New artistes in the running

HAFIDAH SAMAT

March 29 2006

There’s new competition in the line-up for the Anugerah Industri Muzik 2005 awards. HAFIDAH SAMAT tells why this is an encouraging sign for the local music industry.

THE Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) 2005 awards event is looming, folks! You’d think that the darling of the masses, Siti Nurhaliza, would yet again grab the limelight by getting the most awards this year. Wrong.

Well, here’s a fresher angle to this year’s AIM.

If you hadn’t already noticed, there are other singers who, like Siti, deserve attention, two of whom are Jaclyn “Jac” Victor and Adibah Noor, nominees for the Best New Artiste award.

Jac, the soul/R‘n’ B sensation, is getting a lot of attention especially after her victory at the 20th edition of TV3’s Anugerah Juara Lagu in February. Her powerful vocals have stirred considerable interest from observers in the music industry over the past year.

The Malaysian Idol 1 champ is also in the running in seven categories including Best Female Vocal Performance in an Album, Best Pop Album and Song of The Year.

Adibah, the singer with the big voice who released the self-produced album Terlalu Istimewa, is trailing closely behind with six nominations. They include Best Female Vocal Performance in an Album, Best Music Video and Song of the Year.

Superstar Anita Sarawak, who has been nominated for the first time, may also spring a surprise on the night. She is being nominated in four categories including Best Female Vocal Performance in an Album, Best Album Cover and Best Local English Album.

Singaporean quartet Ahli Fiqir and Malaysian Idol 1 runner-up Dina have been nominated in the Best New Artiste category but they will surely face stiff competition.

Reality television talent show Akademi Fantasia has definitely stamped its mark on the local music circle with Season Three finalists Felix, Marsha and Amylea dominating the Most Promising Artiste category, with weak competition from Premelodic and Ridzuan.

That aside, if you take a look at the list of nominees vying for awards at the event to be held at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur on April 29, you’ll know that it’s going to be exciting.

There may be many gripping moments as the list of nominees shows there’s going to be tough competition. But, what’s interesting is that this year’s nominees consist of a nice mix of both new and old acts, a positive development in the industry.

According to AIM13 organising committee chairman Aziz Bakar, the ailing music industry is clearly pulling itself out of the slump it has faced over the past years.

“This year’s AIM has many new faces and they are competing against the more established artistes. This is a positive sign; it is what the industry needs at the moment,” said Aziz.

According to this Jeniffer Thompson general manager and organising committee member, of Persatuan akademi Industri Muzik malaysia (PAIMM), this year’s award show is not just about giving out awards to deserving winners. It has also created a platform for a new breed of artistes and their music.

“I’m amazed by the enthusiasm shown and what they’ve managed to do despite the industry being so bad,” she added.

Below is the list of finalists:

Best New Artiste
- Adibah Noor
- Ahli Fiqir
- Dina
- Jaclyn Victor
- Sharifah Zarina

Most Promising Artiste
- Amylea
- Felix
- Marsha
- Premelodic
- Ridzuan

Best Male Vocal Performance in An Album
Hazami — Kata
Jamal Abdillah — Aku Penghibur
Mus May — Live & Unplugged at Planet ‘05
Rithan (Deja Voodoo Spells) — I Am What I Am
Shannon — Dilanda Cinta

Best Female Vocal Performance in An Album
Adibah Noor — Terlalu Istimewa
Anita Sarawak — Anita Sarawak — Another Dimension
Dina — Cinta Datang Lagi
Jaclyn Victor — Gemilang
Siti Nurhaliza — Siti Nurhaliza in Concert Royal Albert Hall, London

Best Group Vocal Performance in An Album
Rabbani — Suara Takbir
Raihan — Ameen
Ruffedge — Ruffera
Too Phat — Rebirth Into Reality
V.E. — For You

Best Album Cover
Bert Ismeth Ulam Raja — Rebirth Into Reality (Too Phat)
Cheah Wei Chun — Anita Sarawak — Another Dimension (Anita Sarawak)
Nizam Rahmat — Lain (Fazley)
William Liew — Lebih Baik (Amy Mastura)
Zulkiflee Z’abidin & Nitrus — Rasa (Nitrus)

Best Engineered Album
Edry — Anita Sarawak — Another Dimension (Anita Sarawak)
Jenny Chin, Greg Henderson, Zailan Razak, Rahmad Ayob, Rosli Selasih, Acis and Simon — Kasih (Dayang Nurfaizah)
Peter Chong, Kalvin Tan, Azlan Abu Hassan, Rumie Booty, Jenny Chin, Riza Omar, Che Mat, Alfie Zainal, Mohariz Yaakup, Zairi and Sunil Kumar — Gemilang (Jaclyn Victor)
Greg Henderson and Lo — The Fall (Lo)
Illegal and Yasin — Rebirth Into Reality (Too Phat)

Best Music Video
Henry Ooi — Sleepy Head (Lo)
Hue Team — Hollywood Holiday (Love Me Butch)
Joey Khor — Angguk-Angguk, Geleng-Geleng (Ahli Fiqir)
Nan Sulong and Hafiz Ibrahim — Terlalu Istimewa (Adibah Noor)
Yusry KRU — Tak Tahu (Adam)

Best Nasyid Album
Ameen — Raihan (Bakafro)
Brothers Reunited — Brothers (Yasin, Shah and Farihin)
Far East — Far East (Greg Henderson)
Satu Dekad — UNIC (Faizal Osman, Munif Ahmad and Isman Isam)
Suara Takbir — Rabbani (Archie)

Best Pop Rock Album
Cendera Jiwa — Flop Poppy (Andy and Mijie)
Rasa — Nitrus (Eddie and Syed)
Santai — Awie (Edrie Hashim)
Spider Live at Planet Hollywood — Spider (Keon and Boon Tan)
Zoul — Zoul (Zoul and M. Nasir)

Best Hard Rock Album
Cakap Terang — Barongan (Barongan and Jean Lau)
Live & Unplugged at Planet ‘05 — May (Boon Tan and Rosmin Hashim)
Radio Tanah Melayu — O2 (Boon Tan)
Suatu Evolusi — Jinbara (Andi Rahman)

Best Pop Album
Aku Penghibur — Jamal Abdillah (Fauzi Marzuki and Arab)
Gemilang — Jaclyn Victor (Aidit Alfian, Ajai, Azlan Abu Hassan, Edrie Hashim, Jenny Chin, Mohariz Yaakup, Ramli MS, Aubrey Suwito, Sunil Kumar, Michael Simon and Ahmad Izham Omar)
Kasih — Dayang Nurfaizah (Jenny Chin, Zailan Razak and Rosli Selasih)
Kata — Hazami (Arab and Hazami)
Terlalu Istimewa — Adibah Noor (Adibah Noor, Azlan Abu Hassan, Mohariz Yaakup, Jock Chew, Badrul of The Muffins)

Best New Local English Artiste
Deja Voodoo Spells
Mass Raw
Saer Ze

Best Local English Album
Anita Sarawak — Another Dimension — Anita Sarawak (Archie Nasution)
For You — V.E. (Zaf, Lah, Cham, Shah and Damian Shortysoul)
Here & Now — Pop Shuvit (JD & Greg Henderson)
Rebirth Into Reality — Too Phat (Malique, Joe Flizzow, DJ T-Bone, Terry Lee, Illegal, Yasin, Jae Chong, Machi, Carlo Nanni and D’Navigator)
The Fall — Lo (Lo)

Best Indonesian Album
Alexandria — Peterpan (Capling, Koni and Noey)
Kembali — Rossa (Yonathan Nugroho)
Langkah Baru — Radja (Isfan Fajar Satryo and Radja)
Padi — Padi (Piyu, Jan Djuhana and Padi)
Silver — Glen Fredly (Jan Djuhana and Glen Fredly)

Best Musical Arrangement In A Song
Azlan Abu Hassan — Ikan di Laut, Asam di Darat (Adibah Noor)
Azlan Abu Hassan — Kata (Hazami)
Alfa Booty — Di Bawah Pohon Asmara (Jaclyn Victor)
Alfa Booty and Masrumie Booty — Tak Tercapai Akalmu (Elyana)
Ramli MS — Gemilang (Jaclyn Victor)

Song of the Year
Ku Seru — singer: Misha Omar; composed by Ajai/written by Habsah Hassan and Shuhaimi Baba
Gemilang — Jaclyn Victor; Aubrey Suwito/Asmin Mudin
Warkah Buat Laila — Zahid AF2; Ayub Ibrahim/Adibah Noor
Terlalu Istimewa — Adibah Noor; Azlan Abu Hassan/Adibah Noor
Aduh Saliha — Mawi; M.Nasir/Loloq

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