Malaysian singer Shila Amzah ready to return to China and focus on Mandopop
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Malaysian pop singer Shila Amzah's concert in Singapore on June 3 will focus on her Mandarin songs.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
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SINGAPORE – In recent years, Malaysian singer Shila Amzah has been focusing on her Malay songs. But soon, the 32-year-old will turn her focus back to Mandopop and the China market.
On June 3, the multilingual singer will stage her biggest performance in Singapore
The show is part of her Journey To The Future tour, her first regional jaunt since she became a mother in 2019. The tour kicked off with a show in Kuala Lumpur in March and will include stops in other Malaysian cities and Indonesia.
The Singapore concert will be different compared with the others because it will focus on her Mandopop repertoire.
“Right after the tour finishes, we will find the opportunity to go back and kick-start a new journey in China,” she tells The Straits Times at concert promoters IMC Live Global’s office in Singapore. She last performed here at a 2023 countdown concert at The Promontory in Marina Bay.
Shila made her name in the regional scene after she won the inaugural season of Chinese reality television singing competition Asian Wave in 2012 and was placed third in I Am A Singer
The last time she was in China was in late 2019, right before the country and, subsequently, the rest of the world, shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Obviously, it’s not going to be easy,” she says, adding that the music industry has changed since she last visited the country. “But I just love the music market there because I’ve learnt so much there. And I’m sure after three years, there will be so much more for me to learn. And I like having a challenge and something to look forward to.”
The daughter of veteran Malaysian singer ND Lala and actress Fauziah Sarman started her singing career with Malay songs as a 10-year-old. Her first album, Terima Kasih Guru (Thank You Teacher), was released in 2000.
She says singing in Mandarin came naturally to her as she had her early education in Chinese schools. “I feel like Mandarin is one of the most beautiful languages that I have sung in, and I love how my voice sounds when I sing in Mandarin.”
Her debut Mandarin album, My Journey, was released in 2016. Her repertoire also includes songs in languages such as English, Hindi, Japanese, Korean and Spanish.
She has spent the past year reconnecting with her fans back home in Malaysia.
She won the top prize at Malaysian music awards Anugerah Juara Lagu 36 for the song Pelukan Angkasa, a collaboration with Malaysian metal band Sekumpulan Orang Gila (SOG) in early 2022. She also emerged champion on the second season of reality singing show The Masked Singer Malaysia and ended up third in another popular TV singing competition, Gegar Vaganza.
Her hectic schedule took its toll after her Kuala Lumpur concert in March. She was so overwhelmed after the show ended that she had to be rushed to the hospital.
“I have anxiety, and I’m asthmatic, and it was my first big concert post-Covid, and I was too stressed out, too tired because I constantly overworked.”
It did not help that her personal life – she is in a relationship with Malaysian TikTok star Ubai Mz, 25 – is the subject of public scrutiny.
There was speculation last week that the couple had broken up, but Shila clarified during an Instagram live stream that the rumours were not true.
The single mother was married to finance executive Haris Idraki Elias from 2018 to 2022. They have a son, Seth Uwais, who will turn four in September.
“Public figures are all humans and as much as I want it all to look perfect, I want to be just real in my own skin,” she says.
“Sometimes we have bad days, sometimes we have good days, and it’s all right not to be okay. It’s really important because we are living in a social media world. It’s unhealthy to be seemingly perfect, so it’s okay to be yourself.”
Shila Amzah Journey To The Future Live Tour 2023 – Singapore
Where: Capitol Theatre, 17 Stamford Road www.sistic.com.sg
When: June 3, 8pm
Admission: $88 to $168 via Sistic (go to
