Anugerah Planet Muzik 2012, the prestigious regional music awards show that honours the best in the regional Malay music scene, makes its return once again on our shores!!! Now into its eleventh year, the show promises to inject new elements to the award categories and also up the ante of the show’s entertainment value. If you don’t already know by now, the awards show will be held at the Max Pavilion Singapore Expo hall this coming 15 December 2012 at 8:30pm. Tickets to the show have already gone on sale at all SISTIC outlets, and are priced at $48, $68 and $88. A media conference was held at the Rendezvous Grand Hotel last Monday 29 October 2012, to announce the various nominees in the respective award categories. Before I go on, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mediacorp Radio Pte. Ltd. for the kind invitation to the media conference event.

The media conference kicked off with all the invited artistes from Singapore coming forward to take a group photo at the invitation of the two hosts A B Shaik and Aura Shai. Before the esteemed panel of industry bigwigs took the centrestage, the attendees were treated to two opening performances by up-and-coming acts Amni Musfirah as well as the teenage trio who call themselves SupamusiQ. Both set of artistes, under the astute management of S.Ria Productions, which also has local group Revalina under its wings, have been making their own waves in the scene, especially in the talent-spotting “Opening Act – Go Glam” segment helmed by RIA 89.7FM‘s Hafeez Glamour. Amni Musfirah performed Agnes Monica‘s haunting hit “Matahari“, whereas the boys from SupamusiQ performed “Cahaya“, their single taken off the recently-concluded “Kelas Detention” drama series.

The panel of industry bigwigs who then gave their respective speeches, comprised of Mr. Edmund Lam, Chief Executive Officer of Composers & Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS), Ms. Zakiah Halim, Vice-President, Malay / Indian / Expat Radio Programming, Mediacorp Radio Pte. Ltd. and Mr. Hassan Salleh, Assistant Vice-President, RIA 89.7FM & X FM. In his speech, Mr. Edmund Lam raised hopes that with the existence of Anugerah Planet Muzik, more of our local acts will be able to leverage on the latest technology trends and attempt headway into the digital music market in the region. He noted that over the past ten years, the local Malay music scene has improved and this is in due part to the local stations providing our local acts the platform and stage to air their songs to the masses.

The mood took a solemn and sombre turn when Ms. Zakiah Halim took over the microphone. Before she spoke about the awards show per se, she paid a glowing and moving tribute to the late Allahyarham Amin Hussen, the former Managing Director of Beyond DDB Events Sdn. Bhd., who was instrumental in helping the two radio stations in seeing the birth of Anugerah Planet Muzik and seeing it come to fruition for ten years. Allahyarham Amin passed away on 26 October 2011 after a long battle with cancer. I have to admit, I felt a lump in my throat during the short tribute as I had met and interacted with the man himself several times and knew him when he was still the manager of my all-time favourite group KRU back in the late 90s. A well-mannered and kind gentleman, he always had positive words even in the face of adversity and I’m sure till today, many others would vouch for his kindness in different measures and capacity.

I will not ramble along on what else was mentioned by Ms. Zakiah Halim nor Mr. Hassan Salleh, as you will be able to view them from the short video highlights I have done up. The decision to drop the “Album Terbaik” (Best Album Category), due to the lack of full albums being produced of late, and advancement of digital music technology was a drastic but well-calculated one, in my opinion at least. And introducing the new categories namely “Media Nova Baru” (New Media Nova) and “Ikon Media Baru” (New Media Icon), aims to acknowledge the influence the social media platforms have on new / up-and-coming artistes who are not contracted to any music labels as well as the ones already established.

Looking at the nominees for the respective categories, I am extremely proud to see more local acts in the mix this year. What you might describe as under-rated acts like Audionauts, Awi Rafael, Hyrul Anuar and Siti Zahidah, have all gotten their justified dues through their nominations. One look at the “Lagu Singapura Terbaik” (Best Singapore Song) category, you will see how much quality and substance each nominee brings to the fore. What’s more, all the songs nominated in that category were composed, written and performed by the artistes themselves!!! It definitely was a tough choice for the judges to pick who should be nominated. I personally thought Diorama‘s “Hipokrasi” also deserved a nomination, but the nominations were made for works produced between 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2011, and the song was only produced this year. Either way, it just goes to show how stringent the selection was, and what you have there are the cream of the crop.

The various nominees for the “Media Nova Baru” (New Media Nova) category acknowledges and honours the up-and-coming, hidden talents who have received more than ten thousand views on their respective Youtube channels / clips of their individual performances. In a rather balanced mix, Malaysia and Singapore have four nominees each and Indonesia has three. For the very first time, one of the nominees, Cassidy Anderson, who is a sensation in her own right after making a cover video singing “Ombak Rindu“, hails from Australia, a country outside the Nusantara region. Who knows, perhaps in future, we would be able to see more participants around the world singing Malay songs. By the way, you can start voting for your favourite artistes in the popular categories beginning 5th November 2012 at midnight and voting closes on 5th December 2012. For more details, do visit http://xinmsn.com/apm.

Armchair critics in the past (and the present) might pan it as a “shiok sendiri” event, but I think given the circumstances and difficulties faced by the organisers, they should be applauded for making do with what is in front of them, allowing the local acts exposure to the region and honouring the best the Nusantara has to offer. This show is never about who’s best or popular in their respective countries being given a definitive shoo-in and if the watching audience are wondering who the hell are some of these artistes, then it is high time the couch potatoes start to make full use of technology, do their homework and learn to appreciate what is outside the “coconut shells” they are living in. Me??? I’m just looking forward to the performances of the likes of Alyah, Shila Amzah, Judika, SleeQ, Najwa Latif and more soon-to-be-confirmed acts when the day comes…

Anugerah Planet Muzik 2012 List of Nominees

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE IN A SONG (NEW MALE ARTISTE) PERSEMBAHAN VOKAL TERBAIK DALAM LAGU (ARTIS BARU LELAKI)

1. Anji – (Hatiku) Berhenti Di Kamu

2. Awi Rafael – Bila Aku Jatuh Cinta

3. Budi – DoReMi

4. Hazama – Cinta Teragung

5. Sandy Canester – Lelaki Dungu

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE IN A SONG (NEW FEMALE ARTISTE) PERSEMBAHAN VOKAL TERBAIK DALAM LAGU (ARTIS BARU WANITA)

1. Dhisa – Cintaku Kamu

2. Lala Karmela – Kamu, Aku, Cinta

3. Najwa Latif – Cinta Muka Buku

4. Raisa – Serba Salah

5. Zahidah – Malam Ini

BEST NEW DUO/GROUP DUO/KUMPULAN BARU TERBAIK

1. Armada – Mau Dibawa Ke Mana

2. Audionauts – Maha Bisa Rahsia

3. Hazama & Amy Search – Semitri

4. PULSE! – Tetap Berazam

5. Salam Musik & Altimet – Alamak!

BEST COLLABORATION KOLABORASI TERBAIK

1. Aliff Aziz & Hao Ren – Dilema Cinta, Komposer: Choo Hao Ren, Penulis Lirik: Sha Kalam

2. Dayang Nurfaizah & Tompi, Perlukan Cinta, Komposer: Audi Mok, Penulis Lirik: Ad Samad

3. Hyrul Anuar & Mimi Fly One Nation Emcees, Sudah Mengapa, Komposer: Andi A. Merican & Khairafik Khairudin, Penulis Lirik: Hyrul Anuar

4. Ramlah Ram & SleeQ, Sesaat Kau Datang, Komposer: ID Mifzal, Penulis Lirik: Zie Shafruddin

5. Rossa & Taufik Batisah, Aku Bersahaja, Komposer: Taufik Batisah, Penulis Lirik: Taufik Batisah

BEST MALE ARTISTE ARTIS LELAKI TERBAIK

1. Afgan, Panah Asmara

2. Anuar Zain, Ajari Aku

3. Hafiz, Ku Akui

4. Once Merkel, Hilang Naluri

5. Sammy Simorangkir, Sedang Apa Dan Dimana

BEST FEMALE ARTISTE ARTIS WANITA TERBAIK

1. Agnes Monica, Rindu

2. Alyah, Kisah Hati

3. Astrid, Tentang Rasa

4. Shila Amzah, Patah Seribu

5. Yuna, Terukir Di Bintang

BEST DUO/GROUP DUO/KUMPULAN TERBAIK

1. Geisha, Cinta dan Benci

2. Kesna, Pilihlah Diriku

3. Kotak, Tendangan Dari Langit

4. RAN, Mencuri Hati

5. Rausyanfikir, Rentak Hati

BEST SONG (SINGAPORE) LAGU TERBAIK SINGAPURA

1. Coba, Snowball, Komposer: Sid Isman, Penulis Lirik: Sid Isman

2. Fatamorgana, Audionauts, Komposer: Malon, Ryzal, Sham & Zackey, Penulis Lirik: Malon, Ryzal, Sham & Zackey

3. Maha Bisa Rahsia, Audionauts, Komposer: Malon, Ryzal & Sham, Penulis Lirik: Malon, Ryzal & Sham

4. Malam Ini, Zahidah, Komposer: Zahidah, Penulis Lirik: Zahidah

5. Pulanglah, Awi Rafael, Komposer: Awi Rafael, Penulis Lirik: Awi Rafael

BEST SONG LAGU TERBAIK

1. Apa Bisa, Kotak, Komposer: Pay, Dewiq & Kotak, Penulis Lirik: Pay, Dewiq & Kotak

2. Kisah Hati, Alyah, Komposer: Manusia Putih, Penulis Lirik: Manusia Putih

3. Ombak Rindu, Hafiz & Adira, Komposer: Nurzaidi Abd Rahman, Penulis Lirik: Sharad Sharan

4. Sedang Apa dan Dimana, Sammy Simorangkir, Komposer: Mario Ricardo, Penulis Lirik: Mario Ricardo

5. Terukir di Bintang, Yuna, Komposer: Yuna, Penulis Lirik: Yuna

MOST POPULAR SINGAPORE ARTISTE ARTIS SINGAPURA PALING POPULAR

SG1: Aliff Aziz

SG2: Aryan

SG3: Audionauts

SG4: Awi Rafael

SG5: Didicazli

SG6: Diorama

SG7: Fauzie Laily

SG8: Hady Mirza

SG9: Imran Ajmain

SG10: Sezairi Sezali

SG11:SleeQ

SG12: Taufik Batisah

MOST POPULAR SINGAPORE SONG LAGU SINGAPURA PALING POPULAR

LP1: Cinta Yang Lain, Arus

LP2: Gila, Tujuh

LP3: Ku Tetap Kan Menunggu, Hady Mirza

LP4: Maha Bisa Rahsia, Audionauts

LP5: Membenam Pagi Tanpamu, Diorama

LP6: Menanti Cintamu, Revalina

LP7: Mengapa Kau Harus Pergi, Farhan Shah

LP8: Pulanglah, Awi Rafael

LP9: Salahkan, Hyrul Anuar

LP10: Sally The Lion, The Lion Story & The Sallys

LP11: Terlalu Sayang, Didicazli

LP12: Yang Teristimewa, Sheikh Haikel feat. SleeQ

MOST POPULAR REGIONAL ARTISTE ARTIS SERANTAU PALING POPULAR

AS1: Afgan

AS2: Agnes Monica

AS3: Aliff Aziz

AS4: Alyah

AS5: Hady Mirza

AS6: Hafiz

AS7: Judika

AS8: Shila Amzah

AS9: SleeQ

AS10: Taufik Batisah

AS11: Ungu

AS12: Yuna

MOST POPULAR REGIONAL SONG LAGU SERANTAU PALING POPULAR

 LS1: Beribu Sesalan, 3 Suara

LS2: Bukan Dia Tapi Aku, Judika

LS3: Kalau Cinta, Aliff Aziz & Joanna

LS4: Kebahagiaan Dalam Perpisahan, Shahir

LS5: Kisah Hati, Alyah

LS6: Ku Pinang Kau Dengan Bismillah, Pasha Ungu & Rossa

LS7: Ku Tetap Kan Menunggu, Hady Mirza

LS8: Ombak Rindu, Hafiz & Adira

LS9: Paralyzed, Agnes Monica

LS10: Sedetik Lebih, Anuar Zain

LS11:Takkan Pernah Ada, Geisha

LS12: Tentang Rasa, Astrid

NEW MEDIA NOVA NOVA MEDIA BARU

MN1: Abdul Hamim Suleiman

MN2: Abdul Muttaleeb

MN3: Arien Nur Santi

MN4: Ayu Videlia

MN5: Cassidy Anderson

MN6: Fairuz Selamat

MN7: Muhamad Wazini Mohamed Taib

MN8: Muhamad Azri Syafiq Yusri

MN9: Muhammad Samsudian

MN10: Nurasya Abdul Rahim

MN11: Syazwiyanti Suparto

MN12: Yoseph Pradana

NEW MEDIA ICON IKON MEDIA BARU

MI1: Afgan

MI2: Alyah

MI3: Kotak

MI4: Najwa Latif

MI5: Sherina Munaf

MI6: Shila Amzah

MI7: SleeQ

MI8: Ungu

MI9: Vidi Aldiano

MI10: Yuna