Nicolette Palikat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nikki
Nikki's Debut Solo Album - Maharani
Background information
Birth name	Nicolette Louisa Palikat
Born	November 1, 1985
Origin	Tambunan, Sabah, Malaysia
Genre(s)	Pop
Years active	2004—present
Label(s)	Artistes United Records
Website	Official Website

Nicolette Louisa Palikat (born November 1, 1985), better known by her stage name, "Nikki", is a Malaysian singer from Tambunan, Sabah, and a finalist in the first season of Malaysian Idol.

1 Personal life
2 Professional career
3 Discography
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Personal life

Nikki was born in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and is of Dusun descent. She is fluent in her native tongue of Bahasa Dusun as well as English and Malay. Prior to entering tertiary study at Kolej Matrikulasi Labuan, Nikki attended St. Francis Convent Catholic schools in East Malaysia.

[edit] Professional career

While a university student, she successfully auditioned for Malaysian Idol in Kuching, Sarawak, impressing the judges with her rendition of Mariah Carey's Emotions. She eventually progressed through to the 'Final 12' of the competition. After six weeks, Nikki was voted out on September 12, 2004 to some controversy, as she had been seen as a favourite to win by Malaysian Idol judge, Paul Moss.

The following lists Nikki's Malaysian Idol performances:

Audition - Emotions - (Mariah Carey)
Workshop - One Moment in Time - (Whitney Houston)
Wildcard - The Voice Within - (Christina Aguilera)
Top 12 - Crazy in Love - (Beyoncé)
Top 10 - I Want You Back - (The Jackson 5)
Top 8 - Against All Odds - (Phil Collins)
Top 7 - I'm with You - (Avril Lavigne)
Top 6 - Emotion - (Destiny's Child)

Originally planning to continue with her studies after her exit from the competition, Nikki secured a recording contract with Artistes United Records and released her debut album, Maharani, in Malaysia on November 28, 2005. The title means 'Empress' in Malay. This album showcases Nikki's abilities in the whistle register, with one critic mentioning it as "whistling a la Mariah Carey."^[1] The ballad 'Pinta' marked Nikki's official debut in the music industry.

The music video for Nikki's second single, Caramu, has been criticised for bearing similar themes and choreography to various music videos of South Korean singer, BoA. This same song won Nikki and collaborating artist, Zahid, an award for best vocal duo at Anugerah Era 2006, a Malaysian music awards ceremony.^[2]

Following Caramu, Nikki teamed up with fellow Malaysian singer, Yanie, and both featured in Ning Baizura's August single release, Drama.

[edit] Discography

Albums

Maharani (2005)

Singles

Lara

[edit] References

^ http://www.nikkimusic.com.my/press_article4.html MAHARANI CUKUP SELESA, retrieved on November 2, 2006
^ http://www.era.fm/oap/06/AE06/buletin.asp ANUGERAH ERA 2006, retrieved on November 2, 2006

[edit] External links

Malaysian Idol
Contestants Season 1 (2004)
Jaclyn Victor \| Faradina Mohd. Nadzir \| Mavick Teo Hui Mau \| Andrew Tan \| Saipul Bakeri \| Nicolette Palikat \| Ahmad Zamil Idris \| Victor Lee Choon Keat \| Rydiana Rahim \| Fahmy Zakaria \| Sufiah Mohamed Noor \| Fazdli Zainal
Contestants Season 2 (2005)
Daniel Lee Chee Hun \| Norhanita Binte Hamzah \| Farah Asyikin binti Zulkifli \| Faizull Herman Bin Mohamad Yahya \| Ashvin Nair \| Adam Bin Alli \| Tengku Hamisah Zaharah Binte Tengku Zaimi \| Wong Shau Fui \| Azam Bin Yakob \| Atilia Binti Sarani \| Tricia Priscilla D'Cruz
Judges
Paul Moss \| Roslan Aziz \| Fauziah Latiff
Hosts
Soo Kui Jien \| Sharifah Aleya (Season 1)\| Cheryl Samad (Season 2)