The children who sang their way to 85 million views are about to sing on a much bigger stage. The young performers of Lahore’s Surtaal Music Academy will open Asim Azhar’s first-ever Pakistan tour, stepping out as the opening act for one of the country’s biggest pop stars in front of arena-sized crowds in three cities.
Asim Azhar announced the news on 4 November, confirming that the academy students will join him as the opening performers on his three-city tour. The tour begins in Faisalabad on Friday 6 November, moves to Lahore on Saturday 7 November, and closes in Islamabad on Sunday 8 November. For the children, who until a few weeks ago were known mainly through a phone-recorded video from a small Lahore academy, it is their first big concert stage.
The invitation did not come out of nowhere. It started with the children themselves. The academy’s students recorded an Instagram reel inviting Asim Azhar to visit them, performing “Meri Zindagi Hai Tu” in their clear young voices. The singer accepted, turned up at the Surtaal Music Academy in Lahore, and spent time singing alongside them — joining in on popular tracks including “Khabbay Sajjay” and “Jo Tu Na Mila” rather than simply posing for photographs. The visit ended with an offer the children could hardly have dreamed of: open his tour.
From a Lahore Classroom to 85 Million Views
The world first met the Surtaal children through a video that needed no marketing budget. A clip of Norwegian singer and dancer William Gamborg visiting the academy — singing, clapping and dancing in the middle of the group as the children performed a Punjabi song — exploded across social media, reportedly crossing 85 million views within two days of being shared on Instagram, with more than nine million likes.
Gamborg, who performs with the Norway-based dance group Quick Style, had stopped by the academy during a visit to Lahore. There was no stage, no choreography and no polish in the clip — just children singing confidently while their famous guest enjoyed himself in the middle of the circle. That unpolished joy is exactly what viewers found irresistible, and the video travelled far beyond Pakistan. Audiences in India embraced it too, with fans there affectionately nicknaming the children the “little Nusrats” after the legendary qawwali maestro.
The academy’s founder, Zia-ul-Haq, told the BBC the video had been recorded the previous week, and that the children had already attracted attention before — including a performance connected to a Pakistan Super League event. The Gamborg clip simply took that local reputation worldwide, and it has kept growing ever since.
What Surtaal Music Academy Actually Does
Behind the viral moment is an institution doing serious, long-term work. Surtaal Music Academy was founded in Lahore in 2019 by Zia-ul-Haq, a master’s-qualified musicologist, with a mission to build the next generation of artists — and to make music education free and accessible for underprivileged children.
More than a hundred children now learn music at the academy, and many receive free education and scholarships. The academy has become a regular stop for established artists: singer Natasha Baig visited in late October for a musical session with the students, and other well-known names have dropped in to sing with the children. The academy also marked its tenth anniversary recently, a milestone its trainers say reflects a decade of quiet work that the viral video has suddenly made visible to the world.
That mission is part of why the tour invitation matters beyond the excitement of a big stage. For children from families who could never afford formal music training, performing as the opening act on a national tour is not just a fun outing — it is proof that the academy’s work leads somewhere real.
A First Tour, and a First Big Stage
For Asim Azhar, the tour itself is a milestone. Announced on 3 November, it is his first-ever tour across Pakistan, with three shows in three days: Faisalabad on 6 November, Lahore on 7 November and Islamabad on 8 November. The Faisalabad show takes place at Naturals Club & Resort, running from 6 PM to 10 PM, with tickets sold through ticketwala.pk.
The singer had already teased surprise guests for the tour, keeping fans guessing about who might join him on stage. The Surtaal children turn out to be the warmest surprise of all — not a fellow celebrity, but a group of young singers whose talent was discovered on a phone screen and is now being given a real stage, a real audience and a real sound system.
The timing could hardly be better for the children. The tour opens tomorrow night, and the Faisalabad crowd will be the first to see whether the voices that stopped 85 million people scrolling can hold a concert hall. If the academy video is any guide, the audience is in for something special — and the children, who invited their hero with a song, are about to find out what it feels like when he invites them back with a stage.
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