Momina Mustehsan

Early life and background

Mustehsan was born on 5 September 1992 into a Muslim family in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. Her mother Huma Mustehsan is a doctor, and father Kazim Mustehsan is a retired brigadier of the Pakistan Army, who is also recipient of Sitara-i-Imtiaz. 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.

Mustehsan completed her A'Level from Lahore Grammar School, 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. At the time of her graduation she was in the "Dean's Honor List".

Mustehsan at first learnt to play violin and sang in public for the first time in a choir of her grade school, never receiving any formal music training. 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."

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.

2011–2015: "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.

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, 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." 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."

2016–present: Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai and Coke Studio

In 2016, Mustehsan recorded her first song "Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai" for a romantic drama film Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai, 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. 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. 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."

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," 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."

In February 2017, she released the anthem for the PSL franchise Islamabad United for which she is a celebrity ambassador. The song titled, "Cricket Jorrey Pakistan" (Cricket Unites Pakistan) received mixed reviews from the public. Leading media outlets, The Express Tribune and Geo TV criticized the heavy use of auto-tune and the lack of substance in the single.

Philanthropy

In December 2016, Mustehsan became the goodwill ambassador of a cricket team, Islamabad United for the Pakistan Super League.

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." In an interview at Good Morning Pakistan in 2016, Mustehsan said that she donates all of her earnings to make water-wells in the Thar Desert of Sindh.

Personal life

In September 2016, Mustehsan confirmed and announced her engagement on twitter to Ali Naqvi, a US based banker in California. However, their relation ended up in early 2017.

Covers