Haroon Rashid (born 11 May 1973 in London, United Kingdom), popularly known as Haroon is a Pakistani pop singer, composer, musician and producer.[1][2] He has sold nearly three million CDs and tapes worldwide.[3]
Born to a Pakistani father and a New Zealander mother, Haroon began playing the guitar and composing songs at the age of 13. He formed his first band, Idiosyncracies, in school with schoolmates at the age of 14.
Music career
Awaz
After graduating in the early 1990s with a degree in Business Administration from the George Washington University in United States, he formed the band Awaz[4] with a couple of musician friends, Faakhir and Assad Ahmed.[5]
Haroon and the band made a video of Janeman, a song which Haroon had composed when he was 16. Haroon sent it to MTV Asia, and the song became the first Urdu/Hindi pop song to air on MTV.[6]
At their peak, Awaz was the biggest musical band in Pakistan, and released three successful albums and two big singles between 1993 and 1999. Awaz was one of the pioneering bands in Pakistani pop music, and influenced many future musicians.
Solo career
Haroon's first solo album, Haroon Ki Awaz, which he produced, engineered and recorded, was successfully released in October 2000.[7] The songs, Yaara, Pyareya, Jeekay Dekha, Chan Vergay from that album were released as singles with music videos. Other songs such as Fire Inside and Paisa commented on the socio-economic and political situation in South Asia at the time.
In 2001 and 2002, Haroon toured the UK and USA. In 2001, Haroon received the "Outstanding contribution to Asian music" Award from the BBC Asia Awards show.[8]
Haroon's second solo album was the melodic, Lagan. This album included Mahbooba, a fusion of Asian and Arabic music with Lebanese singers accompanying Haroon. The song was a major hit, with a music video shot at the Pyramids of Giza.
Following this success, Haroon embarked on a world tour from early 2003 to mid 2005, performing in Oslo, Madrid, Copenhagen, Brussels, Glasgow, New York, Toronto and smaller cities such as Calgary and Oakland.
Some of his performances drew crowds in the tens of thousands, and he boasted a strong fan base in the UK, USA, and Dubai. He performed several times in front of sellout audiences at Wembley Arena, London, and at the BBC Asia awards (Birmingham, NEC) watched by two million on television.
Haroon released his third solo album, Haroon Ka Nasha in March 2007[9], again composed, recorded, produced, engineered and mixed by himself at his personal studio.[10]
Discography
Albums
- Haroon ki awaz (2000)
- Lagan (2003)
- Haroon Ka Nasha (2007)
Singles
- Janeman - (1994)
- Diya - (1994)
- Mr. Fraudiay - with Awaz (1996)
- Aye Jawan - with Awaz (1997)
- Main Na Manoo Haar - with Awaz (1996)
- Jadoo Ka Chiragh - with Awaz (1995)
- Jeekay Dekha - (2001)
- Pyareya - (2001)
- Yara - (2001)
- Tu Hai Kahan - with Junaid Jamshed and Strings (2001)
- Mahbooba - (2002)
- Mehndi - (2002)
- Dil Se - (2003)
- Jao Tum - (2003)
- Goriye - Remix (2005)
- Jiay Jaye (2006)
- Jua Khela (2007)
- Ishq Nasha (2007)
- Nahi Hai Yeh Pyar (2008)
- Ibtada-e-Ishq (2009)
- "Nahin Hai' ft KOSTAL (2010)