AHMED JEHANEB USMANI
Ahmed Jehanzeb Usmani (born May 28, 1978) is a Pakistani pop singer and composer. Famously known as AJ, was born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Ahmed Jehanzeb is one of the few singers who have been trained in Hindustani classical music and that is why he mostly sings soul stirring slow songs. Ahmed Jehanazeb as a singer, performer & musician, is one who displays mastery not only over vocal & instrumental music but also in the art of showman ship. Ahmed was trained under the guidance of Ustad Rais Khan, he was made his pupil "shagird" in a beautiful ceremony called "RASM-E-GANDHA BANDHI" held at Hotel Sheraton in 1988. The ceremony one of its kind to be ever held in India and Pakistan was attended by Celebrities, Dignitaries and Media people, it was a very grand affair.
Ahmed started singing, since he was as little as four years old. “THE WONDER BOY”, the title given by Gulf’s Khaleej Times, Ahmed Jehanzeb 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 Ahmed Jehanzeb 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, he gave his first public performance at "VIP Annual Programme" 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 "Mini Maestro". 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.
He became the youngest singer to launch his 1st Album titled “THE WONDER BOY” at the age of 8 years, it was a memorable occasion, as Government Dignitaries, Film and TV personalities were present to congratulate Ahmed Jehanzeb 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 the month of August 1988, he received the Special Child Award at the Cassette Melody Award. He is the first young artist to get this award at this tender age, US magazine said as the next Mehdi Hasan in the Making. Furthermore, he proved his talents on the 5th of February 1989, on his Rasm-e-Gandha Bandhi, he showed the world that how important Taleem (education)is from a good ustad. Ahmed Jehanzeb completely changed form the day Ustad Rais Khan accepted him as his shaghird (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 Youngest Ghazal Singer, and was also named Youngest Singer/Performer/Musician by South African Television.
On his return in 1991, he was awarded the Governor Insignia by Mr. Mahmood A. Haroon, Governor of Sindh in 1991. Ahmed Jehanzeb also became the youngest artist to be registered as a Composer, Category A, by Pakistan Television, Karachi Centre; presently he has been awarded the Outstanding Category.
In 1992, following his success tour of South Africa in 90, he was again invited this time by the "South African Police" for their Charity Concerts. Ahmed Jehanzeb 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 Collage of the Pakistan Army in the presence of the High Brass of the Army.
The Millennium was another turning point, when Ahmed Jehanzeb released his first hit single "EK BAR KAHO", which catapulted him to the top as it was an instant hit. It broke all 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, was a techno-track and with Ahmed Jehanzeb's captivating vocals blew the away charts and it was clear that Ahmed Jehanzeb was here to stay.
In 2002, Ahmed Jehanzeb 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, was the launch of the 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 2003 breaking all previous records , BBC named it the No.1 South Asian Album of 2003.
In 2004, the Pakistan consulate in UAE invited Ahmed Jehanzeb to perform at the Pakistan Pavilion at the launch of the Dubai Shopping Festival, Global Village, Dubai, where he enthralled an audience of almost 100,000 people. In the same year, Pakistan Blind Cricket Council invited Ahmed Jehanzeb to perform at reception held in the honor of the visiting Indian Blind Cricket term, which was also attended by Veteran Bollywood Actor-turned Director Mr. Sanjay Khan along with his wife.
Later that year, Ahmed Jehanzeb 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 and the first to perform on Pakistani Soil. He made Pakistan Proud and had the honor to perform along with musical duo Jatin-Lalit, Akhshay 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, he performed at the Asian Bollywood Music Award held in Dubai along with Indian Artists like A.R. Rehman, Sonu Nigam, Jatin-Lalit, Lucky Ali, Sunidhi Chauhan, VJ Sophiya and many other leading Actor and Actresses like Diya Mirza, Yana Gupta and Isha Koppikar.
Also in 2005, he represented Pakistan at the HELP Concert held in Mumbai, for the Prime Minister Tsunami Relief Fund, which was headed by Indian Prime Minister, Honorable Mr. Manmohan Singh, the show was organized by the famous Bollywood Star Mr. Sanjay Dutt and Ahmed Jehanzeb performed along the best of the best of the Indian Film Industry and his performance was very much appreciated.
Ahmed Jehanzeb disappointed by the culture of lip-synching which has dominated the music scene 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.
In 2007, Ahmed Jehanzeb was asked by legendary Shoaib Mansoor to be part of his Debut film “Khuda Kay Liye” a.k.a. “In the Name Of God”, Ahmed Jehanzeb sang 4 songs out of the 9 for the film “Humaray Hain”, “Tilak Kamod”, “Janie Janie” and “Duniya Ho”, which broke all previous Pakistan Film history and ran House Full for 6 months and still running successfully. The film has played ground breaking role in the Revival of Pakistani Cinema; the film has now been released worldwide and has been a hit, and Ahmed Jehanzeb 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.
Presently, Ahmed Jehanzeb has just signed a 5-year contract with India's leading Music Film Company TIPS, he has finished work on his second album produced and recorded in India by TIPS. The album has 10 songs and 6 have been written by the famous poet and lyricist of Bollywood cinema Mr. Sameer. The album titled "LAUT AAO" was released worldwide in June 2008. The album was a huge hit with "Chandni Raat Mein" the debut single was a smash hit and topped the Pakistani Pop Charts.
Ahmed Jehanzeb also runs a professional audio recording studio by the name of URBAN SOUND FACTORY and has been producing OST for many Drama Serials, TeleFilms, Soaps and Documentaries, recent project was the internationally acclaimed film KHUDA KAY LIYE.
Ahmed Jehanzeb has performed in well over 1500 Shows all over the world and by the Grace of Almighty Allah still going strong.
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