Even as a child, I had always loved singing. Though none of my parents are musically-inclined, I do have an uncle from my father's side who plays musical instruments very well noticeably the saxophone and flute. His daughter is also into music and she plays the violin very well. To me, she is Malaysia's very own Vanessa Mae, the world renowned contemporary violinist. She has taken part in various competitions and concerts in her school days and today she is a music lecturer at a local college.
Apart from them, no one else in the family was into music and singing.
Singing was my passion. I was in the school choir (primary and lower secondary) and always participate in the school concerts. Be it singing or acting. Yes, I've acted quite a bit in school plays. It didn't matter if it was a small role as long as I get to be on stage performing. I started a role as Pak Pacak and gradually moved on to become the leading (wo)man. During my fourth form, I was the lead actress to play the role of Uda in Uda Dan Dara. It was the best moment of my school life cause I secured a major role and I was new to that school. Sweet.
Nevertheless, I still love singing and in my final year at school, I participated again in the school concert and if memory serves me right, I sang Gaya Zakri's song. I can't quite remember the title but the first phrase of the song lyrics starts with....Embun dihujungnya daun...menitis lalu berderai...jatuh ke bumi hilang....hanya tinggallah kenangan. Something like that.
Later in working life, I still sing and this time, I belted out to my heart's content in karaoke joints. I had the Japaneses to thank to for inventing this wondrous technology. The karaoke joint was a favorite haunt for me whenever I need to chill out after a hard day (sometimes lousy day) at work or simply hanging out with friends who share the same hobby. Karaoke was so hugely popular back then (in the early 90's), did you know that? Every Tipah, Ah Moi or Meenachi who couldn't sing well can suddenly sing with the aid of karaoke. I don't really have a great soulful voice like Mariah Carey or Taylor Dayne but I can sure sing. Even better than our Made In Akademi Fantasia products. LOL!
My friends coaxed me to try out my luck at TV3's Sinaran Passport Kegemilangan somewhere in 1996. Together with Enon (my old best friend) and some other friends, we went for the audition held at TV3 studio. We registered our names. I was so excited about it but somehow at the last minute I chickened out. Nervousness got to me. Way big. When I saw hordes of people there who were also auditioning and their vocals were far more better than mine, I was so overwhelmed. I knew I wasn't ready for it. My singing interest ended there. Quite abruptly.
To this day, I sometimes had this "what if" moments whenever I looked at old photos and starts to reminisce the good old days. What if I went along with the audition? My fate would've changed indefinitely. Never mind if I didn't make it to the final, still, I'd have become a household name by now. At least. I envision that people would line up to buy my albums. My concerts were a sell-out. A collaboration with an international artiste? I could've had an affair with a rich married Datuk! The possibilities are endless. These were imaginary news headlines in the entertainment section I could think of if I were to become an artiste. *the angan angan si minah jenin mode is activated right now*. LOL!
this mid 90's picture has me singing Anita Sarawak's Akhirnya Kini Pasti. I competed in my previous company's karaoke contest but I didn't win which is fine coz my main intention was just to sing. My first choice of song was Farrah's Bagaikan Puteri but somehow I opted for Anita's song coz it was catchy and I get to show my showmanship skills on stage while singing. LOL. Its a dance song by the way...
