Opera Jawa (Requiem from Java) is a 2006 Indonesian-Austrian musical film directed by Garin Nugroho that features traditional Javanese classical music and dance in a setting of opera that is inspired by the "The Abduction of Sita" episode from the Ramayana.^[1]

The film was commissioned for Peter Sellars' New Crowned Hope festival in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

In addition to music by Rahayu Supanggah, the film features installation art production design by Nanang Rhamat.

Plot[link]

Siti (Artika Sari Devi) and Setio (Martinus Miroto) are a married couple living in a small village. They were once dancers in plays depicting the Ramayana, but have since retired from the stage to sell earthenware pottery.

Siti used to play the part of Sita, the wife of Prince Rama, whom Setio portrayed. In an episode from the Ramayana, Siti becomes the object desire of evil King Ravana and is abducted by him.

The events of the Ramayana are paralleled in the characters' real lives when Ludiro (Eko Supriyanto), a butcher who rules over all the village's business affairs, tries to seduce Siti.

Release and reception[link]

Film festivals[link]

Opera Jawa was one of several films commissioned by Peter Sellars for the New Crowned Hope Festival in 2006 in Vienna to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Other films commissioned for the project included I Don't Want to Sleep Alone by Tsai Ming-liang and Syndromes and a Century by Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

The film had its world premiere on August 7, 2006 at the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival. It was then screened at several film festivals, including the Venice Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, the Vancouver International Film Festival and Nantes Festival of Three Continents. In 2007, its festival screenings include the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Belgrade's FEST, the Cleveland International Film Festival, the Singapore International Film Festival, the Cambridge Film Festival and the Era New Horizons Film Festival.

There were theatrical releases in 2007 in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands. It received a limited theatrical release in January 2008 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.^[2][3]

Critical response[link]

The film has generated praise from critics, with a rating of 100% (fresh) on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 13 reviews.^[4]

Awards and nominations[link]

Opera Jawa won the Best Composer award for Rahayu Supanggah at the inaugural Asian Film Awards. It was also one of six nominees for Best Film at the 1st Asian Film Awards.

It was nominated for Best Feature Film at the 2007 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

It won the Silver Screen Award for Best Film at the 2007 Singapore International Film Festival.^[2]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Opera Jawa
• Opera Jawa at AllRovi
• Opera Jawa at the Internet Movie Database
• Opera Jawa at Rotten Tomatoes

v t e Cinema of Indonesia Films A-Z • Films by year • Actors • Cinematographers • Citra Awards • Directors • Editors • Producers • Score composers • Screenwriters

Siti Nurhaliza
Siti Nurhaliza attending an event for SimplySiti on July 10, 2011 at The Mall, Delima, Brunei.
Background information
Birth name	Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin
Born	(1979-01-11) January 11, 1979 (age 33) Temerloh, Pahang, Malaysia
Genres	Irama Malaysia, pop, soft rock, pop rock, R&B, dance-pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, record producer, businesswoman, actress, television presenter, writer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Suria Records (1995–present) Siti Nurhaliza Productions (2006–present) What's Up Entertainment (2011-present) Universal Music (2011-present)
Associated acts	Krisdayanti, M. Nasir, Noraniza Idris, Too Phat
Website	SitiZone.com Siti Nurhaliza's signature

Dato',^[1] or occasionally Datin Seri,^[2] Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin DIMP, JSM, SAP, PMP, AAP ^[3] (Jawi: سيتي نورهاليز بنت تارودين [ˈsiti nʊrhaˈliza ˈbinti taˈrudɪn]; born 11 January 1979)^[3] is a Malaysian singer, songwriter, record producer, television presenter and businesswoman. To date, she has garnered more than 200 local awards as well as international awards. She rose to fame as a multiple-platinum selling artist, since her winning of Bintang HMI 1995 when she was only 16 where she was given offers in form of singing contract from four different international recording companies.^[4] Her first single, Jerat Percintaan from her debut album won the 11th Anugerah Juara Lagu and another two awards for Best Performance and Best Ballad.^[5]. In her career she had recorded and sings in languages, including Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mandarin, Arabic, Hindustan and Japanese.

She has won an unprecedented number of music awards in Malaysia and its environs^[6]: 34 Anugerah Industri Muzik awards, 23 Anugerah Bintang Popular awards, 21 Anugerah Planet Muzik awards, 18 Anugerah Juara Lagu awards, four MTV Asia Awards and the holder of two records in the Malaysian Book of Records. Backed with 14 studio albums, she is one of the most popular artistes in the Malay Archipelago and Nusantara region and she has been voted ten times in a row for Regional Most Popular Artiste in the Anugerah Planet Muzik since 2001. Currently, she has been listed as one of Malaysia's richest,^[7] most-influential,^[8] most award-winning, most single-produced artists.^[9]

In 2005, she was listed second by MTV Asia in Asia's Best Musical Artiste^[10] and Channel V's Biggest Asian Artiste.^[10] In 2008, she was named as one of Asia's Idol by Asia News Network.^[11]

Early life[link]

Early childhood (1983–1995)[link]

Siti was born on January 11, 1979 in Berek Polis Kg. Awah, Temerloh where she is the fourth child in a family of eight siblings to Tarudin Ismail and Siti Salmah Bachik.^[12] She comes from a musically inclined family; her brother, Saiful Bahri Tarudin, and her sisters Siti Norsaida and Siti Saerah are also singers.^[13] Her grandfather was a famous violinist, and her mother was a famous local traditional singer.

From the age of 13, she followed her uncle to invitational shows like wedding ceremonies and dinner parties to give her exposure performing live,^[14] 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.^[15]

She was an athlete in school and active in sports^[15] 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 Sandha.^[16]

Career beginnings and musical success[link]

Early commercial success (1995–1996)[link]

	"Jerat Percintaan" (1996) noicon Siti Nurhaliza's first single that managed to win the 11th Anugerah Juara Lagu.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Siti Nurhaliza's family performed at many local ceremonies in their hometown, such as weddings. At the age of 12, Siti began to learn traditional songs from her mother and went on performing that genre of music during special occasions and events.

She also was the vocalist for 'Family Group', a small band founded by her uncle, Abdul Rahim Bachik. She started to improvise her singing skills by participating in numerous local singing competitions before ultimately at the age of 16, she finally competed in the 1995 RTM Bintang HMI competition where she auditioned with a song made famous by Ruth Sahanaya, Kaulah Segalanya.^[17] While in the competition, she met Adnan Abu Hassan, music composer who tutored and helped her with her vocal performance, before she ultimately winning the contest with the song by Aishah, Camar Yang Pulang.^[17] She was granted a contract with Suria Records after making a decision over four offers from different international recording companies, including offers from Sony Music, BMG Music and Warner Music.^[4] In 1996, Suria Records released her first self-titled album, Siti Nurhaliza,^[12] and the first single, Jerat Percintaan won the 11th Anugerah Juara Lagu and another two awards for Best Performance and Best Ballad^[5] in addition to her quadruple winnings in Anugerah Bintang Popular for Most Popular Television Entertainer, Most Popular Female Singer, Most Popular Teen Artiste and overall winner, Most Popular Star.^[18]

Career development (1996–1998)[link]

In 1997, Siti started to be a well-known figure in Indonesia's music industry when her story appeared in one of the most popular magazines in Indonesia, POS Kota, in April 1997's edition.^[20] Siti was assumed as a great figure because it was difficult for foreign artists to break through in Indonesian's music industry if the artist has less to offer compared to their own artists.^[20] Siti was also said to be the first Malaysian singer to hold a live concert on Indosiar, a popular television station in Indonesia and it was televised nationwide.^[20] Siti has became one of the most influential artists in Indonesia and she held a series of big scale concerts in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and many more cities over the next few years.^[21] In the same year, she won Best New Artist and Best Song (Jerat Percintaan) from Anugerah Industri Muzik.^[6]

In 1998, at the early age of 19, she launched her own company on January 12, Siti Nurhaliza Productions (M) Sdn. Bhd. which acts as the official management production to handle and manage her schedule.^[3] Siti made her first and biggest appearance on the international stage during the 1998 Commonwealth Games which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Siti shared the same stage with two international stars Céline Dion and Rod Stewart to entertain the crowd during the closing ceremony.^[22] The ceremony was televised in 70 nations worldwide, which led her to become known in the international arena for the first time. In November of the same year, she was invited to perform in Japan for five days at the Pop Queen Festival, also known as Saga Fiesta '98.^[23]

Early international stardom (1999–2005)[link]

Siti Nurhaliza attending the red carpet ceremony of the MTV Asia Aid 2005 in Bangkok on February 3, 2005.

On December 1999, Siti received her first international winning from an international singing competition when she took part in 'Shanghai Music Festival 1999' that was held in China, where she managed to win the Gold Award. She was also invited in 2000^[24] and 2002^[25] for the same competition as featuring artiste.^[25] In the same year earlier in May, she took part in 'South Pacific International Song and Singing Competition 1999' held in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and she won the Pop Winner title beating contestants from all over South Pacific and 'Top 40 for International Song' category through her single, We'll Be As One.^[26] Siti also managed to catch the juries' attention with her vocal prowess,^[27] that finally led her to be awarded with the Best Female Vocal Performance with the same single even though the single was judged by cassette tape/compact disc sent by her recording company to the organizer and not through live performance.^[27] For the next few years, Siti took part in 'Voice of Asia 2002' which was held in Kazakhstan where she performed one of her signature singles, Purnama Merindu and managed to grab the Grand Prix Champion title, the ultimate prize.^[26][28]

Siti was the first non-Chinese artiste to be invited to perform at the 15th Golden Melody Awards, Taiwan in 2004. Apart from performing solo with 征服 (Charming) cover of Na Ying's single,^[29] she also sang a duet with Leehom Wang in a song called 月亮代表我的心 (The Moon Represents My Heart) which is a cover of the late Teresa Teng.^[29][30] She also appeared on a half hour special program by Azio TV during her brief four days in Taipei.^[29] Siti made her third appearance on MTV Asia Awards in 2004, where she performed with Gareth Gates, the runner up from the first series of England version of Idol, Pop Idol, in a song originally by Gareth's himself, 'Say It Isn't So'.

In 2005, she was dubbed as The Voice of Asia, when Alicia Keys first introduced her with the title during the MTV Asia Aid in 2005 held in Bangkok, Thailand due to her powerful vocal, and her outstanding achievements locally and internationally.^[31] In the same year, Siti held a successful solo concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London in April 2005, although the majority of the audience were Malaysians living in the United Kingdom, together with the local citizens. British press called her as Asia's Celine Dion due to her powerful vocal and outstanding performances.^[32][33][34] During the concert, she was backed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Indonesian maestro, Erwin Gutawa where the concert was even attended by the Sultan and Sultanah of Pahang and royal families from Brunei.^[35] In 2005 also, Channel V has listed her as the Second Biggest Asian Artist due to her great achievements whereas the Taiwanese singer, Jay Chou is on the top of the list.^[10][33] Coincidentally, MTV Asia also rated her as the Second Asia's Best Musical Artist, also behind the same Taiwanese artiste, Jay Chou.^[10]

[edit] Datukship and Transkripsi (2006–2007)

Siti's eleventh studio album, Transkripsi, was released in April 2006 and contained contributions from producers and composers from Indonesia like Erin Gutawa, Melly Goeslow and Glenn and Malaysians, like Aubrey Suwito, Cat Farish, Jenny Chin, Firdaus Mahmud, Mac Chew, Yasin and Damian VE.^[36][37] Transkripsi became the year's best album after winning the Best Pop Album and Best Album categories in the Anugerah Industri Muzik.^[38][39] It also received praises before by critics as one of her best albums ever produced^[40][41] and the album released was her debut attempt of producing an album under her own production company.^[37][42]

Siti Nurhaliza (in white) with fellow Malaysian singers during Konsert Suara Hati Sudirman Arshad in 2007.

On October 24, 2006, she was conferred as "Datuk" after receiving the title of Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang (DIMP) from the Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Ahmad Shah on his 76th birthday along with designers, Bernard Chandran and Dayang Tom Abang Saufi.^[1][43]

In 2007, She made her first appearance at the Grammy Award for the red carpet session on February 11, 2007 where she was the first Malaysian to walk the red carpet.^[44] 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 and 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.^[45] 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).^[39] Out of these, she won two: Best Pop Album and Best Album for Transkripsi.^[38] She also received five nominations from Anugerah Planet Muzik 2007 for two categories that were voted by fans from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore – Most Popular Female Artist and Most Popular Song (Biarlah Rahsia) and three categories that were judged by professional juries and judges – Best Female Artist, Best Song (Biarlah Rahsia) and Best Album.^[46] She won three out of five – Most Popular Female Artist, Best Female Artist and Best Song.^[47]

[edit] Hadiah Daripada Hati and other works (2007–2008)

Siti Nurhaliza backstage during Konsert Suara Hati Sudirman Arshad, a tribute concert in April 2007.

2007 showed Siti's participation on soundtracks for films where she recorded two songs for two different films where she sung Menanti Pasti and Hati for Kayangan and 1957: Hati Malaya respectively. However, only the song Hati was included in her twelfth studio album, Hadiah Daripada Hati^[48] and also received the award of Best Original Theme Song from Anugerah Festival Filem Malaysia ke-21 (21st Malaysian Film Festival) in 2008.^[49] 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 19 to November 3, 2007.^[50]

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.^[51] 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.^[52] 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.^[53][54] But these criticisms were rebutted when Hadiah Daripada Hati received five nominations in the 15th edition of AIM including Best Pop Album, Song of The Year, Best Vocal Performance in an Album (Female), Best Arrangement and Best Album Cover making Siti the second nominee with the most nominations after newcomer Faizal Tahir.^[55][56] Out of five categories including three multiple nominations for Best Arrangement category,^[56] 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.^[57] 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.^[58] Siti has also became one the most frequently searched persons on Google by Malaysian Google users, according to Google's 2007 Malaysia Year-End Zeitgeist, beating celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.^[59]

In January 2008, she was cited as one of the Asia's Idols by Asia News Network for her exemplary achievements and gaining the status as the icon of Malaysian entertainment.^[11] and on March 21, 2008, Siti held one of her first solo acoustic concert at the Esplanade Theatre in Singapore. The concert was called Diari Hati (A Diary of Her Heart). She performed numbers of hits from her latest album, Hadiah Daripada Hati and previous albums.

[edit] Lentera Timur (2008)

On 26 December 2008, was the release date of her 13th album, Lentera Timur, her most recent traditional contemporary album, Irama Malaysia (her fourth Ethnic Creative album) since her third one, Sanggar Mustika in 2002.^[60] She commented that the album has more modern and contemporary songs unlike her usual traditional genre.^[61] Siti also worked with renowned composers like M. Nasir and Indonesia's Katon Bagaskara. Nine out of 13 songs (which all was created and composed under three days) that have been chosen came from a songwriting workshop, Cipta Ekspress – Berirama Malaysia. The event which was organized by Malaysian Authors Copyright Protection (MACP) was specially organized to find the materials for the album.^[60] Despite of the poor sale due to the lack of promotions, the quality of the album has never been denied.^[62] As in Anugerah Industri Muzik 16, Lentera Timur grabbed top awards, Best Pop Ethnic and later on honoured Album Of The Year in AIM 16. She also took home Best Female Vocal trophy for the song ' Di Taman Teman '. She was not present at the award ceremony as she went to Mecca to perform Umrah with her family.^[63]

Siti has also recorded two songs for the soundtrack for an Indonesian film, Perempuan Berkalong Sorban. One of the songs recorded are cover of Opick's Ketika Cinta and also a new song, Batasku Asaku which was written by Siti herself.^[64] Both songs were included in her fourteenth album, Tahajjud Cinta.^[62]

In the same year, her wealth is said to have reached RM 50 Million by MTV Asia and was named one of the millionaires in entertainment in South East Asia.^[7]

[edit] SATU, Tahajjud Cinta and CTKD (2009)

On February 15, her father, Taruddin Ismail 67, died at 11.50 AM, after a heart bypass operation days before does not show any improvement, leaving seven children, and 10 grandchildren behind.^[65][66] She announced a 40-day state of mourning for her father and put singing activity on hold, except for Konsert Malam Sinar Maulidur Rasul 1430 Hijrah (1430 Hegira Special Mawlid Night Concert).^[67] Months after the loss, Siti's back to business where she announced her major three days concert at the prestigious Istana Budaya, SATU Konsert Eksklusif Dato' Siti Nurhaliza. It began its run on June 26, 2009 in Kuala Lumpur. The tickets were sold out weeks before the debut night.^[68] The concert received compliments from critics, and the show was attended by distinguished people such as region well-known artistes like Krisdayanti and Rossa from Indonesia to name some. A month before the concert, she bagged her ninth consecutive award of Most Popular Malaysian Artist 0f 2009 and also the Regional Most Popular Artist 0f 2009 from Anugerah Planet Muzik 2009,^[69][70] beating another 11 contestants where each country, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore has four representatives based on SMS votes.^[71]

In March, Siti revealed that she would begin work on her next album later in the year. Apparently, the idea came about while Siti was taking part in an Erma Fatima theater production, Sirah Junjungan. She also stated that, this will be her first attempt at spiritual songs and she plans to release the album for the holy month Ramadan of 2009 known as Tahajjud Cinta. Later, Siti and fellow friend, Indonesian singer, Krisdayanti have planned to produce a duet album featuring eight duets where Siti will choose four Malaysian compositions while Krisdayanti will pick the other four from Indonesia.^[68] The album was released on December 28 in Malaysia^[72] and January 27 in Indonesia,^[73] under the name CTKD where it is an abbreviation with double meaning where it stands as the acronyms for the combination of both singers names, CT and KD, and also as the whole title of the album, which is Canda (Joke), Tangis (Cry), Ketawa (Laugh) and Duka (Sad).^[73]

In July, her skill as a former ambassador for the Malaysian Red Crescent Society was put to the test when she and a panel doctor of Media Prima performed a Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the late Yasmin Ahmad when she fell unconscious during a presentation in a meeting in TV3's headquarter^[75][76] and in August, Siti was given a privileged of her own channel on Astro at Channel 188, Channel Siti for 28 hours on 30 August 2009 which has broadcasted her concert in June of the same year, SATU Konsert Eksklusif Dato' Siti Nurhaliza, her previous concert which was held at Bukit Jalil, the Siti's Fantasia Tour concert in 2004 and some of her music videos.^[77]

Bagaikan Sakti and SimplySiti (2010-2011)[link]

Siti's most recent concert was Konsert Bagaikan Sakti which was held in Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore alongside Malaysian producer-composer-songwriter, M. Nasir which also was broadcasted live through Astro Box Office Events (Channel 955) on January 1, and the repeat show from 2nd till 10 January.^[78] Her own company, Siti Nurhaliza Productions (M) Sdn. Bhd. has also produced a concert for two Malaysian award winning artists, Faizal Tahir and Aizat entitled Konsert Satu Suara which was accompanied by Simfoni Orkestra Kebangsaan (National Orchestra Symphony) on February 12 until 14th at Istana Budaya.^[79] On March 25, she received her first award of the year, Anugerah Artis Contoh HIP TV 2009 (HIP TV Role Model Artist Award 2009)^[80] defeating four other candidates based on votes from viewers through short message service (SMS).^[81] On March 30, she launched her own beauty and cosmetic products under the name SimplySiti. The products underwent research and development in Korea, and are incorporated with Nanotechnology before receiving approval of Halal status by JAKIM.^[82] 6 days later, she received her 13th consecutive award of Penyanyi Wanita Paling Popular 2009 (Most Popular Female Singer 2009) and the overall category award, Bintang Paling Popular 2009 (Most Popular Artist of 2009) from Anugerah Bintang Popular Bintang Harian 2009 with votes from over 225 300 votes from the readers of Berita Harian. The latter one is her seventh time winning the same accolade.^[83]

On April 21, Siti won herself another two awards based on popular votes through SMS service from Anugerah Pilihan Pembaca Media Hiburan (APPMH) 2009/10 (Media Hiburan Readers' Choice Awards 2009/10). She won the award for Artis Wanita Berkulit Cantik 2009/10 (Female Artist With A Flawless Skin 2009/10) and special piece of the ceremony, Anugerah Khas APPMH 2009/10 (Special Award of APPMH 2009/10).^[84][85] In addition, on May 2, she won herself her sixth and seventh awards of 2010 from Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) ke-17 2010 (17th Malaysian Music Industry Awards 2010) where she bagged two vocal awards, Persembahan Vokal Terbaik Dalam Lagu (Wanita) (Best Vocal Performance In A Song (Female)) through her single, Ku Percaya Ada Cinta and Persembahan Vokal Berkumpulan Dalam Lagu (Best Group Vocal Performance In A Song) through her single, Amarah from her collaboration album with Indonesian artiste, Krisdayanti, CTKD. This is her 11th time winning Best Vocal Performance out of 17 years history of AIM, creating a record of her own.^[86][87] She also won another two awards from local fashion magazine, EH! voted by users through online and mail poles, Anugerah Stail EH! 2010 (EH!'s 2010 Style Awards) for the category of Selebriti Pencapaian Terbaik (Celebrity with the Best Achievements) and Selebriti Contoh (Role Model Celebrity) on July 21.^[88]

Less than two months after being commercialized since late March, her skincare products range, SimplySiti received "The Best Halal Product" under Cosmetic category by Halal Journal Magazine.^[89] and on January 11, 2011, she received two awards from The BrandLaureate – Small and Medium Enterprises Chapter Awards (The BrandLaureate – SME's Chapter Awards), one for her SimplySiti range, for Most Promising Brand and another one for herself, first time introduced in 2011, The BrandLaureate Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah SME’s Women of The Year 2010 which was presented by Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah, wife of Malaysia's fourth Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir herself.^[90] She also received Inspiration Woman Award from Association of Malaysian and Indonesian Journalists (ISWAMI) on January 29.^[91]

SITI, All Your Love and History Channel (2011)[link]

Siti Nurhaliza with her husband, Datuk Seri Khalid and her stepson, Adib Khalid at the launching of All Your Love.

She also hosted her own talk show programe, SITI, which with 13 episodes, encompassing four main segments – V.I.P. Siti, Sentuhan Kasih (Caring Touch), Siti’s Perspective and Siti’s Symphony with the first episode aried on February 12.^[92]

In early March 2011, she announced that she is working on her first full English album, entitled All Your Love^[93] which was produced by her own stepson's production team What’s Up Entertainment, with all the songs written and produced by Australian singers, Christian Alexanda and Bryan Bouro^[94] and released on September 26 with her first English single, Falling In Love debuted at a concert in UiTM where she also expressed her interest to further her study in that university.^[95] Two out of ten tracks from the album, Remember You and I Wait Forever were a duet between her and Sean Kingston and Christian Alexanda respectively.^[96]

On July 16, she won her tenth Regional Most Popular Artiste in a row beating fellow artistes from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, thus setting a new record in the Anugerah Planet Muzik.^[97] However, this would be her last appearance in the category after the organizer has decided to drop her name from participating in the same category in the future.^[97]

On October 17, she was reported to be working on her life documentary which was aired on History Channel^[98] on January 11, 2012 to coincide with her 33rd birthday.^[99]

In April 2012, she accepted an offer to be featured in Sami Yusuf's latest album, Salaam for his song, You Came To Me in three languages, Arabic, Bahasa Melayu and English.^[100] She also will perform alongside him for his debut concert in Singapore and Malaysia, ‘Konsert Salaam Sami Yusuf’ in July of the same year.^[100]

Artistry[link]

Influences[link]

Growing up as a child, most of her time, she would perform traditional and classic Malay folk songs. However, she has been cited that her local idol and one of her greatest influences is Sudirman Arshad^[101] and also P. Ramlee^[45] whereas, her international idols would be Barbra Streisand,^[102] Cèline Dion,^[102] Mariah Carey^[103] and Whitney Houston.^[103] In 2008, during Cèline Dion's Taking Chances Tour in Malaysia, Siti was given an opportunity to meet her idol,^[104] where she also had given Cèline one of her solo albums, Hadiah Daripada Hati complete with her signature.^[105]

Image and legacy[link]

When she first make her debut into the industry, she often been labeled as penyanyi kampung^[107] (old-fashioned or conservative singer) for her modest attire and her refusal to take pictures with man for a magazine cover, unless at a ceremony or at an award-accepting event.^[108] During her early years as a singer, she was criticized for refusing to wear daring clothes and her principle of not taking pictures with male artistes.^[109][110] She was quoted as saying: "As an artist, I do realize that there are many social responsibilities that I need to take care of. So, I opt to be moderate in everything, including in my sartorial matter."^[109] and "I want to show what my talent is, and my God-gifted vocal ability without relying [on the image] of being sexy.".^[109] Her debut in Indonesia in 1997 with modest, beautiful and talented personality has said to revolutionize Indonesian music industry which famous with Dangdut which before this promotes sensual and erotic elements presentations through the performances especially by female artistes.^[111] Her modest image was the subject of appraisals and positive feedback even from the Islamic scholars from Malaysia and Indonesia.^[112][113] Since then, her popularity throughout the South East Asia music industry remains strong when she was voted as Most Popular Female Artiste ten times in a row and Regional Most Popular Artistes in 20011 in Anugerah Planet Muzik 2011, beating contenders from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.^[97]

She has been cited as an idol and as an inspiration by many Malaysian and non-Malaysian artists like Malaysia's Misha Omar,^[114] Nicholas Teo,^[115] Singaporean Idol finalist, Maia Lee,^[34] Indonesian pop group vocalist, Sunu, from Matta^[116] and many others.

In 2007, her image likeness was used as part of the promotion by Malaysian Ministry of Tourism,^[106] Malaysia Windows Live Agent – Siti to attract more visitors from Japan. The cartoon is utilized in the Windows Live Messenger (formerly known as MSN Messenger) where it will provide information on attractive tourist destinations in Malaysia.^[106]

In January 2011, Siti was proposed as the cultural ambassador for Malay community by the Association of Malaysian and Indonesian Journalists (ISWAMI), based on both countries' communities acceptance of Siti's personality. ISWAMI chief believed that Siti may help ease strained relations should there be a crisis between Malaysia and Indonesia.^[117]

Themes and musical style[link]

As a lyricist and record producer, most of her singles' lyrics revolve around the theme of love, although she has penned numbers of thematic single of spirituality^[118] and female empowerment.^[119][120] Several of her singles were written by her were targeted to a specific party – Biarlah Rahsia (Let It Be A Secret) was written with the allusion to the media who constantly investigate her private personal relationships^[121] and Cahaya Cinta (Light of Love) was written specially for her husband during her marriage in 2006.^[122]

Born and raised in a traditional musically inclined family,^[123] she has recorded five ethnic pop oriented albums – four solo studio albums^[124] and one duet studio album with Noraniza Idris.^[125] She has been taught on how to sing traditional songs by her own mother who herself is a folk singer.^[28] She has been promoting this genre of music on almost each and every major concert of her like when she did at her concert at the Royal Albert Hall, medleys of Malay folk songs and traditional music songs.^[126]

Vocal abilities and profile[link]

Musically classified as an alto, she's one of Malaysia's best singers for winning 11 times the award for the "Best Vocal Performance in an Album/Single" from Anugerah Industri Muzik,^[86][87] Malaysia's equivalent of Grammy Awards.^[127][128]

Adjie Esa Poetra, an Indonesian vocal instructor described her voice as "She is very careful and never fails in the tone production and she's able to produce the most artistic and beautiful tone as possible.... In any songs, she can sing it with ease but powerful other than possessing more than four-octave vocal range."^[129]

	"Kurniaan Dalam Samaran" (1999) noicon One of her songs that is rarely performed live and also one of the songs that is said to be the most technical in Pancawarna album[130] "Kurniaan Dalam Samaran" (Live 2009) noicon Her live rendition which received appraisals from both critics and fans.[131]
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

M.Nasir, music critic and music composer has praised Siti's voice as saying, "When we talk about her, she is the voice...Give her any songs, she can deliver it very well and it is not a problem to find a suitable song for her." He further praised Siti for her brave efforts to experiment her voice melisma with new musics or songs.^[132]

One of her trickiest songs to perform is Kurniaan Dalam Samaran,^[130] a Japanese enka-influenced^[133] song where it requires her play of transition of bass and soprano vocal tones^[133] and she rarely performed it live.^[131] However, at her recent SATU concert, she performed it live, where it received appraisals from critics and fans where one of the reviewers cited her live rendition as, "The Japanese-flavoured song required her to switch from her natural voice to falsetto in a hair-raising cadenza somewhere in the absurdly high range most women vocalists would cringe from. But she pulled it off effortlessly, sending shivers down my spine."^[131]

Gareth Gates who has performed together with Siti during MTV Asia Awards 2004 when he was asked what does he think about Siti, he said, "She definitely has the looks and she certainly has the voice. If she continues to sing the way she does, she'll go really far."^[134]

Lea Salonga, Filipino singer and actress who has done various theatrical work, including Miss Saigon and several Disney's movies has also expressed her praise and respect towards Siti's vocal ability during her concert in Malaysia in 2010 where she sang one of songs made famous by Siti and 2 By 2, Tiga Malam during the closing ceremony of her concert.^[135]

Personal achievements[link]

Awards and accolades[link]

Collaborations[link]

Siti has collaborated with many renowned Asian artists such as Preap Sovath (Cambodia)^[136] Agnes Monica,^[137] Chrisye,^[138] Dewa 19,^[139] Gita Gutawa,^[140] Harvey Malaiholo,^[20] Krisdayanti, Marcell,^[138] Melly Goeslow,^[141] Padi,^[142] Peterpan, Rossa,^[143] Sahrul Gunawan and Yana Julio^[20] (Indonesia), Hiroshi Takano,^[136] The Boom,^[136] You Hitoto^[136] (Japan), Lay Phyu (Myanmar),^[136] Jolina Magdangal^[136] and Kuh Ledesma^[144] (Philippines), Francesca Peter, Sun Ho,^[145][146] Taufik Batisah^[140] (Singapore), Lee Hom Wang (Taiwan), Palmy^[145][146] (Thailand), Lam Trường (Vietnam).^[136] In addition, Siti had also collaborated with Gareth Gates (UK), during MTV Asia Awards 2004.^[147] One of Thailand most sought after singers, Tata Young has also expressed her interest in collaborating with Siti and has praised Siti as "Asia's Mariah Carey" for her outstanding performances.^[148] From 2011 and 2012, she has recorded songs with Sean Kingston^[96], Christian Alexanda^[96] from Australia and Sami Yusuf from Britain^[149].

International covers[link]

Throughout her career, Siti Nurhaliza's songs have been covered by other artists, including her first Malay traditional single, Cindai which was re-recorded in Chinese version by Chien Bai Hui, a Chinese singer.^[8] Also, her first hit song in Indonesia, Aku Cinta Padamu was known as I Wonder when it was covered by North, an Australian boy band in their second album, Straight Up.^[8][150]

In popular culture[link]

In Music

• Datuk M. Daud Kilau's Anak Seni ^[151]
• KRU's Empat Syarat ^[152]

International performances[link]

By far, she has been thrice to be invited to perform at the MTV Asia Awards, which are in 2003, where she sang her debut, Bukan Cinta Biasa,^[145] in 2004 where she performed together with Gareth Gates^[147] and her 2005 solo performance with her famous song, Seindah Biasa.^[153] However, one of her earliest performances at an international stage is during the closing ceremony of 1998 Commonwealth Games where it was watched by more than 70 countries when she was only 19.^[22] 1999 was the year of her first debut at the 'Shanghai Music Festival 1999' in China and the 'South Pacific International Song and Singing Competition 1999' where she garnered a 'Gold Award' and 'Best Female Vocal Performance' respectively. She also has performed in Australia, Brunei,^[154] China, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Singapore,^[79] Taiwan,^[30] Thailand,^[153] and United Kingdom. In March 2000, her first concert ever outside the Malaysian market in Singapore at Harbour Pavilion managed to outsold Mariah Carey's Rainbow World Tour which was scheduled five days earlier^[155] even though the most expensive tickets price was much higher than Carey's.^[156] In May 2006, she was offered to perform together with Indian Bollywood star, Shah Rukh Khan in front of 300 Bollywood artists and guests along with 2.6 billion television viewers where she will be performing at 2nd Global Indian Film Awards 2006 in Kuala Lumpur.^[157] However, the offer later was canceled by Siti due to her commitment with other projects after informing the organizers beforehand.^[158]

Wealth[link]

Siti is known to be a formidable and successful and well-known businesswoman in Malaysia. She currently tops the list of the 'Richest Artistes' in Malaysia.^[7] She is also worth more than RM50 million and it's believed that her wealth has increased every year and moreover, she was named as one of the millionaires in entertainment in South East Asia as well.^[7] As one of the most profitable artists in Malaysia, she is said to be paid RM 45,000 (USD$ 15 000) for a 30 minutes show and RM 70,000 (USD$ 23 333) for an hour show.^[159]

Other ventures[link]

Products and endorsements[link]

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 four subsidiary companies, Siti Nurhaliza Collections Sdn. Bhd., Siti Nurhaliza Marketing Sdn. Bhd., Siti Sound Sdn. Bhd. and SN Mobile Digital Sdn. Bhd.^[31] She is also the president of her own cosmetic range company, Simply Siti Sdn. Bhd.^[160]

Siti sells her own tea, Ctea,^[154] 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. She has been an ambassador and spokesperson for various international products^[161] – Jusco, Maxis, Maybelline, Minolta, Mitsubishi, Olay, Pantene, Pepsi, Samsung and TM Net.

Philanthropy[link]

Siti Nurhaliza during the Malay Mail Big Walk 2007, a charity event to collect some donations for children with bone cancer.^[162]

In January 2005, Nurhaliza donated RM 35,000 (about USD$11,000) to three different organizations for the 2004 tsunami victims before her concert at the Royal Albert Hall in April of the same year.^[163] A year later in February, she donated RM 500,000 for the National Anti-Drug Campaign where she was also appointed as the ambassadress for the campaign.^[164] Six months later, she and her husband founded Yayasan Nurjiwa (Nurjiwa Foundation) where the foundation served as a platform for people to help those in need through charity concerts and dinner events where the money will be donated to the selected organizations.^[165] In 2009, she and her husband donated RM 1.5 million to build a new mosque in Tikam Batu, Kuala Muda where the land was given as a wakaf by both of them and Siti's mother-in-law where before this, her husband has also donated a sum of money to build two mosques in Kuala Lumpur and Pattani, Thailand^[166] which finally completed in February 2011 and officiated by Sultan of Kedah, Tuanku Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah.^[167]

Personal life[link]

Relationship with Datuk Seri Khalid[link]

Siti Nurhaliza and her husband, Datuk Khalid during the Malay Mail Big Walk in 2007.

On July 17, 2006, after months of speculations by the media, Siti and her then-fiancee, Datuk Khalid made a press conference announcing that their wedding would be held on August 21.^[168] Her plan to marry Datuk Khalid caused criticisms and uproar, since she was going to marry a 47-year-old divorcee with four sons^[169] where she was accused of causing his divorce. However, the issue was rebutted when Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Selangor Islamic Council) verified that Datuk Khalid and his former wife, Tengku Zawyah Tengku Izham officially separated in February 2004, after 15 years of marriage.^[170]

Some sources speculated that the total wedding cost was RM 12,888,888 (USD 3,947,980 (adjusted to 2010 inflation)),^[171] however it was later denied by the couple and the wedding planner and stated that the total cost was roughly around RM 500,000.^[172] Her wedding dowry was revealed to cost at RM 22,222 and the hantaran (gifts from groom to bride and vice versa) cost around RM 30,000. The total sponsored items including Siti and spouse's jeweleries, dresses, and etc., cost more than RM 9 million.^[173] Later, RM 1 million from the total price paid by TV3 to broadcast the whole ceremony was later donated to charity.^[174]

	"Biarlah Rahsia" (2006) noicon Siti released this single as a response for the reporters who relentlessly investigating her personal life.[175]
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

The engagement ceremony was 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.^[176] The wedding also received coverage from Indonesia, where 10 Indonesian media representatives were there to capture the moment including Trans TV, SCTV and Jawa Pos.^[177][178] Photographed by celebrity photographer Kid Chan,^[179] it was a star studded affair, with guests including royal families, VIPs, celebrities, close friends and family. Indonesian celebrities like Hetty Koes Endang and one of Siti's closest friends, Krisdayanti were given the opportunity to give a performance to the newlywed and guests.^[178] A second reception was held on September 3, 2006, in Siti's hometown of Kuala Lipis, Pahang where more than 10,000 people attended the ceremony including those from neighbouring countries.^[180] The wedding was charted as the top celebrity wedding on Yahoo Buzz where she and her spouse is one out of two Asian couples listed.^[181]

On June 13, 2010, Siti and her husband, Datuk Seri Khalid, was recognized by E! News Asia as Third Most Powerful Celebrity Couple in Asia, behind Chinese entertainers couple, Simon Yam and wife, Qi Qi and Bollywood superstars couple, Aishwarya Rai and husband, Abhishek Bachchan.^[182][183]

Discography[link]

Concerts and tours[link]

• 1999: Konsert Live Siti Nurhaliza
• 2000: Siti Nurhaliza Live in Concert Singapore, Singapore
• 2001: Konsert Mega Siti Nurhaliza, Bukit Jalil 2001
• 2002: Konsert Salam Akhir Siti Nurhaliza – Untukmu Sudir
• 2002: Siti Nurhaliza Live in Brunei, Brunei
• 2004: Secretaries Week Celebration 2004
• 2004: Siti Nurhaliza Live In Concert 2004
• 2004: Siti Nurhaliza Indonesia Tour 2004, Indonesia
• 2005: Siti Nurhaliza In Concert, Royal Albert Hall London
• 2005: Siti Nurhaliza Live Indoor Stadium, Singapore
• 2006: Konsert Akustik Siti Nurhaliza
• 2007: Konsert Istana Cinta
• 2008: Konsert Diari Hati Siti Nurhaliza, Esplanade Theatre, Singapore
• 2009: SATU Konsert Eksklusif Dato' Siti Nurhaliza
• 2009: Konsert Seribu Warna
• 2010: Konsert Bagaikan Sakti, Singapore
• 2010: Konsert SATU Suara
• 2010: Siti Nurhaliza Live @ Alumbra, Australia
• 2011: Charity Concert Banjarmasin, Indonesia

Filmography[link]

Channel[link]

Television[link]

Theatre[link]

Film[link]

Videography[link]

Written works[link]

Apart from singing and hosting, she also has written numbers of articles in several newspapers and magazine.

References[link]