Esther Applunius
Esther started singing at the tender age of 9 and was actually the winner of the RTM Bintang Kecil when she was 10 years of age. One of her highest achievements as a singer was when she finished as the first runner-up in the 2009’s One In a Million reality talent show.
Albums and Singles
Esther’s first album was actually a Kadazandusun album which was entitled ‘Esther Applunius’ and was released in 2005. In 2009, she released the signle ‘Menngapai Mimpi’ while her 2013 single ‘Sipi-Sipi’ was one of her most popular singles.
Apart from that, Esther released ‘Selalu’ in 2010 and the ‘Aku’ single was released in 2013. Achievements and Awards
Esther was the first runner-up in the One In A Million show in 2009 but she was already quite an achieved singer having won several competitions previously including the 2008 PERTISA Award where she was recognized as the most popular women singer in Sabah. In 2005, she was involved in the Sugandoi Kaamatan singing competition. In 2011, Esther took home the ‘Anugerah Juara Carta Lagu Artis Sabah’ for her composition and performance in ‘Selalu’.
Zee Avi
She is known as KoKoKaina as well and the self-taught guitarist became popular in 2007 when her first song ‘Poppy’ in YouTube turned her into an overnight sensation. But it was her ‘No Christmas For Me’ single on YouTube that got her discovered by Patrick Keeler of The Raconteurs and on to Ian Montone before she was signed by Bushfire Records.
Albums and Singles
‘Bitter Heart’ was the first official single that Zee Avi released through her self-titled album in 2009 and she would then perform to a full-house audience at the Roxy Theater. That year, Zee Avi’s album was the ninth best album of 2009 and in that same year, she performed ‘Bitter Heart’ on US television in the ‘Last Call with Carson Daly’ show.
Zee Avi’s second album was entitled ‘Ghostbird’ which came out in 2011 where ‘The Book of Morris Johnson’ was released, among others.
Achievements
Zee Avi’s musical career is very focused in the US where much of her time is spent composing music and touring the States. In 2009, he toured with Pete Yorn while being the first Malaysian to have albums and singles in the Billboard charts. Apart from that, Zee Avi has collaborated with some of the top acts in the world including Jack Johnson as well as performed at some of the most reputable music festivals in the world, including the Rainforest World Music Festival held in her home state in Sarawak and all around the world.
Elizabeth Tan
Elizabeth Tan is sometimes known as Elizabeth Swan and she is among the few Malaysian’s who has made their name in YouTube.
She is so popular in cyberspace that she is sometimes called ‘the girl from youtube’ and burst into the limelight when she posted her original rendition of the track ‘Havoc’ made popular by Joe Flizzow. What makes the song so significant is that the title track was the name of her ex-boyfriend.
Background
After finishing her studies in the United States, Elizabeth returned to Malaysia and was looking to pursue her singing career. Not knowing where to start, her friend suggested that she sing ‘Havoc’ and since it was related to her via the name, she went on with it. Posting her video on YouTube would prove to be her stepping stone to fame and with her ukulele, it garnered more than half a million votes ever since.
Songs
Apart from Havoc, Elizabeth has a strong following who tune into her YouTube channel to listen to her rendition of covers like ‘I See Fire’ by Ed Sheeran, ‘Royals’ by Lorde, ‘Stay’ by Rihanna and some of her original works which has already accumulated a large fan base.
While she likes singing, she writes songs as well, citing the likes of Zee Avi, Bon Iver and Corinne Bailey Rae as her inspirations. Her trademark is her ukulele which is often seen in her YouTube videos while she plays guitar and performs in a lot of events, roadshows and music festivals including the Good Vibes Festival 2014, among others.
Gary Chaw
Background
Born in Kota Belud in Sabah, Gary is known for his multi-lingual skills. He lived with his grandfather when he was only 11 months old after his parents separated and started studying in Canada before he was even 10 years old. He would then study Engineering in New Zealand and rose into the spotlight when he was seen singing the A-Mei-inspired song Ting Hai. That was in 2001. He bought a one-way ticket to Taiwan a year later to try and make it into the entertainment industry. He was turned down for being ‘ugly’ which pushed him into depression and even suicide.
After several turn of events, his perseverance paid off and he recovered from there, winning several awards and even called the Best Asian Male Singer by several media in 2010.
Albums and Songs
Gary’s most popular song would be his Mandarin version of ‘Superwoman’ which propelled him into the spotlight while he wrote several songs for S.H.E, Aaron Kwok and Cyndi Wang with mush success.
Awards
Perhaps the most notable award that Gary has won is the Best Mandarin Male Singer when he sang ‘Superwoman’ at the 19th Golden Melody Awards. Apart from that, he took home the Best New Male Artist (Gold) at the Hong Kong TVB8 Awards, the Best Composer awarded by the Malaysia Entertainment Association and the Best Performance at the 2007 Metro Radio Mandarin Music Awards, among others.
Ash Nair
Ash Nair is a multi-talented Malaysian entertainer whose real name is Ashvin Kumar Nair. Ash Nair is his stage name while he is often referred simply as Ash. Born in Ipoh, Perak in 1980, Ash burst into the Malaysian entertainment scene when he joined the second season of Malaysian Idol. That kick-started his music career and he has been involved in the industry ever since, performing his style of alternative and pop rock music. In Malaysian Idol, Ash finished as the fifth runner-up and was signed on by Greg Henderson. He would then chart his musical career further before venturing into other areas including acting.
Albums and Singles
Ash’s released his debut album entitled ‘Chameleon’ after Malaysian Idol with his single ‘A Day Before Tomorrow’. That single reached #1 in the local charts and was one of the most played singles on radio. In that album, there were 2 Bahasa Malaysia tracks out of the 10 which involved JD from Pop Shuvit and several other high profile people. After that, ‘Crazy’ was released’.
Awards and Achievements
Ash’s first album Chameleon remains as his most successful achievement where it garnered several nominations in the AIM and MACP awards. He then took his career up another notch when he was involved in a locally produced film and musical while starring in ‘Small Mission Enterprise (SME)’, a local comedy series. Apart from that, Ash will be involved in a series ‘Indian Summers’ by British Television and will be aired on Channel 4 in the UK and the PBS channel in the US in 2015.
Anuar Zain
Background
Anuar Zain is the brother of Ziana Zain, one of the most popular and illustrious female singers of all time. Born in Merlimau in Malacca in 1970, Anuar Zain’s introduction to the Malaysian market came about when he took home 2 of the top awards at the 1999’s AIM or Anugerah Industri Muzik. Before venturing into the singing industry, Anuar Zain worked as a flight steward with national flag-barrier Malaysian Airlines and modeled for American apparel brand, Dockers.
Albums and songs
Anuar Zain has several albums under his belt where his first was released in 1998 which got him to where he is today. His single ‘Bila Resah’ is among the most popular Malay songs while other songs include ‘Keabadian Cinta’, ‘Tinggalkan Aku’ and many others.
Awards
The most notable award that Anuar Zain won is the 1999 ‘Penyanyi Baru Lelaki Terbaik’ and the ‘Penyanyi Lelaki Terbaik’ at the AIM (Anugerah Industri Muzik) while he won the ‘Penyanyi Lelaki Solo/Kumpulan’ at the APH or Anugerah Personaliti Hiburan in 2002. Anuar Zain would go on to win several other top awards for male singers in the next decade including the Best Male Artiste at the Anugerah Planet Muzik (APM) in 2008 while taking home the ‘Selebriti Lelaki Paling Bergaya’ at the Anugerah Stail Eh! 2008.
Vince Chong
Background
Born in 1979, Vince comes from Kuala Lumpur. His musical genre is known to be more in the R&B segments. Vince comes from a family of talents where his father is Chinese and his mother is from England. His younger sister, Pamela and older sister Vanessa were runners up of The Amazing Race Asia 2 where they have already made their own respective careers in the entertainment industry.
Vince started singing when he was very young where he once performed a solo opera and was very much involved in the music industry especially through winning Akademi Fantasia. After winning the inaugural season, he would go on to record ‘Dilema 03’ with Nora, an internationally acclaimed Malaysian artiste.
Albums and Songs
Vince’s debut album was self-titled where the song ‘Mengapa Harus Cinta?’ did considerably well while he won third at the Shanghai Music Festival 2004 under the Asia New Singer competition. He would then continue to grow and in 2006, he released his second album entitled ‘Janji Vince’. He would then record the Asian version of Disney’s ‘High School Musical’ together with Filipino artiste Nikki Gil and Singaporean Alicia Pan and then on to High School Musical 2 where he recorded the Malaysian version of ‘The Music In Me’.
Nikki
Nikki is the stage name for Nicolette Louisa Palikat, a Malaysian singer who comes from Sabah. She was born in 1985 in Berrien Springs, Michigan in the United States where her origins is actually from Tambunan in Sabah. The pop singer has been involved in the Malaysian entertainment industry since 2004 where she first rose to stardom through her participation in the first season of the locally produced Malaysian Idol. The singer is of Dusun descent where she is married to local composer, Audi Mok.
Nikki’s rendition of Emotions by Mariah Carey took the judges by surprise when she auditioned for the Malaysian Idol in Sarawak where she would progress to the final stages of the competition. Throughout the competition, she was tipped as one of the favourites to win the competition only to be voted out at the Top 6 stage.
Albums and Singles
After Malaysian Idol, Nikki released her first album under the Artistes United Records label entitled ‘Maharani’ which demonstrated her unique ability to sing and whistle concurrently. She would then release ‘Pinta’ her debut single before releasing ‘Caramu’. In 2008, Nikki released her second album entitled ‘Hawa’ which saw the release of ‘Relakan’ and ‘Selamat Tinggal’ singles.
Achievements
Although Nikki did not win the Malaysian Idol competition, her vocal prowess and ability saw her releasing albums while her collaboration with Zahid in ‘Caramu’ saw them winning the Best Vocal Duo award at Anugerah Era 2006. Apart from that, she has worked with other established artistes like Yanie in the single release of Drama by Malaysian diva Ning Baizura.
Shila Amzah
Background
Shila Amza was born in 1990 in Kuala Lumpur and is multi-talented. She sings and writes songs while being involve in acting as well. As an artiste, Shila plays the keyboard and guitar. She burst into the scene at the tender age of 9 although no recording label dared to take the risk of signing her. She would then emerge as the first runner-up in the ‘One in a Million’ competition in 2009.
Albums and singles
Shila’s most notable song would be from her first album entitled ‘Yang Istimewa’ which was launched with the audience of Tun Dr Siti Hasmah. After the competition, she produced the album ‘Bebaskan’ which was under the Monkey Bone label before recording ‘Patah Seribu’ for the 3 Suara project by Kevin Chin.
Awards and achievements
In 2012, Shila’s career took a major turn when she won the Asian Wave competition, a reality singing talent show in Shanghai, China. She sang Jaclyn Victor’s ‘Gemilang’, Bruno Mars’ ‘Grenade’ and Na Ying’s ‘Zheng Fu’. Ever since then, Shila has become a household name not only in Malaysia but in China where she is known for her singing abilities and her bubbly stage personality which has won the hearts of her audiences and fans over.
Liyana Fizi
Born in 1983 in Kuala Lumpur, Liyana is involved not only in singing but she is an established songwriter, musician and producer as well. Her previous engagement with Estrella since 2006 has provided the perfect avenue to chart her solo career in which she has produced some of their biggest hits.
Albums and Singles
With Estrella, the self-titled album was released in 2007 and created waves within the music industry while as a solo artiste, she released her debut album in 2011 entitled ‘Between the Lines’. The album included 10 tracks which were written by her and produced uner Liyana Fizi Music Publishing.
Awards
Liyana is still building her solo career but her achievements with Estrella has been extremely remarkable where the group was nominated for 8 awards at the 2008 Voize Independent Music Awards. It must however be noted that Estrella has been considered as one of the top acts in the music industry despite not winning awards by virtue of its indie-pop genre which was still at its early stages that time.
Aizat Amdan
Born in 1989, Aizat Amdan is one of the fastest rising star in the Malaysian entertainment industry in recent years. His full name is Muhammad Aizat amdan where he was born in Kuala Lumpur. Aizat’s vocal abilities have given him a strong fan base where he is known for his music in the pop rock and pop genres. Aizat rose to stardom came about through his participation in the fifth edition of the locally popular Akademi Fantasia or AF where he is quite an establishedsongwriter and composer as well.
Although he only started his career in 2007, Aizat actually started singing and writing songs in hie early teams where he had performed in school level competitions that included ‘Lagu Kita’ featured in his debut album which he wrote when he was 15.
Albums and Singles
Since ‘graduating’ from Akademi Fantasia, Aizat has been steadily charting his music career in the Malaysian scene. He released 2 singles ‘Hanya Kau Yang Mampu’ and ‘Sahabat’ in 2007 where the former was among his most popular hits.
His released his first album ‘Percubaan Pertama’ which included the both the hit songs while his second album ‘Urusan Aizat Amdan’ included a few English songs as well.
Awards
Aizat has already garnered several top awards despite releasing only 2 albums which is considered a great achievement for an artiste of his age. At the 2009 Anugerah Industri Muzik, Aizat won the Best Vocal in a Song (Male) Award while he charted some very good results at the 2009’s 18th Discovery International Pop Music Festival in Varna, Bulgaria where he was among the Special Jury Award and 2nd runner up for the Best Song Category. Apart from that, Aizat won the Best Vocal Performance in a Song by New Male Artiste and the Most Popular Song based on Highest Download at the 2009’s Anugerah Planet Muzik.
Faizal Tahir
Faizal Tahir is a Malaysian artiste who is known for his pop-rock genre of music. Born in 1978 as Ahmad Faizal bin Mohammad Tahir, the singer has been involved in singing, composing and songwriting since he rose to stardom in 2004. He was once a member of Mirwana, a nasyid group while his brother Anas Tahir is part of another nasyid group Firdaus.
He rose to fame as a solo artist after joining the ‘One in a Million’ singing competition where he toyed with elimination during the grand finale in which he continued to finish as the runer-up of the competition. After that, he continued to excel in the entertainment industry where has won several awards for his contributions and performances.
Albums and singles
Faizal Tahir’s first single was ‘Mahakarya Cinta’ which he sang at the Grand Finale of the competition and proceeded to release ‘Kasih Tercipta’ after that, which was part of the Waris Jari Hantu soundtrack. His venture into the music industry through Mirwana saw the release of ‘Khalifah Pertama’ in 2004 before releasing ‘Aku.Muzik.Kamu’ in 2007. There were 14 tracks in this album and he proceeded to release ‘Adrenalin’ in 2010.
Awards
In 2008, Faizal Tahir won the Best New Artist at the AIM (Anugerah Industri Muzik) and Best Vocal Performance in an Album for ‘Aku.Muzik.Kamu’. He won the Best Rock Album and Best Album that year as well before taking home the Best Rock Album two years later. Other awards that he previously won include Best Vocal and Best Performance for Sampai Syurga as well as the 2009 Malaysia’s Most Popular Artist at the Anugerah Planet Muzik, thereby cementing his status as one of the top Malaysian artistes in the Asian region.
Fish Leong
Fish Leong is one of the few Malaysian artistes who has been hugely successful outside the country. Born in 1978, Fish Leong is the stage name that she use which was formerly Jasmine Leong. The singer comes from Negeri Sembilan where she has been actively involved in the entertainment industry since 1997. She is known as the ‘Queen of Love Songs’ particularly for her focus in love ballads which have been very popular around the region especially in countries like Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Japan and her hometown in Malaysia.
Fish comes from Bahau in Seremban and burst into the entertainment industry when Rock Records signed her on where she would grow in popularity after that.
Albums and singles
Fish’s debut album ‘Yi Ye Zhang Da’ was released in 1999 but it was only her second album ‘Yong Qi’ which took the world by storm. In that album, she released the Michael Wong-written single ‘Courage’. In 2001, she released ‘Shining Star’ followed by ‘Sunrise’ a year later. Fish would continue to release albums almost every year that include ‘Beautiful’, ‘Wings of Love’, ‘Silk Road of Love’ before joining Universal Music where she released ‘What Love Songs Didn’t Tell You’ in 2010 and ‘Love in Heart’ 2 years later. Apart from that, she was involved in several compilation albums as well as her hugely successful concerts around the region.
Awards
Fish Leong has won several awards since she started out in 1999 where she won the ‘Most Popular KTV’ for her single ‘Courage’. In 2001, she won the Regional (Taiwan) Best Song of the Year for “Unconditionally For You” while continuing to garner some of the top music awards in Singapore, China, Taiwan and Malaysia including the Top 5 Female Vocalist at the 8th Global Chinese Music Awards.
Mizz Nina – Malaysia’s Pride
By now, the track “What You Waiting For” would have been played to death on radio. In fact, it is one of the most catchy tunes in recent times and as icing on the cake, it is a sung by Mizz Nina, a Malaysian. Now if you haven’t already know, Mizz Nina has been in the Malaysian entertainment scene for a while now where she has been in and out music, taking on different roles before her passion for music drove her back into the groove and out come this lovely and catchy track.
She started off singing in 1996 after learning the trade through The Singing Shop where she then went on to be part of the Teh Tarik Crew that gained 2 AIM nominations. She would then continue on to become the face in commercials as well as in modeling before she eventually continued on to hosting and MCing. But it is the track ‘What You Waiting For’ that featured Colby O’Donis that got everyone excited and up and jumping because it seemed so perfectly timed for suit what the listeners want. Mizz Nina has come a long way in the scene and with the chart success she is enjoying currently, it is what she will do next which will be very interesting.
Yuna
The name Yuna is perhaps one of the most popular contemporary music Malaysian artistes, often striking a chord and associated with the Generation Y. Born as Yunalis Mat Zara’ai, her stage name is Yuna and still in her mid-twenties, this artiste has already made significant progress in the regional and global music industry with her unique blend of music. Yuna comes from Alor Setar, Kedah where she is known for music in the adult alternative and folk rock expressions.
Born in 1986, she started around 2008 and has been extremely active, touring around the world ever since.
It was during her time in university that she started actively participating in music where she wrote her own songs and performed them. It was when Indie-Pop, a US-based recording label discovered her that her musical career took off.
Albums and singles
Through Indie-Pop, Yuna was then signed on to FADER and ‘Decorate’, her first US EP was released. From there, Yuna roped in people like Farhan Fadzlishah aka Pa’an, Efry Arwis and Adib Azfar who became part of her band. In 2012, ‘Live Your Life’ was released on iTunes which was produced by Pharrel Williams and a month later, the video was released.
Yuna’s self-titled album will then be released in April that year which debuted at No.23on the Pop Chart and received some very positive reviews. Her following in MySpace, which was started in 2006 was attributed to her success in this industry.
Awards
Yuna won the National Youth Icon Award in 2012 for her achievements by the government of Malaysia while she was nominated for several others at some of the top music award shows. She won the Best Pop Vocalist at the 2008’s VMA Music Awards as well as the Most Performed Malay Song during the 2011 MACP Awards for the single ‘Dan Sebenarnya’.
Hafiz
One of the popular contemporary male Malaysian singers around today is Hafiz. Winning the Akademi Fantasia season 7 shot Hafiz to the spotlight and he has not looked back ever since.
Background
Hafiz comes from Kuching, Sarawak where he was born in 1990 as Mohd Hafiz Bin Mohd Suip. He was signed by Astro Talents Sdn Bhd where he rose to fame through winning the seventh edition of Akademi Fantasia, one of the most popular Malaysian reality talent shows.
Albums and Singles
Hafiz’s most notable album was ‘Masih Jelas’ which was released after ‘graduating’ from Akademi Fantasia. In the seventh season, he won the competition against 13 other contestants. Hafiz’s potential was very much predicted where he had constantly finished in the top 2 of each week before winning 46% of the votes in the finale. The title track of his first album became one of his signature singles while he went on to release a self-titled Indonesian album in 2012. After that, Lubahan Hati Anak Seni came out a year later.
Awards and Achievements
His debut album got him nominated in the Best New Artiste category at the Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian in 2009 while he was involved in ‘KITA: The Musical’. He would then win the ‘Best Song’ for Malaysia and ‘Best Song’ overall at the Anugerah Planet Muzik. Hafiz’s venture into acting has been quite successful as well while winning the Best Song at the 26th Anugerah Juara Lagu for the single ‘Awan Nano’. Apart from that, Hafiz had won the ‘Most Popular Male Singer’ at the 25th Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian’ as well.
Ziana Zain
One of Malaysia’s most popular female singers of all time is Ziana Zain. Apart from singing, Ziana is known to be a multi-talented artiste who has been involved in acting, modelling and for her success in running her own business as well.
Background
Born in 1968, her real name is Siti Roziana Binti Zin who was at the height of her fame around the early 90s. Ziana comes from a family of multi-talented artistes where her brother is Anuar Zain, another popular Malaysian celebrity in his own right. Her ‘Madah Berhelah’ album released in 1991 was her breakthrough into the local music scene which propelled her to fame where her career continued to flourish ever since.
Albums and Singles
Ziana’s debut single ‘Madah Berhelah’, which gave her the shot to fame remains as her signature single ever since it was released that exuded her talent and sultry vocals. From there, Ziana would continue to churn out hit after hit which have since mesmerized her audience including ‘Puncak Kasih’, ‘Anggapanmu’ and ‘Setia Ku Di Sini’, among others. After the first album, her self-titled album was released while ‘Setia Ku Di Sini’ came out in 1995 which went on to sell more than 175,000 copies. In that album, 5 singles were released which went on to top the charts not only in Malaysia but Brunei, Singapore and Indonesia. Puncak Kasih was then released in 1997 while another self-titled album and ‘Aku Cinta Padamu’ followed a few years later.
Awards and achievements
Ziana won the ‘Voice of Asia’ in 1995 held in Kazakhstan and that practically enhanced her status as one of the top Malaysian acts in the region. Her third album actually won the ‘Best Female Vocalist in an Album’ at the Anugerah Industri Muzik award in 1996 and in 1998 won the Anugerah Juara Lagu’s ‘Best Ballad Song’ for ‘Puncak Kasih’.
Reshmonu
His real name is Hiresh Haridas and his stage name is Reshmonu and is one of the most renowned Malaysian artistes today. Reshmonu has an illustrious career where he is known for his soulful voice while he has been involved in several other projects in the Malaysian and regional entertainment industry.
Background
Reshmonu was born in Malacca in 1970 where he is known for his success in the R&B music genre, making him one of the few Malaysians involved in this particular segment. He burst into the Malaysian music scene in 2003 and has been actively involved ever since. His first album ‘Monumental’ was released in 2003 which pretty much springboard him into fame through songs like ‘Walk Away’, ‘Like This’ and It’s You That Matters.
Awards
In a year after Reshmonu released Monumental, he took home 3 awards at the 2004 AIM (Anugerah Industri Muzik), the ‘Best Male Vocals’, ‘Best New English Artiste’ and the ‘Best Engineering for an Album’. That would be the sign of more to come where he would be called upon to open for international artistes including Alicia Keys, Black Eyed Peas and Nicole Scherzinger, among others. The charttoping song ‘Hey Waley’ remains as one of his hit songs while Reshmonu continues to enthrall fans around the country with his sultry voice and impressive performances.
Albums and Songs
Reshmonu’s most successful album was ‘Monumental’ while he repackaged it in 2004 called ‘Monumental – The Journey Continues’. While in 2007, he collaborated with Universal Music Malaysia to release ‘Superfine’ before releasing ‘Harapan’ 2 years later.
Jaclyn Victor
Of all the Malaysian artistes in history, Jaclyn Victor is one who would surely stand out for her outstanding achievement as an entertainer and her singing ability which has put her among some of the best in the region.
Her real name is Jaclyn A/P Joshua Thanaraj Victor where she burst into the spotlight after winning the Malaysian Idol competition. Born in 1978, Jaclyn has been singing in pubs and hotels since she was 18 before joining the competition in which she won a recording contract with the then Sony BMG Entertainment and through her exemplary singing ability and sultry voice, she joined the first Asian Idol and Ikon Asean.
Albums and singles
Jaclyn’s first album was her self-funded ‘Dream’ through the support of friends and her family but it was only after she won Malaysian Idol that her music career officially took off. The song that propelled her to fame would be ‘Gemilang’, the single specifically written for the winner of Malaysian Idol.
Her next album was ‘Inilah Jac’ following the success of her debut ‘Gemilang’ while in 2007, the album was re-released with new tracks. ‘Jaclyn Victor III’ followed suit in 2009 while she joined 2 other divas, Ning Baizura and Shila for the 2011 ‘3 Suara Sony’. She then signed with KRU Music to release ‘Ikut Rentakku’ which will follow by ‘Unleashed’, an English album which is set to go global.
Awards
As a recording artiste, Jaclyn has garnered some of the top awards both locally and regionally. At the Anugerah Bintang Popular, Jaclyn won the ‘Best New Artist’ and when she won the gold at the ‘Asia New Singer Competition’ during the 2005’s Shanghai Music Festival, the global scene took notice. She would then take home 4 titles at the 13th Anugerah Industri Muzik while Jaclyn has since ventured into acting, among other collaborations in the entertainment industry.
Joe Flizzow
Joe Flizzow is one of the top Malaysian hip-hop artistes in the regional entertainment industry today. He is mostly known for his earlier works in the group Too Phat which propelled him to stardom before going solo and has been actively involved in the Malaysian entertainment industry ever since.
Background
Born in 1979, Joe Flizzow’s eral name is Johan Ishak where he comes from Johor Bahru. When he was with Too Phat, he used the stage name of ‘The President’ together with ‘The General’ whose real name is Malique Ibrahim and Doctah’K. Too Phat was very popular when they started in 1999 and continued to be active until 2006 before the trio broke up.
Albums and Singles
The first single that was released by the trio was Lil Fingaz while Too Phat Baby became one of the hottest singles on local radio stations at the turn of the century. The album ‘whuttadilly?’ while Plan B too enjoyed a lot of success. Through several collaborations, Joe’s involvement in music became more prominent especially in his work with international hip-hop artistes including Warren G while their 2005 album ‘Rebirth into Reality’ featured the song with Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, Dua Dunia.
Awards and achievements
Despite his popularity as an artiste, Joe Flizzow only released his first solo album in 2008 entitled ‘The President’ while he is very much involved in many other projects. This includes his own label ‘State of Mine Caps’ while he has appeared in numerous commercials, reality shows and continues to be a spokesman for several top Malaysian brands.
Marsha Milan Londoh
Marsha Milan Londoh is a Malaysian singer, actress and model. Born in Berrien Springs in Michigan, Marsha Londoh’s hometown is in Tamparuli in Sabah. She is of Kadazan-Dusun descent where her cousin Norlinda Nanuwil was the former first runner-up of Akadami Fantasia 2.
As an artiste, Marsha Londoh is known for her sultry vocals where she plays the piano and other musical instruments. She burst into the Malaysian entertainment industry after joining the widely popular Akademi Fantasia, Malaysia’s top reality singing competition. She joined the third season of Akademi Fantasia in which she won the second runner-up of that competition that year. Her vocal prowess would continue to enthrall audiences around the country where among her most notable achievement was to be the voice of Princess Elsa for the Bahasa Malaysia version of the internationally acclaimed Disney movie Frozen.
Albums and Singles
Marsha Londoh’s first solo album was released in 2009 ‘Praising My Savior’ which was a gospel album while she only released her first commercial album in 2011 entitled ‘Yang Pertama’. She however was involved in several compilation albums before that while her singles include ‘Sayang’ which featured Ajai as well as ‘Yang Terbaik’ and ‘Bersama Kita’ which was released in 2010. In 2011, she released ‘Bila’ with mixed reviews.
Awards
Apart from the third runner-up in Akademi Fantasia 3, Marsha has been nominated for several awards although she has yet to win any major ones. She was nominated at the ‘Shout! Awards 2009’ in the Hot Chick Award category as well as in the 2009’s Anugerah Industri Muzik in the ‘Best Vocal Performance in a Duet Song’ and in 2006, in the ‘Best New Artiste’.
