| Shabir | |
|---|---|
| Born | Shabir Tabare Alam 28 February 1985 |
| Residence | Singapore |
| Occupation | Music Producer, Composer, Arranger, Songwriter, Vocalist Actor |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Spouse | Nishana (2007–present) |
Shabir is a singer-songwriter, record producer, music programmer and performer based in Singapore. He is the winner of the inaugural singing competition Vasantham Star 2005. The talent quest was hosted by MediaCorp Vasantham TV Channel.[1]
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Shabir was born in Singapore to immigrant parents. He is of mixed heritage from an Urdu speaking father and a Malay / Indian mother.[2]
He is known to be open about his humble beginning. "Because I couldn't afford to buy textbooks, I had no choice but to borrow books from class to class. It was embarrassing," Shabir was quoted as saying in an interview published in NTUC Lifestyle Magazine (January 2010).[1]
Shabir is formally trained and qualified in the areas of Music Production and Audio Engineering. And is an alumnus of SAE Institute, Singapore.
Shabir is a full-time music director / programmer, songwriter, singer and actor based in Singapore.
Shabir remains a leading Indian artiste in Singapore with a strong fan following in the region having released two albums to date ‘Alaipayuthey'[3] & ‘TraffiQ’. Shabir's music blends influences from hip hop, dance and world music.
Shabir's music videos from his album TraffiQ (Dejavu & Nagaravaytai) play on both local and international channels including MTV Asia .[4] & Channel V.[5]
The song Slow Motion from “TraffiQ” was featured in Sun Koh’s highly acclaimed “LUCKY 7” which premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Shabir also scored the music and Original Sound Track (OST) for ‘Certain Chapters (Film)’ that was nominated 'Best Short Film' at the Asian Festival of First Films and screened at several international film festivals.[6]
Shabir remains busy scoring music for various independent English, Tamil & Malay TV / film / advertisement productions. And juggles this with hosting and acting on TV.
He is also working on upcoming album titled “Nagarakavithai” (Urban Poetry) due for international release.
In February 2010, Shabir Performed his songs "Nagara Vettai" and "Paalai Vana Kuyil" at Edison Awards 2010 in Chennai.[7][8]
In April 2010 Shabir took on a role in HuM Theatre's debut production Rafta Rafta (All in Good Time).[9][10]
In November 2010 Shabir took on a lead role in the 72 episode blockbuster crime series titled Vettai: Pledged to Hunt which earned him the Best Actor Award at the Pradhana Vizha 2011 awards. Shabir also collaborated with Tamil rap icon Emcee Jesz to create the official soundtrack for Vettai.[11] The song went on to become the most popular Tamil soundtrack in local television history. It also made waves in Malaysia & other parts of the world. [12] Shabir had also contributed and was credited as engineer for the soundtracks of the Tamil feature film Vaagai Sooda Vaa composed by M Ghibran & produced by Village Theatres in 2011.[13]
Shabir resides in Singapore and operates a recording studio.
Shabir has courted controversy since he took part in inaugural Vasantham Star competition in 2005. The singer received mixed reviews on his performances, and was under scrutiny for his pronunciation and slang when singing.
After impressing the judges during the quarter finals, he was eventually expelled from the competition altogether during the semis. This provoked an eruption among his growing fan base. His departure resulted in the local community writing a petition that was signed by more than 500 members of the public.
Understanding the dynamics of his participation, the producers for the first time in Tamil television history, introduced a wild card entry which made way for Shabir's re-entry into the competition.
Shabir eventually won the talent quest.[1]
