I first learned about the talented Asim Azhar through his YouTube video cover of the hit song, “A-Team” by British songwriter Ed Sheeran. Within the first few minutes of the song, I knew this kid was either a star or going to be one very soon. So I reached out to him and requested an interview. After a couple of email exchanges, we finally spoke a few days ago and here is his story.
Asim is 16 years old heartthrob of Punjabi descent, living in Karachi and comes from a musical family. His father is the world famous pianist, Azhar Hussain who’s been a staple of the desi music scene since the 70’s. His older brothers are also musicians who compose, produce and perform their music. However, with a musical DNA as solid as Asim’s, his first interest was not music.
When I asked him if he was always interested in music, he laughed and said, “actually I initially wanted to be a soccerplayer, then I changed my mind and wanted to be a cricket player…” His response wasn’t too surprising, after all he is only 16, at this age it’s hard to tell what you want to do for the rest of your life. Luckily for Asim, he had a chance to become his own fan and that sparked the flame that is now blazing a trail through the music scene.
Turns out that Asim was ‘mic shy’ growing up, although he had a passion for singing around the house as a hobby, he never felt comfortable singing on a microphone. Until he sang at his cousins wedding in New Jersey, USA and then later saw himself on the video from the wedding. It was at that moment when he thought, “I sound pretty good singing on a mic…”
A Star is Born
Asim on Mic
His father never pushed him to become a musician, in fact he always supported Asim’s non-musical aspirations, but his father certainly didn’t waste any time fueling his momentum when Asim finally decided to pursue his musical interests after the wedding in New Jersey.
Shortly after, Asim knew he wanted to get the word out beyond his immediate friends and family about his musical talents, so he campaigned to produce a number of cover songs; which you can find on his official YouTube page.
The purpose behind the cover songs was to get people familiar with his look, his style and his sound. It certainly worked, because I learned about him from across the world here in Houston, TX. Many of his covers have gone viral and this is only the beginning.
In May of 2013 he will release his first original song titled, “Sunley” (“Listen” in English) which he has written & produced himself. This song will be followed up with a full-length song list of originally produced music.
Speaking with Asim; you hear a very confident, calm and self-aware teen who is musically intuitive. He certainly sounded determined to share his music with the world and I am glad to have had the opportunity to catch up with him.
In Pakistan he has built a cult pop following as both a musical talent and teen heartthrob. I imagine it won’t be long before his sound is exported in mass effect to other parts of the world.
But you really have to hear his music for yourself to appreciate what he has to offer, so check out his latest cover of the hit song, “A-Team”, which he has mixed with Urdu & English lyrics. I have included the YouTube video below.
If you like his story, then ‘like’ and ‘share’ this interview to spread the word. It’s people like Asim who entertain and inspire us to follow our own dreams and passions.
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