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™ 