Latest news with #ShaeGill
New York Times
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
How Ali Sethi Spends His Day Getting Ready for a Music Tour
Though Ali Sethi started out as a writer, music is where he found his calling. In 2022, his Punjabi banger 'Pasoori' with the fellow Pakistani singer Shae Gill — an unlikely pastiche of qawwali, flamenco, bhangra, reggaeton and other global influences — had both India and Pakistan gyrating to its infectious beat. But by this spring, as Mr. Sethi prepared to release his first full-length solo studio album, 'Love Language,' the neighboring nations were reeling from a brief military battle and his music had been blocked in India. The album, he said, is 'a diary of displacement, but it's also a record of the hope that creative collaboration gives you.' Mr. Sethi, 41, was born in Lahore, Pakistan, but these days he calls the East Village of Manhattan home. His apartment is filled with books, rugs from Lahore and family heirlooms, including a framed 18th-century miniature passed down from his grandmother. 'New York dangled this promise of this artistic life, which was very attractive,' he said. 'And there really was no other place like it.' The singer spent a recent Saturday with The New York Times as he prepared for his album release and fall tour. This interview has been condensed and lightly edited. CAFFEINE FIX I wake up between 7 and 8, and the first thing I'll do is make my coffee. I love the coffee-making ritual in the morning. I usually give myself a few hours before I eat. As the Sufis say, you should cultivate hunger. It's a way of sharpening your mind. The first few hours are just coffee and air. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
News18
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Pasoori Singer Shae Gill Screams 'Pakistan Zindabad'; Faces Backlash for Anti-India Posts
Last Updated: Pakistani singer Shae Gill's has been sharing anti-India posts on Instagram. Indian users expressed anger, urging authorities to block her account like other Pakistani celebrities. Pakistani singer Shae Gill amassed a wide fan following in India, especially after the 'Pasoori' fever took over. Unlike several Pakistani artists whose Instagram profiles seem to have been blocked in India, Shae's account continues to remain accessible to Indian followers. Taking to her Instagram story, the singer shared an anti-India post, lauding Pakistan amid the growing tension. 'God bless our armed forces Pakistan Zindabad (sic)", wrote Shae Gill. Next, she dropped another post, lauding her country's media coverage of the tension, condemning India yet again. While the reaction of Indian social media users to her post couldn't be gauged since her sentiments were expressed on her Instagram story, our country's users on X expressed their furore over Gill's anti-India posts. Ever since the tension started, Shae Gill has been dropping posts condemning India's revenge after the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives. Indian users have been blasting her on X, urging authorities to block her account in the country. A netizen dropped a list of list of Pakistani musicians and poets and wrote that he is going to voluntarily unsubscribing their channels. 'I used to admire and enjoy their work, and I still respect their talent. But for me, the nation comes first. Our Army comes first. At a time when our soldiers are protecting our borders, I find it difficult to support voices that openly praise Pakistan on social media. I've noticed that many fellow Indians still follow them, even after requests from our government to disengage. I urge you to reflect: Nation First. Always," read the X post. Another user urged the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India to block Gill's account. For the unversed, the Instagram accounts of several top Pakistani actors, including Mahira Khan, Hania Aamir and Sajal Aly, have been blocked in India. Other celebrities affected by the action include Ali Zafar, Ayeza Khan, Sanam Saeed, Maya Ali, and Iqra Aziz Hussain, who enjoy a wide fan following in India. Indian users attempting to access the accounts are met with a message stating: 'Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content." First Published:
Gulf News
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf News
Meet the boy band from Pakistan 'Bayaan' courting global fame
Bayaan is going global — literally. The boy band from Pakistan, whose rise from being an underground entity to winning the Battle of the Bands (2018) and making a stellar debut on Coke Studio (remember 'Mehram' with Shae Gill?) has been phenomenal, is now headed for Bangladesh for a series of concerts. Lead vocalist Asfar Hussain told Gulf News that the band had been touring Pakistan since December last, following the release of their sophomore album, titled Safar. No wonder they named it 'The Safar Tour.' With their concert in Dhaka, which takes place on April 27, Bayaan will be taking the tour out of Pakistan. Hussain also hinted at touring 'another country afterwards,' but didn't reveal much about it. All he said was, 'Now, wherever we go, we try to perform [songs from] the new [ Safar ] album as well as our previous hits. You can say that Bangladesh is Safar 2.0. Similarly, there will be Safar 3.0, and so on.' Hussain, who hails from Chitral, in northwestern part of Pakistan, is one of the rare pop singers in the country who pursued music at the university level — he graduated in Musicology from National College of Arts, Lahore, with distinction. Though he is adept at guitar, harmonium, and a lot of other instruments, he loves to play rubab, which is native to his hometown. Over a decade ago, Hussain formed Bayaan with a group of friends. He's not just the face of the band, but is also the chief lyricist and composer. Hussain's — as well as Bayaan's — forte is chaste Urdu and soothing melodies. Think 'Farda', 'Nahi Milta', 'Mehram,' and most recently, 'Maand'. Dhaka will be Bayaan's second international concert. They have previously performed at Dubai Expo. 'There were people of different nationalities at the venue — Bangla, Indian, Pakistanis, and others. It was quite a multi-cultural thing,' he added. Hussain also spoke of Bangladesh being a huge market for Pakistani music. 'We've a great audience there. Actually, the organizers of this tour reached out to us over a year ago. We were in talks for months, but every time something or the other came up and we couldn't make it.'
