It’s been a good five days since Anugerah Planet Muzik 2017 ended, but the euphoria of seeing our home country finally winning the biggest regional award for Best Song, for the very first time in the 16-year history of this prestigious awards show is still fresh and unforgettable, at least not anytime soon. I have lots to say since I have not been doing a proper review on APM since 2014, but I guess I will keep it and snowball them in another entry and yes, this year I will finally post a review entry. It has been that long but it has to be done. Of course as always, my first entry after an awards show will be to honour the best and the most popular who were awarded on the night itself. So without further ado, here’s my Anugerah Planet Muzik 2017 roll-of-honour’s list…
P.S. Additional graphic posters of winners who did not attend the awards show are courtesy of Mediacorp Suria. Photograph of Sonaone courtesy of Glam Malaysia…
Gloria Jessica – Dia Tak Cinta Kamu
Artis Baru Terbaik (Wanita) / (Best New Female Artiste)
Virgoun – Surat Cinta Untuk Starla
Artis Baru Terbaik (Lelaki) / (Best Male Artiste)
Faizal Tahir & Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza – Dirgahayu
Duo / Kumpulan Terbaik (Best Duo / Group)
Afgan Syah Reza Feat. Sonaone – X
Kolaborasi Terbaik (Artis) / (Best Artiste Collaboration)
Tanda Tanya – Aisyah Aziz
Composers: Omar K, Ezra Kong & Ishazee Ishak
Lyricists: Omar K, Ezra Kong & Ishazee Ishak
Kolaborasi Terbaik (Lagu) / (Best Song Collaboration)
I usually start off my entries after a long hiatus with an apology to my readers for making them wait so long for my return. Seeing how in the past I’ve been doing it, only to repeat the cycle again and again like a bad record, I have decided that I will not be doing any at all this time. Some of you will be extremely surprised to read this, but this entry almost became my final entry announcing my retirement from the scene. Yup you read that right!!! I was heavily toying at the idea of retiring as I had lost interest in doing write-ups and reviews, not to mention my time-consuming photo-editing process. In addition, this is a job that is not being paid but out of my passion for the local / regional Malay entertainment scene. There is only so much time and effort I can afford to put in at the expense of quality time with family. Why I decided to put the idea on the back-burner is because there is still that wee bit ounce of passion which I managed to coax out of me. For how long more??? That itself is a question to be answered. I feel jaded really to be honest.
Local artistes and representatives of the local Malay music scene who turned out in force for the media conference at Orchard Hotel…
I wish there were more like me out there, the ones who write / type with sense and rationale, not too emotional when critical, who will give benefit of doubt as much as they can. I just feel that it is time for a new generation of writers to take over but sadly also, blogging seems to be passe these days. I will not promise anything, but I guess from now, any entries on this domain should be regarded as “Heaven-sent”. I will pick and choose what events I attend henceforth and will not be bogged down by having to put entries or photos up as soon as the events end. Well it has always been that way, hasn’t it??? Just that I cannot commit to attending events (mostly at Mediacorp) on a regular basis henceforth, with its current location a bit far for my liking being the North-Easterner that I am. It is also to be fair to those who have kindly invited me to cover their respective events. With that out of the way, let’s begin this entry in earnest.
KC and Dzar Ismail were the hosts of the media conference in Singapore…
Anugerah Planet Muzik has always been THE event that I most look forward to annually since its inception on 20th January 2001, so much so I am willing to forgo watching my beloved football club Manchester United, when they face our sworn enemies Liverpool on the day of the event (14th October 2017). Part of the reason I’ve decided to continue blogging was also because of this event. It is afterall the Grammys of the regional music scene, whereby the four countries, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei come together to celebrate the best amongst them for the year. I know I have not been doing any reviews since the 2014 edition, but it also gave me some breathing space to observe changes that were made over the last two instalments. I noted a lot of improvements along the way which many at home do not have the benefit of knowing nor seeing, and there were also shortcomings, mostly because of a change in venue and having to adapt to new surroundings. I am hoping that with the event once again returning to the MES Theatre @ Mediacorp, the visual experience will improve, especially for those at home, because watching it live in the theatre and at home are two extremely stark contrasting experiences.
Nurul Isnina performed her debut hit single “Buaya“…
Just like the previous year, the media conference announcing the nominees for this year’s edition, was held at Orchard Hotel, albeit at the smaller Lavender Room a fortnight ago (22nd August 2017). Where A.B. Shaik, Aura Shai and Fiza O have always been the usual hosts at previous APM media conferences in Singapore, this year saw a somewhat refreshing change with Dzar Ismail and KC anchoring the proceedings. The media conference was also graced by the performances of eventual nominees Nurul Isnina, Iyaad Salleh, Arus Band & Sofia Arissa. Where previous media conferences were used to showcase upcoming young talents our local industry has to show for, there was a distinct upgrade of quality with those nominated being invited to perform and to show the audience why their names are up there along with the regional’s best. The event also saw the performance of Aidil Akmal and Dzar Ismail with their Malay rendition of the global hit “Despacito“, titled “Incognito“, which has since garnered their music video more than ten million views!!! I was telling Dzar afterwards, if only one view could be converted to a dollar, he could afford to retire by now. Such is the outreach of social media these days, that through creative works such as these, one can make it viral worldwide.
Arus Band, along with Sofia Arissa, were one of the few performers that day. Here, they’re seen singing their current hit song on the airwaves “Terlalu“…
A minor controversy emerged when I was viewing the live Facebook feed of the media conference at Hard Rock Cafe Kuala Lumpur on 24th August 2017. I noted that Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza who was initially nominated in the Best Female Artiste Category for her song “Menatap Dalam Mimpi” was missing as compared to the one announced in Singapore just two days before. I only got the answer after seeing reports that the organisers had indeed acknowledged and apologised for their error during the media conference in Kuala Lumpur itself and that all was fine between them as well as Dato’ Siti, and her management who were the ones who had alerted the organisers about it. I think this is a fine example of years of good working relationship between both sides as well as honesty and integrity being practised. The management could have kept quiet about it, but they did not. Thumbs up to Siti Nurhaliza Productions for the highlight and Mediacorp for acknowledging their error and apologising for it!!!
Ms. Zakiah Halim, Head of Mediacorp Malay Community addressing the floor along with CEO of COMPASS, Dr. Edmund Lam and Mr. Hassan Salleh, Senior Programming Director, Warna 94.2FM & RIA 89.7FM, Mediacorp…
A special first concert road tour for this year’s Anugerah Planet Muzik was announced by Mr. Hassan Salleh towards the end of the media conference. For the first time in the history of the prestigious regional awards show, Mediacorp is partnering with the organisers of the Formula 1 Petronas Grand Prix Malaysia for a concert road tour to close the race in Sepang, which will see it hosting for the 19th and final time. The concert will be the penultimate show on the final day of the race (1st October2017) and will feature some of the regional award nominees of Anugerah Planet Muzik 2017. At the time of typing this entry, I still do not know details of the concert and who exactly will be performing till perhaps closer to the date. My guess is that we will have big names from Malaysia, Indonesia and also Singapore to grace the concert. Will I be covering the concert??? That depends if some kind soul or organisation will be kind enough to sponsor my trip up north. Anyway I’m sure there will be some live streaming or at the very least, some live Facebook feed of the concert for us to view the proceedings if we are unable to physically watch it live.
The APM trophies are up for grabs again…
A total of 19 awards will be presented at this year’s event, the same as the previous year, with no tweaks nor changes made to any of the categories. Viewers and listeners can catch the ‘LIVE’ simulcast on TV channel MediacorpSuria, radio stations RIA 89.7FM and Warna 94.2FM as well as online streaming via Toggle LIVE. APM 2017 will feature a new generation of artistes discovered largely from social media platforms and is set to entertain and dazzle with a stellar line-up such as Ayda Jebat, Aisyah Aziz, Isyana Sarasvati, Virgoun, Gloria Jessica, Aiman Tino, Hael Husaini, and many more. Music fans and enthusiasts are also given the opportunity to vote for their favourite songs and artistes in fan-driven categories from 22nd August until 14th October, 10.00pm on Toggle at toggle.sg/apm. The categories are Most Popular Artiste (Singapore), Most Popular Song (Singapore), APM Most Popular Artiste, APM Most Popular Song and Social Media Icon. Tickets are priced at SGD $28 and SGD $48 (including GST and excluding SISTIC fee) and can be purchased at all authorised SISTIC outlets and online at www.sistic.com.sg from 22nd August 2017 onwards. At the time of typing this entry, the $68 seats are already sold out!!! APM 2017 is supported by Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore(IMDA) and Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS).
Snapshots of APM2017 Media Conference
Nurul Isnina performed her debut hit single “Buaya”, for which she was nominated for Best New Female Artiste…
Iyaad Salleh proved why he was nominated in the Best New Male Artiste category with his song “Cahaya”…
Sofia Arissa Arman, a very promising young starlet…
Sofia and Arus Band seen here performing their current hit song on the airwaves, “Terlalu”…
Dzar & KC interviewing Aidil Akmal…
Dzar & Aidil Akmal performed their hit parody song on Youtube, “Incognito”, the Malay version to the worldwide hit “Despacito”…
Singers who have topped the local charts (From right): Ryan Sufiyan, Kalysa Aziz, Hisyam Azmi and the latter’s friend, Fazle Rosle
Reyza Hamizan (third from right), seen here with Iskandar Rawi, winner of Projek Rentak MJ12 in 2012 (right), former Singapore Idol contestant, Maia Lee (2nd from right), Tiesha (third from left), Julka Phoenix (second from left) and Tiesha’s mother (left)…
Din Ilango (middle) with his mentors, Kraton members, Surayah Akbar and Jufri Salim…
Bhumiband members Atiqah and Adha…
Didicazli and Aidil Akmal…
The latest addition to RIA 89.7FM, Kyrul Ashrie (right) with members of Nu Kingdvm Music Group…
Anugerah Skrin 2016 winner Yaya Hamid, seen here with Yushini Qistina, winner of the first The Owesome Voice, organised by RIA 89.7FM last year and Yanti Lala…
Sofia Arissa with Arus Band…
Nurul Isnina seen here with her producer, Fakir J. Mario…
Part-time RIA 89.7FM deejay and freelance journalist, Freda Hassan with Yaya Hamid, Yushini Qistina, Yanti Lala and members of The Lion Story, Judah Lyne and Haramain Osman…
Pirah Shah of local band Klutz with representative of Roompie Records, Asnita Abdul Wahab…
Atiqah of Bhumiband (right), with local singer Mai Dhaniyah (middle) and the latter’s father, Mr. Noorsham Ramdzan…
KC, Dzar Ismail and Aura Shai need no further introduction…
Less than 24 hours to go before Anugerah Planet Muzik 2012 commences at Max Pavilion Singapore Expo. I know rehearsals are being done as I am typing this entry and slowly but surely, I am feeling the excitement of watching this annual music awards event. It is something that I look forward to since I ceased travelling across the Causeway to watch awards shows like Anugerah Industri Muzik and Anugerah Juara Lagu on an almost regular basis the past decade or so. And as is customary for me, here is something that I love to come up with a day or so before the event proper. No prizes for me if I get them right and hopefully no flaks either if I were to get them wrong. It is just something fun before the event descends upon us. I will be covering the event tomorrow, but please do not expect video snippets like last year, as my trusted videographer will not be attending this time round. For those in Singapore, the show will be telecast live on Mediacorp Suria at 8:30pm.
Predictions
BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE IN A SONG (NEW MALE ARTISTE) PERSEMBAHAN VOKAL TERBAIK DALAM LAGU (ARTIS BARU LELAKI)
Anji – (Hatiku) Berhenti Di Kamu
BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE IN A SONG (NEW FEMALE ARTISTE) PERSEMBAHAN VOKAL TERBAIK DALAM LAGU (ARTIS BARU WANITA)
Lala Karmela – Kamu, Aku, Cinta
BEST NEW DUO/GROUP DUO/KUMPULAN BARU TERBAIK
Audionauts – Maha Bisa Rahsia
BEST COLLABORATIONKOLABORASI TERBAIK
Rossa & Taufik Batisah, Aku Bersahaja, Komposer: Taufik Batisah, Penulis Lirik: Taufik Batisah
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 Musfirahperformed 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 Malaymusic 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 Nusantarahas 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 COLLABORATIONKOLABORASI 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
Da' KRUsader's Manor™ 