The Taufik Batisah AWARDS

Singapore Idol winner scoops six of 14 awards up for grabs at local music awards

By Juliana June Rasul

April 06, 2010

IT WAS a glorious night for local music.

But particularly so for Taufik Batisah.

At the inaugural anugeraHitz.sg awards shown over Suria on Saturday night, Singapore’s first Idol bagged six of the 14 trophies given out.

The awards, conceived last year as a local version of the annual Anugerah Planet Muzik (APM), had more than 20 nominees vying for 14 trophies in 10 categories.

After Taufik had already received his trophies for Best Artiste and Best Composer, he was ribbed by a fill-in host during a commercial break.

‘The host making fun of me was embarrassing,’ conceded Taufik at the after-party.

‘When the awards kept coming, I just felt like, ‘Are you serious? I’m that lucky?’

But he was clearly ecstatic about his awards, at one point gleefully holding up his sixth trophy on stage and saying in Malay: ‘Look mak (mother), another one!’

For Taufik, 29, the wins are all the sweeter as the voting was by industry professionals.

At APM, he was named Most Popular Singapore Artiste three years running, and has also taken home Most Popular Singapore Song twice. Both awards were based on viewers’ votes.

Taufik, who has collected eight APM awards in the last four years, said he doesn’t feel the anugeraHitz.sg award means any less though the artistes don’t compete with regional talent.

‘Every award means something different, and it’s a great honour to be recognised by my peers here,’ he said.

Besides taking home the plum Best Album award for his fourth studio album, Suria Hatiku (Light Of My Heart), he also took home two trophies in one category – Most Popular Songs.

He was recognised for his single Nafasku (The Air That I Breathe), and his duet with Hady Mirza, Kepadanya (To Him).

It was an embarrassment of riches for Taufik, and a bit of a sore point with some of the other nominees.

Rap duo Sleeq who took home one award, Best Duo/Group, out of the three categories they were nominated for, were frank about the awards’ focus on Taufik.

Old-timers and fresh talent

‘What’s new?’ said rapper Alif Abdullah, laughing.

‘He is, after all, the Singapore Idol. He is the most active artist. But maybe other artistes should be given a chance, for healthier competition,’ said his partner, Ahmad Syarifullah.

The awards show was initially planned for last year, but had to make way for the first-ever APM awards held in Jakarta.

The two-hour show saw performances from both old-timers and fresh talent – everyone from veteran rocker Hanafie Warren to recently-crowned Singapore Idol Sezairi Sezali graced the stage to perform a mix of old and new local songs.

But parts of the show felt like a repeat of last year’s APM in Jakarta – the main performers, Taufik, Hady, Didicazli and Nana had also performed then.

Though not present on stage on Saturday, other nominees like Imran Ajmain, The Sallys and Zaibaktian had been given a chance to perform on Hitz.sg, a three-episode special that ran on Suria last month to introduce audiences to their music.

Local band Revalina, who walked away with the award for Best New Duo/Group, said they felt encouraged by the show’s unique format of giving bands airtime before the awards night.

‘With that, and our award, we really hope more people will start to take notice of us,’ said Revalina member Muhd Rosman.

Hady Mirza

Asian Idol winner Hady, who took home Best Song in addition to his joint win with Taufik, said he didn’t feel that being a Singapore Idol had much to do with winning awards.

‘We’re definitely thankful to the franchise for getting our name out there, but the awards are up to the judges,’ he said. ‘I’m thankful, because I know how good the other nominees are.’

Asked how he felt about being constantly pitted against his fellow Idol winner and good friend Taufik, Hady grinned.

‘It’s fun, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘No, it’s not a competition. We’re always very supportive of each other.’

Local rocker Zaibaktian, who lost Best New Artiste award to Anugerah winner Sarah Aqilah, said that while Taufik’s wins are ‘well-deserved’, he did think more could have been done to shine a light on Singapore’s less-known artistes.

‘Maybe next year they can further separate the categories into genres, so musicians like me who do rock music can have a real chance,’ he said, noting that most of the night’s winners were pop musicians.

Taufik laughed off the notion that his sweep of anugeraHitz.sg meant he was the ‘best’ Idol winner so far.

‘What these awards do is remind me of all the things I had to do to get where I am,’ he said.

Veteran singer Rahimah Rahim, who was presented the honorary Anugerah Primera award for her achievements in the local music scene, felt the awards were a ‘great thing’ for local artistes.

‘We’ve gone so long without them, and I think it’s time everyone got their due,’ she said.

Those who went home empty-handed should not give up, she said.

‘There are so many young faces here today, I know they have the drive and the energy to keep going.’

Taken off The New Paper Online http://www.tnp.sg/show/story/0,4136,235855-1270591140,00.html?