parv Kaur will be having a movie made about her life.

E is for Events: From a massive live tribute to celebrate Pandit Ravi Shankar’s 100th birth anniversary to blockbuster concerts, featuring Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal, Satinder Sartaaj, Diljit Dosanjh and Neha Kakkar, lots of major musical events were cancelled in the UK due to Covid-19. Most of the major concerts have been rescheduled for 2021.

F is for Fun: The lockdown led British singer-songwriter Geeta Jhala to create Cheebu World, which are fun animal-led animated songs for kids. The first of these was a super catchy number Roar Roar Roary and it was followed by Lango On The Tree.

G is for Ghazal: A big highlight of British backed drama serial A Suitable Boy was that the ghazals were composed and sung by Kavita Seth. She used real classical instruments to capture the atmosphere of the 1950s and experience the true flavour of each of the ghazals, which led to renewed interest in the genre.

H is for Hip hop: In terms of independent artists, hip hop remained one of the most path-breaking commercial genres with artists using it to break musical boundaries. Two of the most interesting independent artists were the UK talent Premz and USA-based Adi, who delivered solid songs offering something new.

I is for Inspired: The number of British Asian albums dramatically decreasing in recent years is why London-based duo Shaan and Verinder had a standout moment with their 12-track release Inspired. The awesome album released during lockdown featured diverse commercial music styles and world-class singing talents, including Roshan Prince, Gunjan, Benny Dhaliwal, Manjit Pappu, Saini Surinder and Miss Pooja.

J is for Jay Sean: The chart-topping British singer launched his own podcast in 2020 and delivered some interesting musical collaborations. He teamed up with singer Guru Randhawa for the mega-hit Surma Surma and reunited with Rishi Rich for the song Nakhre.

K is for Kitchen Sink: One album that took everyone by surprise was Kitchen Sink by Nadine Shah, which released during lockdown and struck a chord with music fans. Her fourth studio album received massive critical acclaim and will likely be a frontrunner at awards in 2021.

L is for Lockdown: The lockdown halted music acts all over the world and many adapted to the situation by delivering concerts, streamed through multiple mediums, including social media. The UK-based musician Kay Kay Chauhan and his singers were some of the most hardworking, and helped ease the stress of self-isolation with a massive number of free shows.

M is for Malik: Crown prince of Bollywood Armaan Malik didn’t let the restrictions of 2020 stop him from delivering an impressive body of work, which ranged from film songs to standout pop releases. He also delivered hit English language song Control and spread positivity among his massive growing army of fans. Special mention to his super talented brother Amaal Mallik, who also had a prolific year composing huge hits.

N is for Newcomers: There were a lot of talented new singers, who announced themselves and showed that the future of commercial music is bright. Talented newcomers included Jagtar, Joelle Charan, Zainab Haya Pasha and Usman Ali Raees.

O is for Obituary: We sadly lost music talents in 2020 and the most high-profile of these was SP Balasubrahmanyam. One of the most prolific singers in music history passed away in a Chennai hospital after a brave battle with Covid-19. He is thought to have sung over 40,000 songs and received well-deserved tributes from around the world.

P is for PSL: The Pakistani Super League’s (PSL) official 2020 anthem Tayyar Hain received a negative response, despite featuring popular singers Ali Azmat, Haroon, Asim Azhar and Arif Lohar. It was so bad that the public pushed Ali Zafar into releasing an alternative anthem for the cricket league, which proved to be far more popular.

Q is for Queen: Pop queen Charli XCX showed once again why she is music royalty by recording an entire pop album during lockdown and getting fan input, each step of the way. Her self-isolation album How I'm Feeling Now is arguably the finest of 2020 and was described as a moment in time.

R is for Rocqawali: Acclaimed Danish-Pakistani rock band Rocqawali found the hallowed middle ground between commercial and artistic music with their third album Kalam, which took sounds rooted in over 800 years of Sufi tradition and combined them with explosive contemporary beats. They were representative of many acts who used cross-cultural influences effectively.

S is for Sayonee: There were also plenty of musical misfires, which resulted in awful releases and one of the most heavily criticised was Arijit Singh’s cover version of Junoon classic Sayonee.

T is for Tribute: A standout moment was students of late sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar coming together to record a musical tribute to celebrate his 100th birth anniversary. Led by Anoushka Shankar, each recorded a performance indoors, and it was expertly edited together into one big performance and music video.

U is for Universe Boss: Big hitting batsman Chris Gayle, also known as Universe Boss, teamed up with Avina Shah for the dance number Groove, which got everyone dancing.

V is for Videos: There was an interesting array of music videos released and some of the most popular featured Bigg Boss 13 contestants. There was also a video controversy when Bilal Saeed and Sama Qamar were criticised for shooting a music video in a mosque. There was further controversy when allegations emerged artists in India were buying fake views for their music videos.

W is for Wedding: Superstar singer Neha Kakkar, 32, surprised everyone by marrying struggling reality TV star Rohanpreet Singh, seven years her junior, after a whirlwind romance. Another wedding that took everyone by surprise was Pakistani pop star Haroon, 47, marrying a woman who is thought to be in her twenties.

X is for X Factor: One singer that just had a magic X Factor about him was Diljit Dosanjh, who received worldwide acclaim for his monster hit album G.O.A.T, which was so good that it got him a major breakthrough in the western mainstream.

Y is for YouTube: Young 22-year-old Indian singer Dhvani Bhanushali became the youngest Indian to cross a billion views on YouTube.

Z is for Zayn Malik: Pop superstar Zayn Malik released the song Better, which serves as the lead single from his upcoming third studio album. His single wasn’t the only reason to celebrate because he also became a father after his partner Gigi Hadid gave birth to a baby girl.