PETALING JAYA: Her hobby may seem crazy, but Indonesian dangdut singer, actress and television host Jenita Janet says it defines her career thus far.
Dubbed Indonesia’s “woman with 1,000 wigs”, the 31-year-old artiste has been collecting multi-coloured wigs of different shapes since her late teens specially to brand herself as an entertainer.
In fact, Jenita’s fascination with colourful hair dates back to her childhood where she enjoyed watching Japanese animated heroines and their multi-coloured hairdos.
“I’ve always been fascinated with bright colours since I was a kid, and the out-of-this-world hair colours of Japanese animated heroines have always been eye candy for me.
“And when I participated in singing contests as a teenager, I chose to make myself stand out by wearing colourful wigs like those characters.
“Collecting wigs became a pastime for me, and after a decade, I guess I’ve amassed an insane number of them,” she said at the launch of her new single Mau, a duet with our very own pop-rock group Estranged, at Drum Asia Studio in Kota Damansara here yesterday.
“And when I finally decided to be a full-time entertainer a decade ago, there was no better way of branding myself effectively, other than having a multitude of hairdos and hair colours.”
Born in Bandung, Jenita purchased her wigs during her visits to China, Japan and Thailand, as well as various cities in her home country.
The former bank employee, who has released two singles Direject (2013) and Galau Merindu (2015), has been nicknamed the Indonesian Katy Perry because of her love of blue, pink and purple wigs.
“I admire Katy Perry and I’d love to meet her, but then I’d rather be myself and develop my own style.”
Jenita, the elder of two siblings, admitted that wearing wigs was better than colouring her hair because colouring could cause hair damage in the long run.
When asked about her collaboration with Estranged, she said they met in Bandung last year, and recorded Mau not long after their meeting.
On Saturday, Jenita and Estranged will be performing at a special showcase in Entikong, West Kalimantan in Indonesia.
Jenita's wig collection video