PCB defends Naseebo Lal, ‘Groove Mera’

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday defended its decision to hire Naseebo Lal, Aima Baig and Young Stunners to perform the anthem of the sixth edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL).

According to a report, a PCB spokesperson said that the three artists were chosen to do the song as the board wanted to feature voices that were new and had not sung any PSL anthem before.

“Naseebo Lal is an extremely talented, underutilised vocalist whose voice has the strength to carry this cricket anthem,” the official is reported to have said. He further added that Aima gave young energy to the anthem. 

The spokesperson said that Young Stunners were a “natural choice” to be a part of the anthem as they are leaders in the country’s hip-hop scene.

“Cricket and music have always formed a natural union in Pakistan. The thought process was to pave the way for a new sound of cricket in Pakistan that appeals to the multi-dimensional audience that comes with Pakistan’s biggest cricketing event,” added the spokesperson.

Meanwhile, PSL also shared a behind the scenes (BTS) video of the song’s shoot in which the singers spoke about the song and their role in it.

🎶 Groove Mera
🎥 BTS | Making of #HBLPSL6 Anthemhttps://t.co/AzKJmUllTu

— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 12, 2021

“It feels so good because this is the first time I’ve done a project which is making me happy,” said Naseebo in the video.

“My groove is my beloved Pakistan and the camera is also my groove,” added the singer.

On the other hand, the song’s producer Zulfiqar Jabbar (Xulfi) while talking about cricket and music, said: “There is one thing common in cricket and music, which is rhythm. You might have heard commentators talking about a bowler’s rhythm and rhythm is excitingly called as ‘groove’.”

Elaborating further, Xulfi said: “We usually say that if Shaheen Afridi has taken 4 wickets in a match, then on that day, he’s in groove.”

“Groove Mera is everyone’s groove in PSL. This can be anyone’s groove – a commentator’s groove or a cricketer, batsman, baller or we all musicians and artists’ groove, who are singing or it may be yours [public] as well,” he continued.

Xulfi further said that he “could feel Naseebo’s voice echoing in the stadium.”

“We knew how to get the balance among Naseebo, Aima and the Young Stunners. We exactly knew what their vibe is separately and we then made a connecting melody, which is basically the hook of the song,” he added.

“It is the hybrid of all the personalities of the singers, who are in this song,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Aima speaking about the song said: “The anthem’s vibe is pretty street and I really like it because our public really like street songs and music and it is very festive EDM. Overall I love the vibe.”

Groove Mera has created a stir with social media divided on the song. While many including Shoaib Akhtar slammed the song, other celebrities including Mehwish Hayat, Adnan Siddiqui, Faysal Quraishi, Haroon Shahid and Farhan Saeed praised the anthem and its composition.

Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan also criticised the song. Talking to media, Dr Awan said that she did not like it at all, adding that it “could have been improved further”.

Referring to Naseebo as Pakistan’s ‘laal,’ or beloved, Dr Awan said: “Here we were representing the league in front of international players. This is not district-level league. The Lal should have been presented as a jewel and voice of the nation.”

“If there is any chance of improvement, then we should go for it,” she concluded.