shahid formed the pop-rock band "symt" with his friend hassan omer, later joined by a third member, farhan ali, who was basically a session player for many pakistani bands. the band released their first single "zamana" in 2011, the song being produced by farhad humayun and the music video directed by kamran yar kami., the song was nominated for "best music video", while the band was nominated for "best singer of the year" at the 2011 lux style awards. the band was part of the fifth season of coke studio, where they played two of their songs, "tum kaho" and "koi labda", featuring sanam marvi. the band has also played in other music shows, such as "pepsi smash" and "levis sessions". the band ended in 2016.