PakistaniMusic.com: Uzma Shah - On the Verge of Hitting Big

* Ms. Shah provided the following information during a brief interview segment before her Dream Team 97 concert performance in San Francisco Bay Area on Oct. 24, 1997.

Uzma Shah might still have to prove her very presence in the Pakistani pop music scene, but all the colors in the wind are sure painting a promising future for her. Uzma first appeared on the musical platform back in 1994 when she wrote and composed a patriotic song titled Hayat. Later the song was entered in a nation-wide music contest put up by Pepsi in connections with nation's golden jubilee, and out of the ninety entries, Hayat claimed the number one spot. The musical score of Hayat's was a blend of Western and Eastern hymnology which helped it hit the bull's eye with the Pakistani music lovers. Nevertheless, Hayat's success did not lead to a big bang musical career for Uzma. Instead, subsequent to Hayat, she has only released one other influential single, called Khawab.

Uzma's rationalization is that she believes in taking things progressively by cautiously choosing eloquent lyrics and expressive music. In her words, it is the quality, not quantity that she is after. It is not to be concluded in anyway that she has entirely taken the back seat when it comes to music. While in the course of making a choice of material for her future musical ventures, she has explored other avenues of show business. In recent years, she has hosted the musical segment on a television show called 'Sunday Brunch'. In addition to that, her vocal skills have landed her numerous gigs singing jingles for television commercials. The latter practice has also kept her focused on her prospective musical career. Furthermore, in 1997, Uzma was cast in a supporting role for a hit television drama Yeh Zindagi with none other than Mahnoor Baloch and Nauman Ijaz. Uzma was supposed to make a very brief appearance in the play, but in the middle of the shooting the writer felt the need to evolve Uzma's character more. It all worked out fine for Uzma who ended up with more acting grounds than what she had initially bargained for.

Uzma Shah at the Dream Team 97 show

Though Uzma enjoyed all above cited activities, at the same time they also posed the potential danger of temporary derailment from the path of music. In the light of that, lately she is giving the field of music one hundred percent of her efforts. At least twice a week she covers drawn-out distances in order to practice her vocals with her coach. Plus as mentioned above she is very occupied conscientiously scanning material for her next songs and perhaps a possible album. So who does Uzma prefers listening to? She admitted that her favorite Pakistani female vocalists are Nayyara Noor and Nazia Hassan. Uzma said that she was gratified that she had the opportunity to sing Nazia Hassan's famous pop songs during Dream Team 97's concerts in the United States. Uzma stayed away from singing her own stuff for a very legible reason. Her own music is too mellow compared to the high energetic mood set up by the rest of her fellow performers. She is also a big fan of Pakistani versatile artists Arshad Mahmood, and currently his CD featuring Mirza Ghalib's work by Zia Mohiuddin is her best liked one. Pop king of the seventies, Alamgir also ranked very high among her favorite male singers. In her opinion he deserve homage being the pioneer of pop music in Pakistan. Among Western music Uzma has an ear for Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson and George Michael. Uzma's biggest challenge concerning her career is being a woman in a very male dominated industry. Also she is the first woman from her family to knock on the door of show business, and at first that had a price attached to it. However, she is thankful to all the people who helped her open that new doorway in life. Plus with time her transition to show business is becoming easier as people she cares the most about are beginning to see eye to eye with her.

Talking about her concert performances in the United States, Uzma appreciated all who came to see her perform. Like the majority of other Dream Team 97 performers, she also discovered USA audiences to be one of the greatest in the world. In fact she is concerned that it might be a little hard for her to go back and perform live again in Pakistan.