Dayang’s resplendent resume

Singer Dayang Nurfaizah shares with Syahirah Mokhtazar her excitement over her new album

POWERFUL pipes and a great vocal range get singer Dayang Nurfaizah Awang Dowty undivided attention from the audience whenever she performs her moving ballads onstage. In person, she speaks so softly you have to move a little closer just to hear her better. Her humble manner reflects a down-to-earth person despite her mega success in the local music scene.

Seventeen years on, despite a collection of awards to hername, she hasn’t grown an ego. In fact she’s working harder than ever.

After winning the recent Anugerah Juara Lagu (AJL 2017), her work schedule has been super-packed.

About a month ago, the singer collaborated with rapper-composer Malique for a song called Pejamkan Mata.

“What’s interesting about this song is that I didn’t personally meet Malique to work together. I recorded my voice and sent it over to his production team so they could ‘tie’ our voices together,” she said when met recently.

Another big thing she’s working on is the release of her latest self-titled album, slated to be out on April 10. While it’s more often these days to hear singers just dropping singles, Dayang chose to release a 10-track album.

MULTIPLE BALLADS

Three out of the 10 tunes are her previous hit singles Di Pintu Syurga, Tak Pernah Menyerah and Lelaki Teragung. The rest are new compositions.

“I wanted a full album because I feel that it’s more complete as opposed to releasing singles. This album represents my resume. Every singer has to have their own resume or portfolio. And this is mine,” she said.

Dayang explained that the album will be available on iTunes and Spotify. “But I’m an old-school kind of girl so I will still produce physical copies of this album. I need to be able to feel and hold my album in my hands,” she said with a laugh.

The composers for the album include Aubrey Suwito, Hazami, Omar K and Ajai, whom she has not worked with for about 16 years. Ajai, whose full name is Mohd Faizal Maas, is the singer-composer who composed Seandainya Masih Ada Cinta , the song that launched Dayang to fame in 2001.

“I feel so blessed to be able to work with Ajai again as well as the other composers. This album has a wide range of ballads created by composers I’ve worked with before. There are some new ones too. I think this is what makes this album really special,” she said.

The only trouble she’s facing right now is to decide which song to push as her first single from the album. “It’s hard to choose because I really want to live up to my fans’ expectations after Lelaki Teragung. I wouldn’t want to disappoint them,” she said. ALBUM SHOWCASE

In conjunction with the release of the album, Dayang will have a showcase on April 18, at MATIC in KL to perform the songs from her album.

Apparently, fans were super-hyped about seeing their favourite idol in action, judging by the fast ticket sales. In the span of two days since the announcement of the showcase, half of the tickets were already sold.

“It’s good to know that I still have the support of my fans. Being in the industry for 17 years, I won’t deny that it’s hard to maintain a presence, which is why it’s important to constantly come out with albums.

“It’s a way to show my fans that I am still here, actively singing,” she said before adding that the showcase will be special as fans will be able to interact with her during a meet-and-greet session.

ROLE MODEL

Dayang has been given the honour of being the special guest artiste to perform at Tapestry Of Colours, an upcoming fundraising concert collaboratively organised by Yayasan University Teknologi Putra (UTP), UTP Alumni, and Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) to be held on July 29. It will showcase over 200 UTP engineering and technology students, who will be performing various cultural songs and dances.

“I will perform four songs. It’s great for me to be involved in this concert because these tech and engineering students get to explore arts and culture,” she said.

When asked what advice she has for aspiring singers, she said: “Having the talent is of course important, but you have to work hard to achieve your goals. Be patient, and you’ll eventually get there,” she said.

Concert tickets for Tapestry Of Colours are priced from RM106 to RM446.

Call DFP Box Office at 0323317007 or visit www.mpo.com.my

I’m an old-school kind of girl so I will still produce physical copies of this album. I need to be able to feel and hold my album in my hands. Dayang Nurfaizah