Viral teen from Pakistan’s Hunza Valley aims for the stars with Coke Studio hit

SHIGAR, Gilgit-Baltistan: Pakistani teenager Noorima Rehan first shot to fame last year after a video of her crooning famed Indian singer Asha Bhosle’s iconic song ‘In Aankhon Ki Masti’ became a viral hit. She was subsequently chosen to virtually join a star-studded lineup of performers at King Charles III’s coronation concert in May 2023. 

But the best was still to come.

Now, the 18-year-old from Hunza Valley in Pakistan’s picturesque northern Gilgit-Baltistan region is attracting both local and international attention with her debut on the latest season of Coke Studio, the longest-running annual TV music show in Pakistan.

Coke Studio Season 15 came to a close with the release of its eleventh and final song, “Mehman” — which translates to guest — featuring Rehan as well as the powerful vocals of Zebunnisa (Zeb) Bangash, a Pakistani singer-songwriter from Lahore, Punjab, and Nizam ud Din Torwali from the remote town of Taip Se Ban in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The song has been viewed almost 5 million times on YouTube since its release two weeks ago.

“My family supported me, my father supported me, and the community of Hunza and Gilgit supported me,” Rehan, who is the eldest of five siblings and also a professional ice hockey player, told Arab News in an interview. “So, I don’t think I faced a barrier that led to a gap between me and my passion for music.”

She also credited her family’s passion for music for her success and interest in the field. 

“My mother’s voice is very good and she sings very well. Even my father, brother and sisters sing quite well. However, no one [from my family] has pursued music as a profession. So, I am the only one who has chosen music as a career.”

Rehan, who will soon start an undergraduate degree in sociology at Islamabad’s Iqra University on a scholarship, said she got her chance on Coke Studio after the show’s producer Zulfikar Jabbar Khan, popularly known as “Xulfi,” came across her Asha Bhosle rendition on YouTube. 

“Xulfi Bhai approached me [after watching the clip], which led to my journey with Coke Studio,” Rehan said. 

“MEHMAAN”

A press release by Coke Studio described Mehmaan as a multi-artist collaboration that spoke to the “idea of hospitality, not just on Earth but also from a higher, more divine plane. The song speaks to those seeking answers and guidance from the sublime and its abundant wisdom.”

Rehan said for her, the song felt like her, Bangash and Torwali were “dreaming together” of a return to Eden. 

“This was my first time with them, and I had to record in a very short period,” she said. “But before that, they had shared the lyrics and melody with me and I practiced .... then I went there and after a little jamming session, we recorded the song.”

Rehan described being a “little nervous” at the outset since she had never recorded professionally before but found the Coke Studio team “very kind and helpful.”

“For me, the most interesting part of this journey was Nizam [Torwali],” she recalled. “I met him there. He was different and couldn’t speak Urdu. So, I tried from my side to help him. He was kind of funny. So, I enjoyed a lot while working with him.”

It was also a fan girl moment for her to sing alongside Bangash, a well-established artist already. 

“From listening to her songs to performing with her was a big thing,” Rehan said. “She is very calm, kind with a humble personality. She helped me a lot in the whole journey.”

Rehan’s father Rehan Shah, a local politician and gemstone dealer, said his daughter had made the family name “proud.”

“We want to thank God she has been getting opportunities. And working with Coke Studio at such a young age is a proud movement for us,” Shah told Arab News. “Talent is hidden in a child. But the main thing is how do we support them and provoke their talents. We have been supporting her and will definitely support her in the field of music in the future also.

“In our society, girls are a soft target in fields like music and there is no exception for Noorima as well. You have to face criticism because a girl is singing songs. But we will fight against this social pressure and always support our children.”