KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Hundreds of excited music fans wait in line, on the lookout for their favorite singers on a hit television show.



Elaha Sorur was the lone female finalist on this season's "Afghan Star." Just a few years ago, television and some music was banned in Afghanistan.



Instead of spending the time outside a New York venue or Hollywood soundstage, though, these fans braved barbed wire and gun-toting guards in Kabul to attend Afghanistan's premier pop music event: the finals of "Afghan Star," the embattled country's answer to "American Idol."



In line, bright mod outfits have replaced Kabul's normally conservative dress code. Onstage, men sport the latest styles. And on TV screens, a country's new battle between traditional and pop culture plays out.



"For the young generation," says one fan in line, "it's very important to be cool, with a cool mind."



Inside the concert hall, Jahid Mohseni, a 38-year-old Afghan-Australian media mogul, tries to manage the chaos he's created. Singers, child acrobats and TV technicians all compete to get his attention before the start of Afghanistan's biggest night of television.



Mohseni, who started the country's top television network, Tolo TV, says he's just trying to revive Afghan culture after the fallow Taliban era, when music and television were banned.  Watch performances on "Afghan Star" »



"Yes, we are promoting social change, but we cannot push Afghan society where it doesn't want to go. This is a commercial enterprise, and it's reflecting what people want," Mohseni said.



In Afghanistan, more than 60 percent of the population is younger than 25, and judging by the popularity of "Afghan Star," "they're like people everywhere. They're not from Mars," Mohseni said.



At the fourth-season finals this year, the audience included those who sat quietly as well as those who loudly cheered for contestants including Naweed Forugh (who would be named the "Afghan Star" winner), Naweed Sabirpur, Mehran Gulzar and Elaha Sorur, the lone female finalist.



"Art is in the blood of Afghans and has been for centuries, and it is still," Sorur said. "During the years of fighting, the people haven't been able to use their artistry, but with time, it will get better and better. Afghanistan and the people of Afghanistan are ready for a change."



But not everyone is happy with Mohseni's programming choices. Afghanistan's guardians of Islamic values, the Ulema Council, protested that "Afghan Star" and Tolo TV's popular Indian soap operas were not part of Afghan culture.



Afghanistan's minister for information and culture even tried to stop the soap operas in court, claiming that it was a question of national security.



Mohseni pointed out that Afghanistan is sandwiched between two powerful neighbors: India, with a population of 1.1 billion, and Iran, with almost 70 million people (compared with Afghanistan's estimated 34 million).



"You just have to sit down with your critics and explain that if we don't have Afghan music and entertainment, Bollywood will take over," he said.



"We're just trying to hold our own in the middle of what is effectively a cultural war."



That culture war can be seen on Tolo TV.



After meeting with the Ulema Council, Mohseni dreamed up another reality show called "Tartil," or "Koran Star."



The three finalists were quizzed by religious authorities and judged on how well they've memorized passages from the Quran, Islam's holy book.



There were no wild ovations when the winner was announced, but the finale still produced a bombshell: The winner was a shy 16-year-old schoolgirl named Uzra Mohamedi, who accepted the oversized $3,500 check without cracking a smile and while dressed in a traditional black veil.



Other TV programming in Afghanistan includes state-run news and lifestyle shows, a popular local-produced drama
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