Momina Mustehsan

Momina Mustehsan (Urdu: مومنہ مستحسن‎, born 5 September 1992) is a Pakistani singer and songwriter. She has a bachelors degree in engineering and mathematics from the Stony Brook University. She rose to prominence as a co-singer and writer in Farhan Saeed's single "Pee Jaun",^[1] and recorded her first studio song "Sajna" for Junoon's album Junoon 20.^[2] She went onto playback for band Soch in Indian film Ek Villain that earned her further acclaim and recognition.^[3]

Mustehsan's claim to fame came later,^[4] when in 2016 she marked her Coke Studio debut as a featured artist in season 9,^[5][6] where she performed a rendition of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's "Afreen Afreen", with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and received critical appraisal. Following her debut, she became one of the most sought-out media personalities in Pakistan over internet,^[1] and has been continuously trending on twitter.^[7] The song became one of the most viewed songs of Coke Studio.

Early life and background

Mustehsan was born on 5 September 1992 into a Muslim,^[8] family in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, to Huma Mustehsan, a doctor, and Kazim Mustehsan, a retired brigadier of the Pakistan Army, who is a recipient of Sitara-i-Imtiaz.^[4] She has two brothers, the older, Hashim Mustehsan, is a doctor and the younger, Haider Mustehsan, is pursuing a bachelor's in political science and live together in Nassau County, in New York, on the North Shore of Long Island.^[4]

Mustehsan completed her A'Level from Lahore Grammar School,^[8] and later moved to the States for higher studies and graduated with a double majors degree in Biomedical Engineering and Applied Mathematics from the Stony Brook University, New York in 2016.^[9] At the time of her graduation she was in the "Dean's Honor List".^[9]

Mustehsan at first learn to play violin and sang in public for the first time in a choir of her grade school, never receiving any formal music training.^[10] Recalling she said- "My teacher asked me if I had something to show and I said, I don’t know. And she said ‘I think you sing well’ and that’s when I sang for the first time. Then I realized that I had interest in music."^[4]

Her first encounter with the music came in 2004, when Mustehsan recorded her first cover of Irish singer Damien Rice's song "The Blower's Daughter". Despite having no musical training's and background she was praised at that time.^[8]

Career

2011–2015: Covers, "Pi Jaun" and Ek Villian

At Junoon's twentieth anniversary, Mustehsan recorded a song "Sajna" for their album Junoon 20 in Volume I, the song was written by Ali Azmat and was a bonus track on album.^[11] In 2014, she recorded a song "Awari" for Pakistani band Soch who approached her, without telling her that they are going to use the song in Indian film Ek Villain,^[12] she explained, "I was approached by Soch and they wanted me to feature on their track without disclosing what it was for," she recorded the song in her university dorm, "It was an extremely casual process and I never met anyone in person. I recorded the song on my own in New York. The contract was signed after the track had been lined up for release,."^[13] On her future ventures she said, "I'm always working on new pieces. Music is a passion for me and not a profession. I have plenty of time on my hands … I might be working on a Pakistani project later this year. It's something that I am excited about."^[13]

2016-present: Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai, Coke Studio and future

In 2016, Mustehsan recorded her first song "Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai" for a romantic drama film Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai,^[14][15] and marked her Coke Studio debut as a featured artist in season 9 later that year. She became the first artist on Coke Studio to have a three debut songs. Her first song was released under team Faakhir, alongside Rahat Fateh Ali Khan broke all previous Coke Studio records by accumulating over 2.5 million views in one day,^[16] going onto garner 6.1 million views in as of August 29, 2016 on YouTube( where the song originally released prior to it television on air),^[17] and over 6.5 million views on Facebook. ^[18][19] In the same season,she also performed under music directors Noori singing a duet with Junaid Khan, as well as under Shuja Haider,collaborating with Asim Azhar.^[20] Commenting on her Coke Studio success she said, "it was very overwhelming for me because these are classics I am singing with very well-known singers. For me it was a great honour. I was also very nervous – I never get nervous for anything. But I got appreciated a lot once the songs were recorded."^[21][22]

Revealing on her future in music Mustehsan said "I don’t want to pursue music as a career. For me, it was hard to make a decision since I had no references. Maybe after me, people would come out to show their talent,"^[23] and explained "I don't think releasing number of albums defines a musician. I do music for myself and not for the masses. I'm not into the idea of being a celebrity or having people know or follow me."^[23]

Philanthropy

She is planning a distant education program for children in rural Pakistan along with a polio campaign.On a T.V interview, she said, "I plan introducing distant education plans for children in rural areas where there are no schools or a learning environment. We’ll introduce learning videos which, along with projectors, would be provided to the mosques in different areas to enable children to learn. From making roties [bread] to learning physics, they’ll get it all."^[23]

Personal life

In September 2016, Mustehsan confirmed and announced her engagement on twitter to Ali Naqvi, a US based banker in California.^{[24][25][26][27]}

Discography

Pakistani songs

Bollywood Songs

Coke Studio

Singles

Covers

• "Mere Bina"
• "The Blower's Daughter"

References

External links

• Momina Mustehsan on Facebook