Shuja Haider

Shuja Haider was born in Lahore, Pakistan to Sajid Ali (1950 – May 24, 2022), a singer-musician, and is one of four siblings. His grandfather was renowned Pakistani pianist, Master Sadiq Ali (1935-1984), often referred to as the master pianist of the subcontinent. Exposed to numerous genres of music from across the world as a child, Haider started dabbling in music at the age of seven, although his primary interest was in athletics. He recalls that he always wanted to be a cricketer, inspired at a young age by cricketers Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad, and Imran Khan.

In 2022, Haider launched The Idol Online, an online talent hunt to scout, train, and develop up-and-coming musical talent from across Pakistan. Haider asserted that Pakistan lacks the "institutions and platforms that make artists. There is no orthodox teaching of music anymore. With Idol Online, I want to provide a platform and an institution which would find and train artists as a means to give back to the community. I want to contribute to the betterment of the youth through music."

In the aftermath of the murder of Zainab Ansari in 2018, Haider wrote, composed and sang the song Jeevan Daan (featuring Saba Qamar) which addressed the issues of gender inequality and child abuse. In 2020, Haider produced and composed music for Season 3 of Strepsils Stereo, the first musical platform in Pakistan geared at producing a cappella music and presenting new musical talent.

In 2017, Haider announced his work on Soundscape, meant to be an interactive, multi-city live music series that would feature a number of artistes from around the country, representing different musical genres. Although largely completed, this project is currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also in 2017, Haider featured in and produced music for Season 5 of National Ka Pakistan, a reality adventure show on YouTube that explored and highlighted the unique culinary diversity across the four provinces of Pakistan.

Haider made his Coke Studio debut in 2016 as music director and songwriter in Season 9 with the songs Aaqa (performed by Ali Sethi and Abida Parveen) and Khaki Banda (performed by Ahmed Jahanzeb and Umair Jaswal). Aaqa received praise for its "beautiful melody" and "thoughtful flourishes." Haider was lauded for his composition and arrangement in Khaki Banda, as well as for his innovation in incorporating Bulleh Shah's Sufi verses into the song. Haider's songwriting in both Aaqa and Khaki Banda was noted for its Sufi-rock fusion, evocative imagery, and devotional expression. In the same season of Coke Studio, Haider also directed a medley of two of his original singles — Tera Woh Pyar (originally released in 2004) and Nawazishein Karam — performed by Asim Azhar and Momina Mustehsan and produced by Strings. In the season finale, Haider made his debut as a vocalist on Coke Studio with Sab Jag Soye, performing with Quratulain Balouch.

In 2008, Haider composed and produced the song Yeh Hum Naheen (transl. This is Not Us), written by Ali Moeen. The song was part of an anti-terrorism campaign aimed at reaffirming Islam as anti-terrorism and promoting a more positive image of Pakistan to other nations. Haider sang the song along with artistes such as Strings, Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, Ali Zafar, and Hadiqa Kiyani among others. The song led to a record-breaking 62.8 million Pakistanis signing a petition to uphold the message of the campaign, and was entered into Guinness World Records as the most signed petition ever at the time.

Haider established his own recording studio, Speed of Sound, in 1996 and produced Haroon's first solo album Haroon Ki Awaz in 2000 and Ahmed Jahanzeb's second studio album Parastish in 2003. Soon after, he rose to prominence as a singer with his very first single, Tera Woh Pyar, composed by two of his brothers and released in 2004-05 by the Indus Media Group. In 2008, Haider wrote and performed a song for the Indian film Ru Ba Ru. He has since done work as songwriter, composer, and vocalist for Pakistani drama soundtracks (known as OSTs) including Tum Mere Hi Rehna (2014), Muqaddas (2015), Sehra Main Safar (2015), Mann Mayal (2016), Baaghi (2017), and Alif (2019). Haider is known for his collaborations with Shoaib Mansoor in his films Khuda Kay Liye (2007) and Bol (2011), where he recorded solos and duets with Ahmed Jahanzeb.

Haider's family moved to Karachi, Pakistan in the early 1990s, just as the city was becoming a cultural and creative hub for young musicians from all over Pakistan due to the influx of pop music and TV music channels. Haider eventually decided to pursue a career in music, and his main interest was in songwriting, composing, and producing music. He notes that he spent significant time during this period learning the ropes of digital music production which was still a relatively new technology at the time.

Shuja Haider or Shuja Hyder (Urdu: شجاع حیدر; pronounced [ʃʊˈdʒaː ˈɦɛːdər]; born 20 November, 1982) is a Pakistani singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. Haider is best known as a playback singer for films Khuda Kay Liye (2007) and Bol (2011) and more recently for his work on Coke Studio, Pakistan. Haider served as music director for Lux Style Awards for two years. He has produced over 50 albums in his career and is considered one of the most established music producers in Pakistan today.