Rock star or university student? That's the choice facing a teenage Pakistani girl who is trying to juggle her music dream with family expectations. Her situation highlights social challenges facing the country. We meet Saniya, singer and bassist of the all-girl band, Nescafe Basement. Their cover version of John Newman's "Love Me Again" has won many fans, including John Newman himself!

There are countless covers of “Love Me Again”, but this one has been shared by John Newman on his Twitter. He even thanked the singers for their phenomenal rendition. As all the other girls pursue their rising stardom in the Karachi studio, Saniya is back at home in Islamabad preparing for university entrance papers. And the major she's aiming at is not music, but media.

That's because her father says Saniya's music should not go further than a hobby.

Saniya's musical talent also comes through the guitar. She got a teacher just for a few days and did the rest by herself. 

"In our society, men normally have more freedom than women do, because they say that women have to stay at home, they have to take care of the house, they have to do all the usual staff a woman has to do in her life. So when it came to music, at first they’ll say 'ok you can keep it as a hobby'. A hobby is fine. It took a lot to convince my parents. The only reason why my dad is not so easy with it is just because he’s very protective. His daughter is going to a field which he’s not comfortable with," Saniya said.

But Saniya's mom and sisters prevailed upon her father to let her have a try. Her recordings also helped persuade him...

"When I first heard her recording you know, that was amazing, and I was surprised - not only me, my family members and our family’s friends, everybody was surprised. So ok, I told her 'you’ll continue as a hobby'," said Dr. Shahzad Waseem, Saniya's father.

It was in the fourth grade that Saniya realized music was her true calling. When a teachers asked students what they wanted to become once they grew up, Saniya’s answer was, to say the least, unusual.

"I heard 'I wanna be a doctor', 'I wanna be an astronaut', 'I wanna be a chef' even. Then there was me, who was like 'I want to be a musician and want to be a singer' when I grew up. Everyone just gave their very confused look, like 'Are you serious?'" Saniya said.

It was in the fourth grade that Saniya realized music was her true calling.

Saniya's musical talent also comes through the guitar. She got a teacher just for a few days and did the rest by herself.

"I started playing the guitar a year after in the fifth grade. And I took a few lessons, just learned the basics. When I see someone do it, like you do it, I’ll follow up. And then you just playing, I’m ok, C-G-," she said.

Her younger sister Saween can sing beautifully too. And it’s said they got the gift from their mother, who was also fascinated with music when she was young.

"Well, in my time, when I was in school, in college, I used to also sing, taking part in competitions. The society at that time was very difficult. But now people are more towards to understand that music is a very good art," said Sophia Shahzad, Saniya's mother.

Being at a crucial stage in her academic life, Saniya now focuses mainly on study. But there's no doubt where her heart is...

"To be honest, I would love to be a full-time musician, because that's something I don't actually have to work for, it comes naturally to me," she said.

Go ahead with your dream, Saniya. Best wishes!