Nazia Hassan

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Nazia Hassan (Urdu: نازیہ حسن) (b. April 3, 1965 - d. August 13, 2000) was an iconic Pakistani pop singer. At thirteen, she changed the landscape of pop music in the Subcontinent. Her song “Aap jaisa koi” which featured in the film Qurbani (1980) topped charts in Pakistan as well as India. An Indian commentator notes that “...Hindustani film music was never the same after Nazia, maybe accidentally, invaded it...Aap jaisa koi actually set a disco trend.” The next year her first album, “Disco Diwane” (1981) broke record sales in Pakistan and India and even hit number one on the Brazilian charts. The album was followed by “Boom Boom,” (1982) “Young Tarang,” (1986) “Hotline” (1987) and “Camera Camera” (1992).

Before achieving stardom, she trained with music maestro Sohail Rana, appearing often on his show "Sung Sung." Later, she would receive state patronage as her videos appeared on Pakistan Television (PTV). In 1988, she and her brother Zoheb hosted the groundbreaking show "Music 89" produced by Shoiab Mansoor.

Pakistan's vibrant contemporary rock scene owes itself to Nazia Hassan's redefinition of pop. In fact, the biggest nineties bands including the Vital Signs and the Jupiters got a platform on "Music 89" Nazia also had an seismic impact in India. She has contributed to the development of the present isomorphism of Bollywood music and pop: “She set - well ahead of its time - the personal album trend in India,” spawning the likes of Alisha, Lucky Ali and Shewna Shetty.

In fact, such was Nazia’s success that in Bollywood lore there is an intriguing story concerning the brief eclipse of the legendary Indian playback singer, Lata, known as the “Queen of Hearts.” Lata's biographer Raju Bharatan poses the following question: “Were there, then, no serious challenges to Lata Mangeshkar in her long singing career?” The answer surprises: “…there was a happening in Lata's life and times that made a mere teenager a near despair for her. That teenybopper was Nazia Hasan.” He continues, “Lata’s film Aasha…just could not catch up with Nazia's Aap jaisa koi for 14 weeks running, hard as it tried! The year 1980 in Hindi film music thus belonged to a Pak (sic) singer – a slip of a girl who came to India via England to capture subcontinental hearts. There was no way even the velvet voice of Lata could scale down Nazia during that spell.”

She is known to be the "Sweetheart of Pakistan" and "The nightingale of East". Nazia Hassan is still the symbol of grace, sacred beauty and innocence. Nazia spent her teenage between Karachi and London where she would go on to read law at London University. She died in 2000 due to lung cancer at the age of 35. Some sources put her age as 38 when she passed away

Soon after, as an acknowledgement of the outstanding contributions and achievements of this talented individual, the Government of Pakistan has conferred upon Nazia Hassan the highest civil award Pride of Performance. The award was presented to Mrs. Muniza Basir, mother of Nazia Hassan by the President of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf in an official ceremony held at Islamabad on 23rd March 2002.