Joyous mood at JOOX concert
Music streaming app JOOX recently celebrated its third anniversary with a starstudded concert in Kuala Lumpur, writes Tahir Alhamzah
AFTER turning three, popular Asian app for streaming music, JOOX, recently staged the Tremendous JOOX Live Concert at the Plenary Hall in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Big names such as Dayang Nurfaizah, Joe Flizzow, Aizat Amdan and Akim & The Majistret thrilled music lovers. The appreciative audience also got to see other up-and-coming names in music such as Ismail Izzani, Aziz Harun, Farisha Irish and Uriah See.
According to JOOX business development director Angie Tan: “The performers were chosen for the concert based on the popularity of their songs among JOOX users. This is our way of saying thank you to JOOX users for their support throughout the past three years.
“In just a short time, our users have grown in numbers exponentially, and we look forward to continue providing music fans with the best music, exclusive freebies and hopefully, more live concerts in future,” she added.
Award-winning singer Dayang said the app has provided her fans with a more user-friendly platform, allowing them to find all of her songs, both old and new, very easily.
She said that her song Layarlah Kembali, released last January, has already been well-received on the app.
The single, composed by Aubrey Suwito, with lyrics penned by Ad Samad, was also the original soundtrack for Kabir Bhatia’s epic movie Pulang, produced by Primeworks Studios.
Meanwhile, Akim Ahmad of Akim & The Majistret said apps like JOOX are great for smaller bands as it helps expose their music to a broader audience.
“We would never have amassed the fans we have today without the help of this app to promote our songs,” said the vocalist of the band, known for hits such as Potret and Lagu Untuk Laila.
Another award-winning singer, Aizat Amdan, admitted that he was nervous prior to his performance that evening as he would only be accompanied by a string quartet.
“It’s not common for a quartet to perform together with a singer who has his guitar too. It’s usually just a guitar or the quartet playing alone. I wanted to push the envelope. And I’m glad that JOOX has been supportive of musicians and singers, and gave the green-light for me to go ahead with the idea for this performance,” he said. About 2,000 fans turned up at the concert, which was also streamed live that evening and recorded more than 33,000 views.
The crowd waited patiently before the curtain was raised for Brunei-born singer Aziz Harun, who performed his 2014 hit tune Senyum, followed by Bruno Mars’ That’s What I Like and then Jangan.
The hall got warmer when Ismail Izzani came onstage with moving renditions of his popular song Sabar, Ed Sheeran’s Perfect, and Luar Biasa. Not bad for this young act, despite being under the weather that night.
Next came Uriah See with the energetic number Now Or Never, accompanied by equally agile back-up dancers. The winner of the Astro Star Quest Chinese Singing Competition 2014 and TVB International Chinese New Talent Singing Championship in Hong Kong then sang All Of Me. His final number for the night was a rendition of Sufian Suhaimi’s Di Matamu, with him playing the violin as well.
Farisha Irish was next on the list. The Ceria Popstar Season 1 and Idola Kecil 4 alumnus sang Semakin, Tak Malu and Mantan Terindah.
Then the time came for the bigger acts to take the stage. Akim & The Majistret performed a quintet of energetic tracks - Terlalu Mudah, Lagu Untuk Laila, Rampas, Obses and the haunting Potret. While some may view Akim’s performance as being too aggressive, the singer begged to differ.
“I wouldn’t say it was too OTT but that’s how I like it when I’m onstage. The adrenaline rush pushes me to give my all,” he said.
Aizat was next with Hari-Hariku, Sampai Ke Hari Tua, and Hanya Kau Yang Mampu. Although initially he had said he was nervous, it sure didn’t show while he was onstage. “I’m glad my experiment with the quartet worked well. I enjoyed performing tonight and I hope the audience did too. As a performer, I always strive to present the best version of myself whenever I perform live,” he said.
Then came Dayang who belted out the mellowed Di Pintu Syurga. When she took on a remixed version of Dayang Sayang Kamu, the crowd went into a frenzy. Audiences got on their feet and danced along to the beat. Dayang took it down a notch when she performed a moving rendition of the award-winning Lelaki Teragung.
Last but not least, another award-winning artiste, Joe Flizzow, came on to perform tight versions of his popular songs Sampai Jadi, Drop and Apa Khabar. And judging from the crowd response, the concert was definitely a hit!