‘I’m still relevant’: Najip Ali kicks off 2025 with double gigs on English and Malay singing shows

SINGAPORE – Long one of the most prominent names on local Malay-language television, Singaporean entertainment veteran Najip Ali’s latest brainchild is the new reality singing show Kaki Nyanyi, which is currently airing on Suria. He is the show’s executive producer and judge.

He is pulling double duty and taking on English-language television too. The 57-year-old will appear in another music-based reality show, I Can See Your Voice Singapore, the local version of the popular mystery singer show originally from South Korea. It premieres on Channel 5 on Jan 13.

Najip is part of a panel of celebrity “detectives”, alongside others such as actor-host Gurmit Singh, singer Benjamin Kheng and actress-host Xixi Lim.

Each episode sees celebrity contestants such as actress Tasha Low and actor-host Suhaimi Yusof try to suss out – through lip-sync performances, clues and advice from the detectives – which of the six mystery singers are bad or good crooners.

Najip says his role on I Can See Your Voice is different from that in other music-based shows, as it requires him to “unlearn” his critical nature of being a judge.

“I thought the producers wanted me for my skill set, but no, they actually just wanted me to observe and have fun. It was very annoying when my guesses were wrong, some of the singers could really mime very well.”

Channel 5 audiences would also recognise him as family patriarch Mr Ibrahim from long-form drama Sunny Side Up (2022 to 2024), his first major acting role. And he is stoked about reuniting with the series’ leading man Singh, 59, on I Can See Your Voice.

“We have very good chemistry and we always finish each other’s lines. Our vibes are the same, we’re from the same generation.”

Najip is also enthusiastic about working with younger artistes like Kheng and Lim. “This show requires diversity. The millennials have a different point of view and that makes the show exciting.”

The double exposure on different channels at the same time is all in a day’s work for the bachelor. When Sunny Side Up was on air, you could switch to Suria and see him on shows such as reality singing competition Berani Nyanyi? (2022), which he hosted and executive produced.

The predecessor of Kaki Nyanyi, it featured actors who showcased their singing and performing skills, and saw Salif Hardie and Siti Khalijah Zainal emerge champions of the first and second seasons respectively. The show won Most Popular Programme at Malay television awards show Pesta Perdana in 2023. 

While he acknowledges that television today has less influence on the masses than when he started out in the industry three decades ago, the multi-hyphenate still believes in the power of the medium.

“The impact of television has been totally reduced, and it is a big challenge for me,” says the man who has taken on various roles including hosting, acting, singing, producing, scriptwriting, choreography and more. “But I still adore and respect the audience that has been very loyal to television.”

With each new show that he is involved in, his focus has always been to understand the audience’s needs and to evolve with them, he adds.

He dines regularly at Kampong Gelam, and says he is often approached by strangers who watch his shows and give comments and suggestions. He takes it all into consideration.

“The goal is to create content that sparks conversations and engages the audience in meaningful ways,” he says.

In Singapore, television is still an important platform in nurturing new talents, he insists, which is why he came up with Kaki Nyanyi.

It features 24 budding home-grown singers who are solo artistes, but have to work together and perform in groups. Besides Najip, the panel of judges includes the three Singapore Idol winners – Taufik Batisah, Hady Mirza and Sezairi – as well as Malaysian music industry heavyweights such as composer and member of pop trio KRU, Edry Abdul Halim.

Najip says: “I want to make sure the Malay community knows there are very talented Malay artistes who are churning out stuff right now. I also want these talents to know that their art, their artistry, is something that is being seen by the media.”

Najip, who gained popularity throughout the region as the zany host of 1990s Asia-wide singing show Asia Bagus, admits he is not social media-savvy. But he ensures that his team is staffed by young creatives who broaden Kaki Nyanyi’s impact by producing behind-the-scenes and extra content on other platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.

It is a process he did not have to think about in the days before the internet became prevalent, but he is inspired by the new opportunities brought about by social media, and the need to adapt to changing trends.

“This is a huge bandwidth that I need to catch up with, but it’s one of the exciting things working as an executive producer,” says the co-founder and creative director of Dua M, the TV production arm of artiste management company Music & Movement. 

He is also the co-founder, creative consultant and mentor for Oonik, a collective of young creatives who work on Kaki Nyanyi.

The collective is named after his cutting-edge 1995 Malay pop album, hailed for its heady mix of genres that sold thousands of copies in Singapore and Japan. In 1997, he released a follow-up, Rawjak, that expanded on Oonik’s eclectic sounds.

He has no plans to release any more music, though. The two albums were the result of him riding the wave of his popularity among his Japanese fans at the time, thanks to the popularity of Asia Bagus, which was created by Japanese station Fuji Television.

“The two albums were about the exploration of self-identity as a Singaporean at that particular time. I also wanted to showcase that the Malay Singaporean is different from the Malays around the region. There was this whole idea of striving to be different, so it’s wonderful that we encapsulated that moment in these two albums.”

He is already making plans for the follow-up to Kaki Nyanyi, which will involve local artistes from the music industry taking on acting.

“When I was 30 years old and doing interviews, I would say that I would never retire as long as I like being creative. But you never know, of course, now the whole landscape is changing.

“People are asking, ‘Are you still relevant?’ But I think right now, the most interesting thing is connecting with the people you are entertaining. If you are making meaningful, profound connections in your work, then you are relevant.”

Kaki Nyanyi is showing on Suria, mewatch, Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube and TikTok (@mediacorp.untukmu) on Tuesdays at 8.30pm. I Can See Your Voice Singapore premieres on Jan 13 at 7.30pm on Channel 5 and mewatch.