AnugeraHitz.sg is a first collaborative effort involving MediaCorp Suria, MediaCorp Warna 94.2FM and Ria 89.7FM, as well as Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS) to honor the best in the local Malay music industry.

This inaugural awards show presented a total of 10 award categories and a special “Lifetime Music Achievement” award that went to Rahimah Rahim, affectionately known to many as Kak Girl. The show aimed to recognize local Malay recording artistes, composers, lyricists and album producers who have excelled in the music field regardless new or veteran to the industry.

The LIVE show held at TV Theatre with audiences dressed to the ‘Rock Nation’ theme kicked off with a highly charged rendition of ‘Mari Berpindah Minda’ sung by Sleeq, Roze, Afwan from JuzB, Daly and Zul Mystroe. Not to be outdone, the hosts were brought in on two Harley Davidson motorcycles. How’s that for a big bang to the show!

The awards show also saw guest performances by Aliff Aziz (Anugerah 2007), Taufik Batisah, Hady Mirza, Sarah Aqilah, just to name a few. Rock chicks, Nana and Salma, popular with her hit ‘Irama Rindu’ performed in a medley – it has been quite some time since we seen the latter!  Nana appeared twice in medley for ‘Lagu Paling Popular’.  Her effortless vocals was amazing, but we were quite hoping to watch another female singer in that segment.  Wouldn’t it be a better combo for Art Fazil to appear with Sezairi Sezali? Oh, and why wasn’t Aliff Aziz nominated?

The best performance for the night had to be the collaboration of the best of the band members from Anugerah Band, like the way it should be. Fronted by veterans Yantzen and Hanafie Warren, the band turned MediaCorp TV Theatre into a rock concert deserving of a standing ovation. Amidst all the chaos and head banging, why wasn’t any of the band members from Rancour on stage at all? Hmmm. Eiss Ismail never disappoint with his own rendition of medley ‘Sanubari’, ‘Aku Bukan Sempurna’ and ‘Angkasa’. However, it would have been best if he was nominated too, and that he was singing his own song.

Let’s give credit nonetheless for Elfee R Ismail for his attempt in ‘Dalam Kenangan’ and ‘Dulu dan Sekarang’ as the tribute to the late Haron Abdul Majid. It was quite hard not to notice him reading off his left palm several times halfway through the song. Oops! Is it a case of unpreparedness or did something bigger happen that perhaps caused such circumstances?

The most emotional award given out no doubt was reserved for Rahimah Rahim who received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ or ‘Anugerah Primera’. Prior to her receiving the award, old footage of her were screened depicting her journey towards celebrity stature that she is today. Congrats Kak Girl!

With all the awards handed out, the artistes had their eyes fixed on the most coveted award for that night, ‘Most Popular Award’.  It couldn’t have been harder to predict who’d win it than Taufik Batisah who also grabbed five other awards that night. His fellow Singapore Idol companion, Hady Mirza came in second whilst the third place came as a shock as Didicazli unseated the more popular duo, Sleeq.

Let’s hope for more new faces, and new nominees and perhaps a separate category for female and male artistes, as well as ‘Best Album Cover’, ‘Best Music Video’ as new categories would inspire many next year round?

Nevertheless, kudos to the organisers for the first attempt!

Congrats to all the winners!

Best New Artiste: Sarah Aqilah

Best New Duo/Group: Revalina

Best Artiste: Taufik Batisah

Best Duo/Group: Sleeq

Best Lyricist: Diorama – Anti-Romantis

Best Composer: Taufik Batisah – Nafasku

Best Song: Hady Mirza – Angkasa

Best Album: Taufik Batisah – Suria Hatiku

Most Popular Songs:

1. Nafasku – Taufik Batisah
2. Impianku – Didicazli featuring Sleeq
3. Kepadanya – Taufik Batisah and Hady Mirza

Most Popular Artistes: Taufik Batisah, Hady Mirza, Didicazli

Anugerah Primera: Rahimah Rahim

More pictures are now available in http://www.facebook.com/gumbira

Also contributed by WhatsAbd

Pictures are captured by Aymarn Amin.