I drafted this on 28th January, but somehow it escaped being published. Still, it’s better late than never…

Anugerah Juara Lagu is probably the most prestigious and most watched event in Malaysia’s
entertainment scene - highest number of eyeballs. Winners are surely superstars, at least in the country. It’s probably a surer ticket to superstardom than winning Akademi Fantasia, that wildly popular reality show, but which seems to have passed its peak. On that note, it was probably for the best that Rich was booted out of AF4 in the 3rd week. It was just nice - he had that first bit of exposure. Had he gone further, his reputation as a “underground” artiste could’ve suffered.

For the first time in its 21-year history, AJL was won by a Sabahan group. Previous winners of this included giants like Francesca Peter’s “Sekadar Di Pinggiran” (1986) and Search’s “Isabella” (1989).

Perhaps sweeter is the fact that they defeated the nation’s undisputed number one vocalist, Siti Nurhaliza.

Sabahans, in particular Kadazandusuns, have always been known to have a good ear for music. At first, it was more to do with singing. In 2005, Asmin Mudin a.k.a Umbut won AJL, albeit a lesser role, as lyricist for “Gemilang.” With this achievement, that reputation is cemented.

Regarding their performance that night, a good live performance is something that is not exactly the same as the studio version, but still familiar-sounding enough to get the audience get into it. That night, IMHO Estranged did not get it quite right; it’s not terrible, but it could’ve been better.

It was a surprise win.

In his acceptance speech, Rich chose the perfect first phrase: Aramai Ti. In a single stroke, he achieved two things. First, he endeared himself to every true Sabahan. He achieved what Felix did in mid-2005 while at AF3: making his father’s day speech in Kadazandusun. Second,
suddenly the whole of Malaysia is buzzing with that phrase - its popularity has peaked - it has entered into the national (well, at least the national entertainment circle) psyche. Suddenly, EVERY Malaysian knows that phrase so popular among Sabahans.

The sky’s the limit for Estranged now, provided they exploit this moment fully.

Sources
gua.com.my (1)
gua.com.my (2)

Note: Till now, I am not quite sure how the winner is selected.

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