Siti Nurhaliza

Siti Nurhaliza
Siti Nurhaliza
Siti Nurhaliza
Background information
Birth name Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin
Born January 11, 1979 (1979-01-11) (age 30)
Kuala Lipis, Pahang, Malaysia
Genre(s) Irama Malaysia, Pop, Soft rock, Pop rock, R&B, Dance-pop
Occupation(s) Singer, Songwriter, Record producer, Businesswoman, Actress
Instrument(s) Voice
Years active 1995 – present
Label(s) Siti Nurhaliza Productions, Suria Records
Website SitiZone.com

Dato' Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin DIMP, JSM, SAP, PMP, AAP (born January 11, 1979) is a multiple-award winning Malaysian pop singer-songwriter. She is currently the most successful Malaysian singer in the industry. Unlike artists who have left Malaysia and reached international stardom, she became an international icon as her career blossomed locally. To date, she has garnered more than 200 local awards as well as international awards.

Contents

Biography

Early childhood (1979 – 1995)

Siti Nurhaliza was born in Kampung Awah (Temerloh), Pahang on January 11, 1979. Siti is the fifth child in the family of eight siblings. She comes from a musically inclined family. Her grandfather was a famous violinist, and her mother was a famous local traditional singer.

From the age of 5, she followed her uncle to invitational shows like wedding ceremonies and dinner parties to give her exposure performing live, where she was well received by the local community. During her childhood she was involved in various school activities, including sports and class speeches.

Siti Nurhaliza attended pre-school at the Sekolah Tabika Perkep, Balai Polis Kampung Awah, Temerloh. Here she showed her early singing talent at the age of six when she sang "Sirih Pinang", a Malay traditional song, at her kindergarten's end of year event. She attended primary school at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Clifford and followed up her secondary education at Sekolah Menengah Clifford, Kuala Lipis, Pahang.

She was an athlete in school and this showed when at the opening ceremony of the Fiesta Media Idola 2006 in Kuantan she was a torch bearer to light the games of the Fiesta, together with actress Fasha Sanda. Siti had also won a singing contest when she was twelve years old. She sang the patriotic song "Bahtera Merdeka" at a Kuala Lipis Carnival in conjunction with the "Nyanyian Bulan Kemerdekaan" (Independence Month Singing Contest).

Early commercial success (1995 – 1996)

Siti Nurhaliza's family performed at many local ceremonies in their hometown, such as weddings. At the age of twelve, Siti began to learn traditional songs from her mother and went on performing that genre of music during special occasions and events.

Later, as she continued to work on her singing, she participated in numerous local singing competitions. At 16, she competed in the 1995 RTM Juara Bintang competition. While there, she met Adnan Abu Hassan, a famous Malaysian music composer. He tutored her and helped her with her vocal performance, and ultimately she won the contest. She was granted a contract with Suria Records and in 1996 released her first self-titled album, Siti Nurhaliza. Completing her first album was a challenge because she had to balance working on the album with her preparations for the SPM examination. Despite this, her first album was a great success, and paved the way for successful subsequent albums.

Career development (1996 – 2006)

After the release of her first album, Siti became a well-known figure in Malay pop culture. She continued to have numerous hits, her songs spanning a broad range of genres, such as pop, R&B, and traditional Malay. Her voice and lyrics proved to be popular among teenagers as well as adults throughout Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.

Siti was the first non-Chinese artiste to be invited to perform at the 15th Golden Melody Awards, Taiwan in 2004.[1] Apart from performing solo, she also sang a duet with Lee-Hom Wang in a song called 月亮代表我的心 (The Moon Represents My Heart).

Throughout her career, Siti Nurhaliza's songs have been covered by other artistes, including the famous song Cindai which was re-recorded in Chinese version by Chien Bai Hui. Also, her first hit song, Aku Cinta Padamu was covered by North, an Australian boy band. Siti held a successful solo concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London in April 1, 2005, although the majority of the audience were Malaysians living in the United Kingdom and Malaysians who had travelled just to see the concert. British press called her 'Asia's Celine Dion' due to her powerful vocal and outstanding performances.[2] To date, she has the most number one singles than any other artiste in Malaysia.

Businesswoman

With success in her singing career, Siti then got herself involved in business. She set up her own company - Siti Nurhaliza Productions (M) Sdn. Bhd. - with activities generally in the entertainment scene. She has two subsidiary companies, Siti Nurhaliza Collections Sdn. Bhd. and Siti Nurhaliza Marketing Sdn. Bhd. Siti sells her own "Ctea", brand of Malaysian tea, from tea cultivated on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, Sabah. This "Ctea" brand comes in two flavours, Geranium Special and Pandan.

And now besides having her own products, she receives substantial income through commissions and royalties for her endorsements and as ambassador of products.

Some of the many products she endorses include Maybelline, Pepsi, Pantene, Maxis, TM Net, Jusco, Konica Minolta, Olay Skin Care and Samsung.

Wealth

Siti was bestowed the 'Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang' award by the Sultan of Pahang which carries the title 'Datuk' in October 24, 2006.[3]

Siti is known to be a formidable and successful businesswoman in Malaysia. She currently tops the list of the 'Richest Artistes' in Malaysia. She is also worth more than RM65 million and was named one of the millionaires in entertainment in South East Asia.

Transkripsi (2006 – 2007)

Siti's eleventh studio album, Transkripsi, was released in 2006 and contained contributions from producers such as Aubrey Suwito, Jenny Chin, Mac Chew, Yasin, Cat Farish, Firdaus Mahmud and Damian VE. Transkripsi became the year's best album after winning the Best Album award in the Anugerah Industri Muzik, equivalent to the Grammy Award. It was the first album released under her own production company.

She made her first appearance at the Grammy Awards for the red carpet session on February 11, 2007.[4] She was the first Malaysian to walk the red carpet.

On April 20 and April 21, 2007, Siti performed at the successful Konsert Istana Cinta Nostalgia, which was a tribute concert for the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee & Puan Sri Saloma at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur. The concert featured popular songs composed by Tan Sri P. Ramlee himself, performed by Siti and other invited artistes.[5] Before this, Siti was also invited to perform a tribute concert for the late Sudirman Hj Arshad, also at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur in 2002.

On April 30, 2007, she garnered 4 nominations in the Anugerah Industri Muzik including Best Pop Album (Transkripsi), Best Vocal Female Performance In An Album (Transkripsi), Best Music Video ("Bisakah") and Best Cover for an Album (Transkripsi). Out of these, she won two: Best Pop Album and Best Album for Transkripsi.

She also bagged 2 fan-based-vote nominations for Most Popular Female Artist and Most Popular Song ("Biarlah Rahsia") and 3 nominations for Best Female Artist, Best Song and Best Album at 2006 Anugerah Planet Muzik, a regional award ceremony for artistes in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. She won Most Popular Female Artist, Best Female Artist and Best Song ("Biarlah Rahsia").

Hadiah Daripada Hati & other work (2007 – present)

2007 showed Siti's participation on soundtracks for the films Kayangan and 1957: Hati Malaya. For Kayangan, Siti recorded a song Menanti Pasti. It's the first single to be released to the Indonesian market. For 1957: Hati Malaya, Siti recorded a song called "Hati", which was released in September 2007.

Siti performed as Azizah, P. Ramlee's mysterious lover, in the musical 'Remy ... Kisah P. Ramlee (Remy ... The Story of P. Ramlee), which is a tribute to the late P. Ramlee, staged at Istana Budaya from October 17, 2007, to November 3, 2007.

Siti's twelfth studio album Hadiah Daripada Hati was released on December 10, 2007. Siti released the Latin-influenced pop song Ku Mahu as the first single of this album and it was featured as the opening theme song for a drama called Spa-Q. Thanks to the popularity of Spa-Q, the single was well received and topped most of the Malay charts for weeks. Melawan Kesepian was her second single and was the first track of this album to have a video clip. The song was a remake of a hit that was once popularized by an Indonesian band called Jikustik. Her acting debut in the musical 'Remy... The Story of P. Ramlee' also saw the debut of her third single Mulanya Cinta, which was created by Dick Lee, a Singaporean composer. Siti said that it was her first collaboration with the renowned musician although she had known him for years.

The new album was previously claimed to be a traditional album but due to lack of materials, she moved on with producing another pop album. The traditional album is now slated for a 2008 release, as stated by Siti herself.

Siti has also recently became the most frequently searched person on Google by Malaysian Google users, according to Google's 2007 Malaysia Year-End Zeitgeist, beating celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.

On March 21, 2008, Siti held a successful solo acoustic concert at the prestigious Esplanade Theatre in Singapore. The concert was called Diari Hati or 'A Diary of Her Heart'. She performed numbers of hits from her latest album, Hadiah Daripada Hati and previous albums. The concert has received good reviews from the local press saying that 'she rules hearts in Singapore as well as in Malaysia' and 'her reign as the queen of Malay pop songs is still going strong'.[6]

Hadiah Daripada Hati came under criticism from the press when it was released. Critics said it was a moderate performance from Siti Nurhaliza and was not on the same par as her previous album Transkripsi, which was touted as the best album she had ever made. But these criticisms were rebutted when Hadiah Daripada Hati received five nominations in the 15th edition of AIM including Best Pop Album and Song of The Year, making Siti the second nominee with the most nominations after newcomer Faizal Tahir.[7] Out of five categories including three multiple nominations, the album earned her three awards for Best Pop Album, Best Musical Arrangement in a Song (Malay) for the song Cintamu as well as her ninth Best Vocal Performance in an Album (Female) in which she had lost to Jaclyn Victor the previous year.[8]

Romance

Siti has previously been romantically linked to quite a number of fellow artistes including Zamani, Anuar Zain and Dr Fazley Yaakob. It was rumoured that Siti and Fazley were together before she met her future husband, Datuk Khalid Muhammad Jiwa (Datuk K), as Fazley helped her get a chance to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London. They flew there together but things apparently became tense when Siti kept on disappearing with Datuk K during rehearsals.

Siti was also previously linked to actor-singer-director cum producer Yusry Abdul Halim who was formerly married to actress Erra Fazira. For the past few years, Siti was rumoured to be in a relationship with a prominent Malaysian businessman, who was then only referred to as Datuk K. The rumour had it that she would be getting married in 2006, to which she neither confirmed nor denied, which deviated from her usual response to rumors. The rumors were further fueled during her acceptance speech at the "Anugerah Bintang Popular 2006" awards ceremony. In her speech she thanked "her special one", whom she had never mentioned before. Recently reporters saw the family of Siti's supposed lover visiting her house in Kuala Lipis. Many believed that the family visited in order to arrange for the wedding.

Much controversy arose over the romance, due to the 20 year age gap between them. Also, rumours were flying that Siti had an affair with Datuk K while he was still married, and asked him to leave his wife for her. They apparently met through Datuk K's former wife Tengku Zawyah Tengku Izham who used to invite Siti to perform at charity functions that she hosted. However, both Datuk K and Siti denied these allegations.

On July 17, 2006, Siti and Datuk Khalid made a press conference announcing their wedding plans. A local TV SMS poll conducted on the same day of the announcement showed that 49% of viewers did not approve of the news. The press conference got a frenzy of media coverage and a live telecast from TV3's Wanita Hari Ini. It was announced at the conference that she will wed businessman Datuk Khalid Muhammad Jiwa, on August 21, 2006.

The wedding was charted as the top celebrity wedding on Yahoo Buzz.[9]

The engagement and akad nikah ceremony were held at Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan (Federal Territory Mosque) on August 21, 2006. The ceremony was also televised live and gathered more than 2 millions viewers. The first wedding reception was held on August 28, 2006, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) which televised to 6.3 millions viewers nationwide.[10] It was a star studded affair, with guests including royal families, VIPs, celebrities, close friends and family. A second reception was held on September 3, 2006, in Siti's hometown of Kuala Lipis, Pahang.

Discography

Studio albums

Other albums

Live album

Solo compilation albums

Other compilation albums

Videography

Video albums

Concert albums

DVD

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2004 Zaleha Ayam Patah as herself Cameo

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes
2007 P. Ramlee The Musical Azizah Special appearance

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Kunang-Kunang Kunang-Kunang Main character

Promotional work

Siti's popularity means she is constantly in demand for endorsements. She has sung themes for movies (eg. Puteri Gunung Ledang) and corporate jingles (eg. the Malaysian wireless communications firm Maxis). She has also been featured in various advertisements and has been spokeswoman for many well-established brands such as Maybelline, Pepsi, Jusco, TMnet, Konica Minolta, Nippon Wiper Blade, Olay, Pantene and Samsung.

Career achievements

Malaysian Music Industry Awards (Anugerah Industri Muzik)

Malaysian Song Champion Awards (Anugerah Juara Lagu)

Malaysian Popular Stars Award (Anugerah Bintang Popular)

The Malaysia Book of Records

Anugerah Planet Muzik (Planet Music Awards)

Anugerah ERA (ERA Awards)

MTV Asia Awards

Recognitions & honours

Appointments

International awards

References

  1. ↑ "Asia pop stars sing Golden Melody". China Daily Website - Connecting China Connecting the World. Retrieved on 2004-05-09.
  2. ↑ "Siti displays true star power in London". The Star Online. Retrieved on 2005-04-08.
  3. ↑ "Abdullah heads awards list". The Star Online. Retrieved on 2006-10-24.
  4. ↑ "Siti Nurhaliza gets Grammy invite". The Star Online. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  5. ↑ "Siti hidupkan khazanah P. Ramlee dalam Konsert Istana Cinta". mSTAR Online - mstar.com.my. Retrieved on 2007-04-24.
  6. ↑ "Siti Nurhaliza, queen of hearts". The Straits Time. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  7. ↑ "New Talents Up the Excitement". The New Straits Time. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  8. ↑ "Faizal Tahir Rocks at AIM Awards". The New Straits Time. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  9. ↑ "Top Celeb Weddings - Yahoo! Buzz Log". Yahoo! Buzz. Retrieved on 2006-11-14.
  10. ↑ "14 The Ratings are in: Siti 6.3 million Log". The Star. Retrieved on 2006-08-30.

External links

Siti Nurhaliza
Studio albums
Siti Nurhaliza (1996) • Siti Nurhaliza (1997) • Cindai (1997) • Adiwarna (1998) • Pancawarna (1999) • Sahmura (2000) • Safa (2001) • Sanggar Mustika (2002) • E.M.A.S (2003) • Prasasti Seni (2004) • Transkripsi (2006) • Hadiah Daripada Hati (2007) • Lantera Timur (2008)
Other albums
Seri Balas (1999) • Anugerah Aidilfitri (2003)
Live albums
Konsert Mega Siti Nurhaliza, Bukit Jalil 2001 (2001) • Konsert Salam Terakhir Siti Nurhaliza - Untukmu Sudir (2002) • Siti Nurhaliza Live In Concert 2004 (2004) • Siti Nurhaliza In Concert, Royal Albert Hall London (2005)
Solo compilation albums
The Best of Siti Nurhaliza (2000) • Melodi Kristal (2001) • Penerima Anugerah Terbanyak (Most Awards Won Artiste) (2001) • Cerita Cinta Siti Nurhaliza (2006) • Klasik (2007) • S.N. House Mix (2007) • Permata Irama (2008)
Other compilation albums
2 Diva (2008) • Lebaran Bersama Siti & Teman-Teman (2008)
Singles
"Jerat Percintaan" • "Cari – Cari" • "Aku Cinta Padamu" • "Wajah Kekasih" • "Bisikan Asmara" • "Cindai" • "Joget Pahang" • "Joget Berhibur" • "Purnama Merindu" • "Satu Cinta Dua Jiwa" • "Nian Di Hati" • "Kau Kekasihku" • "Engkau Bagaikan Permata" • "Seribu Kemanisan" • "Balqis" • "Ya Maulai" • "Mahligai Permata" • "Percayalah" • "Azimat Cinta" • "Bicara Manis Menghiris Kalbu" • "Indah Percintaan" • "Lakaran Kehidupan" • "Nirmala" • "Badarsila" • "Kurik Kundi" • "Bukan Cinta Biasa" • "Ku Milikmu" • "Debaran Cinta" • "Airmata Ibu" • "Untuk Selamanya" • "Janji Kasih" • "Pejam Matamu" • "Dialah Di Hati" • "Lagu Rindu" • "Seindah Biasa" • "Cinta Tak Berganti" • "Pendirianku" • "Biarlah Rahsia" • "Bisakah" • "Siti Situ Sana Sini" • "Bila Harus Memilih • "Cahaya Cinta" • "Pastikan" • "Destinasi Cinta" • "Ku Mahu" • "Melawan Kesepian" • "Cintamu" • "Wanita"
Other songs
"Sesuci Lebaran" • "Hati Kama" • "Walinong Sari" • "Nazam Lebaran" • "Air Mata Syawal" • "Anugerah Aidilfitri" • "Pandang – Pandang Jeling – Jeling" • "Mohon Kasih" • "Bagaikan Sakti" • "Bergending Dang Gong" • "Dua Dunia" • "Menanti Pasti" • "Bulan Kedamaian" • "Ketika Cinta" • "Batasku Asaku"
Video albums
CT Best (1998) • CT Best 2 (1999) • The Best of Siti Nurhaliza (2000) • CT Best 3 (2001) • CT Best 4 (2001) • CT Best 5 (2003) • CT Best 6 (2004) • CT Best 7 (2004) • CT Best 8 (2004) • 2 Diva (2008) • Lebaran Bersama Siti & Teman-Teman (2008)
Concert albums
Konsert Live Siti Nurhaliza (1999) • Konsert Mega Siti Nurhaliza, Bukit Jalil 2001 (2001) • Konsert Salam Terakhir Siti Nurhaliza - Untukmu Sudir (2002) • Siti Nurhaliza Live In Concert 2004 (2004) • Siti Nurhaliza In Concert, Royal Albert Hall London (2005)
Related articles
Siti Nurhaliza Collections • Siti Nurhaliza Marketing • Siti Nurhaliza Productions • Suria Records