Following is the list of forty-one featured artists line-up, including this years' five of six music directors, that performed as individuals, duos and with chorus:[5]
Y: A check mark indicates that artist appeared in the show as scheduled. Shahzad Nawaz is the only featured artist who served as a narrator.
Music directors line-up
Following is the listing of artists that were assigned one of each, six music directors who composed, wrote and rendered songs with them, under Strings supervision.
Note: Above mention artists in each producer team may subject to a change, if any change occur. Except Zaidi, each music director also debut as a featured artist.[5]
Backing vocalists
Following is the three backing vocalists that serves as a vocal harmony with the lead vocalist. Among them Shahab and Nimra marked their debut while Rachel returns, both as a backing vocalist and a featured artist for the second time.[6]
File:Coke Studio 9 Logo in green.pngCoke Studio logo in green and white coining with the colors of Pakistani Flag, at 69th Independence Day celebration.
On August 3, 2016, a rendition of Madam Noor Jehan's cult-classic song "Zalima Coca-Cola Pila Dey" as a tribute to her, was released with also revealing the premier date of season.[7] It featured vocals by this year's featured artists Meesha Shafi and Umair Jaswal.[8][9]
Following previous year format, at the 69th Independence of country, Coke Studio released another rendition of a song "Aye Rah-e-Haq Ke Shaheedo" – a patriotic song (mili naghma) originally sung by Naseem Begum, on August 6, 2016.[10] Song opens with a dedicated monologue, voiceover by filmmaker Shahzad Nawaz:
،یہ ہے تمہارے نام It is for you, ،اس مٹی کے بہتے لہو کے نام For the running blood of this soil, ،میرے دل میں بسے جان سے پیارے For the beloved that is in my heart, پاکستان کے نام۔ For the Pakistan.
The song was also as a tribute to those who sacrificed their lives in Partition of India for the creation of Pakistan and reads, "Dedicated to those who sacrificed their todays for tomorrow's".[11] Aye Rah-e-Haq Ke Shaheedo" featured all the artists that were scheduled to lined-up for this season.[11] It was well received by critics.[12] Sharing their Idea behind the song, Coca-Cola team explained, "Coke Studio is all about bridging barriers and bringing people together through music. During this difficult period in our history, we wanted to unite the nation in recognition of all the heroes who have sacrificed their lives so that the rest of us can live in freedom. Together with Strings, we felt this song would be a beautiful tribute to them, and to their families and loved ones on behalf of our beloved country. Bringing together artists of all ages, cultures and geographies of Pakistan to perform this heartfelt rendition, originally sung by Naseem Begum, was our way of saying thank you."[13]
All episodes dates are in accordance with the release dates, changes may occur, if otherwise any. Each episode was released digitally a day prior to its original air date.
Production
Format
"From the very outset, when we came on board in Season 7, this had been our vision. Up till then, it had been one person, Rohail Hyatt's journey. We now wanted to transform it into a collective dream. We were working on something as special as Coke Studio and we couldn't be so selfish that we kept it all to ourselves. We took our initial steps in S7 when we brought in external musicians aside from the house band. Season 8 was an extension of this. With Season 9, Coke was initially against taking on external producers because they thought that they already had the perfect formula and didn't want any changes. But we insisted."
For the particular season of this format all the lined-up artists are selected by assigned music director/producer of each episode for their team with the final approval of Strings.[18] Whereas songs lyrics and compositions are done by producers and performers were mutually selected by each producer and Strings, who would performed them. Season 9, would feature mostly original songs.[18]
The format of the show was initially planned to be instilled when Strings held the reigns of show, however Duo wanted to stay with more original format and starts making changes in season 7 and Season 8 seasons bringing new artists and more original songs.[16] The format will not be adapted in next seasons of series.[18]
In an interview with Samaa Strings said, "We've always believed in collaborations because this is how the industry grows. After the monumental response of season 8, we decided to bring onboard 6 of Pakistan's leading music directors to be a part of Coke Studio. Our vision since season 7 has been to involve more and more people from our music industry and make this platform a collective dream. When we presented the idea to Coca-Cola, they loved it and were fully supportive. It was a challenging task and our guidance was required throughout the process, but today we are extremely satisfied that we took this initiative."[19]
Artist debut
Pakistani actors Mehwish Hayat and Junaid Khan made their singing debut with the season,[20][21] while Indian singer Shilpa Rao is reportedly announced as a featured artist, under Noori's supervision.[22] Rao explained, "I met Noori in Delhi for lunch at a common friends’ gathering, we hung out, sang songs together and that is when they asked me to come to Pakistan and sing for Coke Studio. I agreed – Ali took it very seriously and actually got me here to record the song. It's basically musicians bonding with each other. One song can make you friends for life – that is the power of music,"[23] sharing her experience she stated, " It [Coke Studio Pakistan] is a place where all the musicians are in an environment where they have their instruments, their space and the freedom to choose anything and convey it to the people in their own style; it's very powerful."[23][24]Atif Aslam announced that he would not return to season 9.[25][26]
Veteran Qawwali singer Amjad Sabri made his final and debut appearance on Coke Studio,[27] before his death on June 22, 2016 in a target killing,[28][29] where he recorded a rendition of qawali, "Aj Rung Hai" with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.[30][31] Coca-Cola GM Rizwan U. Khan said, "Coke Studio is the ultimate manifestation of Coca-Cola's music strategy and Season 9 will further strengthen Coca-Cola's cultural leadership, celebrating diversity while bridging barriers relevant to the youth of today, it is very distressing that Amjad Sabri himself will not be with all of us to see Season 9 go on air in August. His death is a huge national loss."[27][32]
Coke Studio for the deaf
File:Coke Studio for the deaf.pngTeacher (extreme left) explaining to the impaired who are sitting on an embedded couch experiencing Coke Studio music for the first time.
On July 30, 2016, preceding to the launch of season, a special musical segment called "Coke Studio for the Deaf" was launched in association with Deaf Reach program of the Family Education Services Foundation (FESF),[33] for hearing-impaired persons with a setup invented by China that mainly comprises a special sofa/couch embedded with hundreds of vibration engines and LED lights that are synced with the sound of the song being played. A grand LED installation around the couch provides synchronized mood lighting to elevate the experience visually, lastly an LED screen in front of the sofa displays the video playback, while the studio is propped with guitars on stands, a drum kit and a keyboard on a stand adding to the overall ambience.[34][35]
In an interview Coca-Cola Pakistan's GM Rizwan U. Khan stated, "Coca-Cola, because of its all inclusive brand trait, revolves around bringing people together. It shrinks social barriers and encourages people to share their emotions and experiences. However, despite reaching the masses, an estimated 9 million of our population have some form of hearing impairment, and have not experienced the magic of Coke Studio. We are really happy that we are now able to make them a part of this unique experience and keep them connected with other people who have been enjoying Coke Studio for the past 8 years."[36]
Richard Geary, founder and director of the Deaf Reach Program commented, "Our collaboration with Coke Studio reflects our approach towards opening new experiences for the Deaf Community and creating enabling opportunities for their inclusion and success. Coke Studio's new initiative will not only draw a circle to include those who are often marginalized, but serve to create more awareness and acceptance from the mainstream audience, helping them to better understand the challenges faced by those with a hearing impairment."[37][38]
Note: There is no repeat airing on Radio channels only fresh episode would be aired following the each fresh telecast on television.
Reception
General
Coke Studio's season 9 became one of the most anticipated series, after the immensely positive reception from previous season.[39][40] The change of format drew wide attention leading to the speculations that having six music directors on the show would bring chaos, record producer Faisal Rafi said that "multiple-producer idea, if implemented, will be the last nail in the coffin," he went on to say that,"Producers are selfish people. They wouldn’t want others to share their limelight."[41] In contradict to Rafi's statement, housband member and Coke Studio long-term drummer Gumby said, "The initial success of Coke Studio lay in the fact that we had an ensemble of producers joining forces. People like Asad Ahmed, Omran Shafique and I used to work in coordination," and said "Hyatt did hold the reins but the show had our input as well." Speaking on the format change he explained, "it is ridiculous that a single producer churns out 25 to 30 songs alone."[41] Citing the example of the Shiraz Uppal-produced "Tajdare-Haram" in season eight, he said "tracks like these prove that the formula works."[41] Receiving mixed reception from media on the change of format, Faisal Kapadia said, "Bringing in new people was the need of the hour. It’s going to shake things up and keep audiences riveted. It is our job to assess what works and to make changes accordingly. And honestly, with or without us, Coke Studio identifies Pakistan’s pop industry. We don’t just own it; the whole nation does."[42]
The death of Qawali singer Amjad Sabri brought wide media attention to series before it premier or any press release, when it was revealed that he was a debut featured artist on show before being killed in a target killing on Jun 22, 2016, just 25 days after he recorded his debut performance.[43] His appearance on show became one of the most awaited performances on the Coke Studio.[44] In an interview Faisal said, "On recording day, after a small briefing session, we skipped the rehearsal and went straight into recording. Sabri started singing in his grand sonorous voice and blew everyone away. We all cried that night. These two masters took us to a very different journey, a journey we can never forget. Just 25 days later, Sabri is not with us. We still can’t believe it."[45] Sabri became the first featured-artist whose performance was aired posthumously.[46][47]
The appearance of actress turned singer Mehwish Hayat was met with mixed response from critics leading the singer to comment on all the speculation saying, "Critics have not even heard me sing, people should wait and hear the song before they judge it. There are people who will hate, regardless, but all the haters who are talking negative about my Coke Studio debut, saying that I cannot sing, should know and realize that someone like Shiraz Uppal or Faisal and Bilal would not have asked me to perform on one of the most prestigious music platforms if they didn’t think I could. This is a HUGE opportunity for me. This whole season is special and I can predict it’ll have the maximum number of hit songs."[48]
The pre-release television commercial of Coca-Cola announcing the premier of season 9 was highly applauded and received worldwide attention.[49] As a part of show launching campaign, the ad featuring a duet of Meesha Shafi and Umair Jaswal called "Zalima Coca-Cola Pila Dey" was released on August 3, 2016, which itself was a rendition of Madam Noor Jehan's song, become instantly hit and successful.[49] Following the tradition of previous season, Coke Studio released a rendition of Naseem Begum's patriotic song "Aye Rah-e-Haq Ke Shaheedo" as a Independence tribute to Pakistani soldiers and to those who lost their lives in 1947 Separation for the creation for Pakistan, and became immediate success both domestically and internationally.[50] It features the entire line-up from the season and was praised heavily - in particular the composition, music arrangements and last of appearance Sabri.[51] It garnered more then five million views in less then five hours of it released and reached no. 1 on twitter trend for eight-hours.[13][52] Indian newspaper Firstpost called, "Pakistan has the better version of Coke Studio" and went to say that, "as long as Bollywood continues to be the showrunner in India’s music industry, Pakistan will be marked as the Coke Studio that’s always been much more memorable.[53]
Season 9 received generally mixed reviews from critics.[54] After shows on-air, it recieved criticism regarding change of format and mere involvement of Strings.[55] In response to such reviews and criticism on show former drummer and Nescafe Basement founder Xulfi said, "just stop hating" and expressed that "we are lucky to have music shows like Coke Studio and Nescafe Basement in our country."[56]
Episodic
First episode of season generally received mixed reviews from critics and audience. Writing for The Express Tribune, Ali Raj gave the episode three and half stars out of five, and commented, "If Strings are still as involved as they were last season, then this is somewhat a redemption. If they aren't, then we have diagnosed what was wrong previously."[57] In a lukewarm review, Zahra Salahuddin of Dawn News said that episode one was "saved" by Zebunnisa Bangash's "Aaja Re Moray Saiyaan" and reviewed, "Overall, this episode added something new to the Coke Studio formula with a diversity of production styles. However, only one song stood out, making this a very lukewarm start to the season."[58]
Second episode also received less enthusiastic reviews, in a three star review of Ali Raj, he wrote, "With these two episodes, it is either the total absence of a plan or the simultaneous implementation of several that is telling us that things do not look good," and further said, "the episode was a winner had Momina Mustehsan, Haroon Shahid and Ali Azmat not been forced to feature on the songs"[55] However, the Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's version of "Afreen Afreen" received the most both positive and negative reviews along with Momina Mustehsan's debut.[59][60] The song was instant hit but drew critical reviews specially for the song, being criticized for its re-composition, the style of singing and called it a "Bollywood" type song, with some also felt Momina's presence unnecessary.[61][62] After the song Momina became social media celebrity and was one of the most sought out person on internet in Pakistan.[63][64] Aspiring singer Abdullah Qureshi took to his official facebook page and criticised the Coke Studio team for leaving some lyrics from the orignal song and sang his own version was was met with huge positive response.[65]
^ Prime time only represents the time of fresh episode and day that on airs on relative channel. Prime time episode always airs on Sunday but changes may be subjected.
^Repeat timings 1 is the timing of relative episode that airs again after the fresh episode went on air.
^Repeat timings 2 is the timing of relative episode that on-aired third time in a week after the fresh and second repeat telecast of an episode.
