Ahmed Jahanzeb

Ahmed Jahanzeb Usmani (born May 28, 1978) is a Pakistani pop singer and composer. Famously known as AJ, he was born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Jahanzeb is one of the few singers of the country, who have been trained in classical music and that is why he mostly sings soul stirring slow songs. Jahanzeb as a singer, performer & musician, is one who displays mastery not only over vocal & instrumental music but also in the art of showman ship. Jahanzeb was trained under the guidance of Ustad Rais Khan, who made him his shagird (pupil) in a beautiful ceremony called Rasm-e-Gandha Bandhi held at Sheraton Hotel in 1988. The ceremony, one of its kind to be ever held in India and Pakistan, was a very grand affair and was attended by celebrities, dignitaries and media people.

Early childhood

Jahanzeb started singing since he was four years old. The Wonder Boy is a title given to him by Gulf’s Khaleej Times. Jahanzeb is the son of Capt. Safir Ahmed a renowned and active music lover whose regular musical evenings organized entirely through his own persistent love for the art are the features, most connoisseurs in the city are well aware of, growing up in this environment stimulated Jahanzeb who began to sing when he was only 4 years old and it was quite sure that his continual efforts and unflinching interest would one day dear its fruits, and certainly so it did happen.

At the age of 4 years, Jahanzeb gave his first public performance at VIP annual program attended by well over 10,000 people. At the age of 5 years; he appeared in the most popular Pakistan Television TV show Neelaam Ghar. At the age of 7 years, he was invited to perform in Dubai at the Pakistan Day show, at Hyatt Regency, the host being the Pakistan Welfare Society of Sharjah, after the performance Gulf Weekly called him Talent at the Tender Age, and Khaleej Times named him the Mini Maestro. A few months later, he was invited by the world renowned electronic company Sony to attend a musical conference in Bahrain where delegates form 50 nations were invited.

Jahanzeb became the youngest singer to launch his first album titled The Wonder Boy at the age of 8 years, it was a memorable occasion as Government Dignitaries, film and television personalities were present to congratulate him on this amazing achievement. It is quite possible recording an album at the tender age of 8 might have created an event unforeseen in the history of light music.

In August 1988, Jahanzeb received the Special Child Award at the Cassette Melody Awards. He was the first artist of his age to get this award. A US-based magazine referred to him as the "next Mehdi Hasan in the making". Furthermore, he proved his talents on 5 February 1989, on his Rasm-e-Gandha Bandhi, he showed the world that how important Taleem (education) is from a good Ustad (teacher). Jahanzeb was completely changed form the day Ustad Rais Khan accepted him as his shagird (pupil). Sunday Times, South Africa called him the 'Singing Sensation from Pakistan', when he toured South Africa in 1990 and performed all over with an estimated 40 shows. SABC Radio Lotus awarded him the title of 'Youngest Ghazal Singer', and was also named 'Youngest Singer/Performer/Musician' by a South African channel.

Early career

On his return to Pakistan, Jahanzeb was awarded the Governor Insignia by Mahmood A. Haroon, Governor of Sindh in 1991. He also became the youngest artist to be registered as a composer, 'Category A' by PTV, Karachi centre.

In 1992, following his success tour of South Africa in 90's, he was again invited this time by the "South African Police" for their charity concerts. Jahanzeb toured the country with a whopping 50 shows for this noble cause. The year 1996 brought another milestone in his career, when he became the youngest and the first artist to perform at the National Defence College of the Pakistan Army in the presence of the high brass of the Army.

2000 - present

The Millennium was another turning point, when Jahanzeb released his first hit single Ek Bar Kaho, which catapulted him to the top as it was an instant hit. It broke all the records and became the highest selling single of all time, selling 5 million CD's and cassette's in Pakistan and over the world and stayed at the top of the charts for a record 20 weeks. Tu Jo Nahin, another mega hit followed Ek Bar Kaho. Tu Jo Nahin was a techno-track and with Jahanzeb's captivating vocals, blew the away charts and it was clear that Jahanzeb was here to stay.

In 2002, Jahanzeb had the honor of performing alongside superstars from across the border like Raageshwari, Jazzy B and others in Dubai for a local TV channel.

In 2003, Jahanzeb launched his long awaited album, Parastish, a record breaking album, which instantly went to the top of the charts and became the fastest and the highest selling album of the year breaking all previous records. BBC named it the number one South Asian album of 2003.

In 2004, the Pakistan consulate in UAE invited Jahanzeb to perform in the Pakistan Pavilion at the launch of the Dubai Shopping Festival at Global Village, Dubai, where he enthralled an audience of almost 100,000 people. In the same year, Pakistan Blind Cricket Council invited him to perform at a reception held in the honor of the visiting Indian Blind Cricket term, which was also attended by Veteran Bollywood actor-turned director, Sanjay Khan, along with his wife.

Later that year, Jahanzeb represented Pakistan at the Indo-Pak Peace Concert, a historical event held at the Royal Palm Golf Club in Lahore, where he performed alongside some of the biggest stars form across the border who were performing for the first time on Pakistani soil. He made Pakistan proud and had the honor to perform along with musical duo of Jatin-Lalit, Akshay Kumar, Shilpa Shetty, singer, Shaan and Babul Supriyo, Sunidhi Chauhan and comedian Sajid Khan. The concert was a huge success and was widely appreciated by the press and media of both the countries.

In 2005, Jahanzeb performed at the Asian Bollywood Music Award held in Dubai along with renowned Indian artists like A.R. Rehman, Sonu Nigam, Jatin-Lalit, Lucky Ali, Sunidhi Chauhan, VJ Sophiya and many other leading actors and actresses like Diya Mirza, Yana Gupta and Isha Koppikar. In the same year, he represented Pakistan at the 'Help Concert' held in Mumbai, for the Prime Minister's Tsunami Relief Fund, which was headed by Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. The show was organized by the famous Bollywood star, Sanjay Dutt and Jahanzeb performed along the best of the best of Indian film industry and his performance was very much appreciated.

In 2007, Jahanzeb was asked by legendary director, Shoaib Mansoor to be part of his debut film Khuda Kay Liye also known as In the Name Of God. Jahanzeb sang 4 songs out of the 9 for the film. These included, Humaray Hain, Tilak Kamod, Janie Janie and Bandiya Ho. The film broke all previous Pakistani film records and ran house full for more than 6 months successfully. The film played a ground breaking role in the revival of Pakistani cinema. The film was also released worldwide and was a hit, and Jahanzeb feels proud to be a part of film history also, as it was his first stint as a playback singer and it proved fruitful. The music of this film broke all records as being sold out the day it was released and for being the highest selling album for a film and still attracting audiences.

In 2008, Jahanzeb signed a 5-year contract with India's leading music film company TIPS. He finished work on his second album which was produced and recorded in India by TIPS. The album titled Laut Aao was released worldwide in June 2008. The album has 10 songs and 6 have been written by the famous poet and lyricist of Bollywood cinema, Sameer. The album was a huge hit with Chandni Raat Mein, the debut single being a smash hit and topped the Pakistani Pop charts.

Jahanzeb also runs a professional audio recording studio by the name of Urban Sound Factory and has been producing OST's for many drama serials, teleFilms, soaps and documentaries. The most recent project was the internationally acclaimed film Khuda Kay Liye.

During his career, Jahanzeb has performed in well over 1500 shows all over the world and is still going strong. He has never followed the culture of lip-synching, which has dominated the music scene for a long time. He always performs live as he strictly believes that performing on DAT/CD severely limits the feel of the artist and is sheer injustice to the audience and his training in classical music.

Albums & OST

OST's & Singles

  • Laila Majnoon - OST (2000)
  • Ik Baar Kaho Tum Meri Ho - Single (2001–2002)
  • Sheeshay Ka Mahal - OST (2003)
  • Mujhay Pyar Chahye - OST (2004)
  • Dard Itna Tha - OST (2005)
  • Ajeeb Zindagi Hai - Single (2006)
  • Socha Na Tha - Single (2006)
  • Aisa Bhi Hota Hai - OST (2007)
  • Hamaray Hain feat. Shuja Haider - OST Khuda Kay Liye (2007)
  • Tiluk Kamod OST - Khuda Kay Liye (2007)

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