Concert review: Singer Taufik Batisah in tears at sold-out show

Taufik Batisah: One Last Dance

The Star Theatre Oct 25

A little over two decades ago, Taufik Batisah made history as the first winner of Singapore Idol (2004 to 2009), a reality show that broke viewership records on local television.

In recent years, the 43-year-old has dialled back on his music career to focus on his real estate and food and beverage businesses. But his sold-out concert at The Star Theatre on Oct 25 showed that he still has what it takes to be a top draw.

The three-hour gig was a landmark show in more ways than one. It was the singer-songwriter and actor’s debut major headlining concert, and it was the first by a solo Singaporean Malay pop singer at the 5,000-capacity venue.

It will also be his last big show, as he intends to focus on his businesses, including a new interior design company,

as he told The Straits Times in an interview in July

.

All the tickets were quickly snapped up by Fiknatics – as his fans are called – less than an hour after they went on sale in July.

Taufik, dressed in several different coloured suits, was his usual charismatic self, cracking jokes and connecting with his fans with ease.

He could still pull off nifty dance moves on a few tunes, most notably on 2014 hip-hop/R&B hit #AwakKatMane (Where Are You). And his vocals shone best when tackling romantic piano ballads such as Menakluk Cinta (Conquering Love, 2014).

Here are three highlights from the concert, a collaboration with SAH Entertainment, the concert promoter run by fellow local singer Sufi Rashid.

1. He cried several times

The tears first flowed when he sang P. Ramlee’s Ibu (Mother, 1953), a song he dedicated to his mother who was sitting in the audience. His version of the iconic Malay ballad was in his 2005 debut album Blessings.

He also cried while singing Hanya Kamu (Only You, 2014) to his wife, Sheena Akbal, who went onstage. The singer was so overwhelmed that he struggled to perform parts of the ballad, which he sang at their 2015 wedding.

The waterworks started yet again when a video of his family and close friends paying tribute to him was screened, which humorously led the stoic Sheena to label him “cengeng”, a Malay term for crybaby.

2. Singapore Idol fever still lives on

Taufik spent a good part of the first third of the show reliving his Singapore Idol days.

He performed many of the covers that he sang as a contestant on the show, from Stevie Wonder’s Superstition (1972) to Billy Paul’s Me And Mrs Jones (1972), both classics from the American soul playlist.

One of the biggest sing-alongs of the night was I Dream, the signature song from the inaugural Singapore Idol season. “Oh my god, this feels like the Idol finals,” he quipped when all the venue lights were switched on so that he could get a full view of the audience for a photo. Most of the fans were wearing white, the dress code for the show.

But the gig was also a showcase of the hits that he amassed on Malay radio after his Idol days. He closed the show with signature ballad Usah Lepaskan (Don’t Let Go) from his second album All Because Of You (2006).

The show also tapped his pre-Idol days when he brought out Mark Subramaniam, his former bandmate from hip-hop group Bonafide. The pair sang together on MYBG, a hip-hop track from Taufik’s 2007 album Teman Istimewa (Special Friend).

3. Surprise cameos

The audiences got more than what they paid for with the unannounced performances of popular Indonesian singing stars Afgan and Rossa.

They cheered wildly when Afgan appeared midway through the show to sing his 2015 song Knock Me Out, which Taufik wrote. Afgan also sang his 2009 hit Bukan Cinta Biasa (No Ordinary Love).

The response was just as rapturous when diva Rossa came on later. She and Taufik belted out their 2012 duet Aku Bersahaja (I Am Ordinary), and she also sang her solo hit Lupakan Cinta (Forget Love, 2023).