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SHOWBIZ: Firman achieves his dream
By Dennis Chua - 15 November 2014 @ 8:01 AM
A street musician’s love of reality talent shows pays off after he wins Akademi Fantasia 2014, writes Dennis Chua
HE had been a fan of reality talent shows since his college days and dreamt of becoming a successful rock singer.
Firman Bansir, 25, from Tawau, is a hardcore fan of legendary rock group Search and its charismatic lead singer Amy. During his days as a finance diploma student at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sabah, Firman took part in talent searches.
After graduating, he performed with several pop and rock groups in Tawau and busked at cultural venues and supermarkets.
Of Bugis, Chinese and Kadazan-Dusun heritage, Firman comes from a music-loving family. He has been a follower of Akademi Fantasia (AF), Astro’s popular reality talent show, since 2004.
DEBUT SINGING CONTEST
“Akademi Fantasia 2014 was my first major singing contest, and my parents encouraged me to try my luck in it,” he says, adding that he had always wanted to follow in the footsteps of Adam, season three rocker Yazer Yusof and Stacy Anam, the sixth season’s champion.
“I love Adam, Yazer and Stacy, because they are natural entertainers. However, while Adam and Stacy are more into dance music, Yazer and I are more into rock.”
Firman was one of the crowd favourites in AF 2014, as he took on every weekly song assignment from the show’s principal Datuk Hattan and his team of instructors with gusto.
In the final concert at the Shah Alam City Council, Shah Alam recently, Firman beat fellow finalists Adel Masidah, 22, from Tambunan, Sabah, Ikhwal Hafiz Ismail (Ewal), 22, from Teluk Intan, Perak, Nuha Zainordi, 22, from Klang and Aman Aziz, 22, from Malacca, to win the 11th season of AF.
He won the grand prize of RM50,000 and a Toyota Vios.
“AF is a great platform to prepare you for the industry. It has a great team of instructors to mentor me for a career in showbusiness.”
Firman plans to write and compose his own music as he progresses in his career. “Hattan encourages us to be versatile, and creating our own music is a plus factor. It’s never easy to be a singer, lyricist and composer in one go, but it’s a dream that I can achieve.”
Now that he has won AF 2014, Firman plans to fulfil his mother Painah Tambanan’s wish to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. “That was my promise to my mother, and it was a major motivation for me to stay focused and win.”
STRONG COMPETITORS
Aman finished second and won RM30,000, while Ewal, who represented Malaysia in the World Championship Of Performing Arts in Hollywood, the United States in 2008, finished third and won RM20,000.
Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) music student Nuha finished fourth and won RM15,000, while Adel finished fifth and won RM10,000.
Firman says: “My strongest competitor was Adel, and while I’m happy to have beat her to the top spot, I believe she’s got a bright future in the industry as she’s extremely versatile.
“Adel is always positive and motivates us to do our best in every concert. She’s very disciplined and focused, besides being mentally tough.”
Even though she did not win, Adel was delighted that Firman bagged the top prize.
“Almost every week we were neck to neck in terms of short messaging service votes by viewers. Firman is truly deserving because he is naturally talented and sings with heart and soul,” says Adel, who was eliminated in the seventh weekly concert but re-absorbed into the finals via wildcard process by Hattan, based on merit.
Aman says he is lucky to have made it to the final five. “Hattan is a great teacher, and he has been very patient with me throughout the contest. By making me collaborate with more experienced students such as Nuha, I gained more self-confidence and felt less nervous on stage.”
Ewal, the son of former Wings lead singer Mel, says competition was stiff and being in the top five was an achievement his parents were proud of.
Nuha, who has been singing, composing and writing her own music in university, won a special RM10,000 award from sponsor D’Herbs for being the most overall improved student.
THE FINAL SHOW
In the final concert, each contestant sang two songs, a cover version and a new composition.
The three-hour concert hosted by Zizan Razak, Faizal Ismail and Jihan Musa also saw Amy performing his hit song Kerja Gila. There were also performances by Bunkface, Ning Baizura, Dayang Nurfaizah and Mas Idayu.
All 12 contestants — the others being Azwan Satar, Nina Naharuddin, Zarif Kamil, Ziha Salleh, Muna Munadi, Farez Adnan and Walfadhilah Suhaizat — later performed Freedom’s Mulanya Di Sini with Hattan, dedicated to their instructors. They also performed Menuju Puncak, the reality show’s catchy theme song and dance sequence.
Hattan says he is delighted to mentor a talented group who took each weekly performance seriously.
“It’s been a joy to guide them as they are passionate about performing arts,” he says.
Astro Ria channel manager Raqim Ahmad says AF 2014 was the channel’s highest rated programme throughout its run.
“AF will be back next year with the same format, and we are confident that it will continue to be well-received by viewers,” he says.
credit to: nst
saja tepek. sgt gegeh tau finalis ni berspiking. heuheuheu.  |
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Post time 15-11-2014 11:18 PM
