Passion for singing
Malaysian star siblings anuar and Ziana Zain find it a challenge to sing each other’s songs.
MALAYSIAN siblings Anuar and Ziana Zain are both powerhouse singers and successful artistes in their own right, with decades of experience behind them.
Still, even they find it a challenge to tackle each other’s songs.
Anuar, 52, the younger of the two, says: “Kak Ziana has been around for so long and she has a lot of beautiful songs.
“For me, it’s so, so challenging and difficult because I’m not used to singing her kind of melodies, which are complicated and hard to sing.”
Ziana, 54, echoes the sentiment, describing Anuar’s repertoire as being “emotionally heavy”.
“You have to really feel the songs before you can deliver them and do them justice,” she says in the same interview.
“When I listen to them, I ask myself, ‘How am I going to do this?’. I have to understand the meanings behind the songs and deliver them the best that I can.”
Despite being siblings, the pair rarely perform together. They have only done two joint concerts before this – in Singapore at the Esplanade Concert Hall in 2011 and, at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, last month.
Both concerts were sold out.
Ziana says: “We are both busy with our own projects, so the opportunity to sing together is hard to come by.”
Despite being younger, Anuar started his singing career first.
He made his name at 13 and has since amassed a number of hits such as Andainya Takdir (2016) and Sedetik Lebih (2011).
He has also won multiple awards, including Best Artiste (Male) at regional Malay music awards show Anugerah Planet Muzik in 2017.
Ziana recalls that she was amazed at how brave her brother was when he started singing at a young age.
“I loved to sing too, but I didn’t have the ambition to be a singer because I thought that singers have to be beautiful. I also didn’t have the courage to face an audience,” she says.
But she eventually did embark on a music career in the early 1990s and scored hits such as Kemelut Di Muara Kasih (1995) and Berpisah Jua (1998).
Besides singing, she is also an established film and television actress who has appeared in movies such as the 1994 romance drama and box-office hit Sembilu.
Her long list of awards in Malaysia include Most Popular Artiste at the 1995 Anugerah Bintang Popular and Best Actress at both the Anugerah Skrin and Malaysian Film Festival in 1997.
They shoot down any talk of sibling rivalry, saying that they inspire each other to become better at their craft.
Says Anuar: “When I look at my sister’s achievements, I feel inspired, it pushes me to be a better performer, a better singer, just like how she inspires many people with her songs.”
Ziana is equally effusive about her brother: “Anuar is very particular about quality, he is willing to wait years for the right songs. It’s hard to find singers like him, his passion is so strong.”