Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian 34 crowned Janna Nick as its winner, but several incumbents defended their titles
THE 34th edition of the annual Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian (ABPBH), which took place last Saturday at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, was held for the second time with a minimal audience.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the standard operating procedures set by the government were strictly adhered to.
Celebrities arrived at the pre-show red carpet event clad in fashionable face masks, and they included the show's bubbly host Sherry Alhadad, who was dressed in a splendid royal blue outfit with a black mask.
Singer-songwriter Sissy Imann and singer-actor Izzue Islam Mazlan served as co-hosts of the pre-show, and interviewed most of the artistes invited for the gala night.
SUDIRMAN TRIBUTE
The three-hour ceremony with the theme #KITABERSAMA began at 9pm, and kicked off with singers Khai Bahar, Stacy Anam, Vanessa Reynauld, Kmy Kmo and Nicole Lai performing a medley of popular award-winning songs with a fresh, hip-hop beat.
These included Mulanya Di Sini made popular by 1980s band Freedom.
The show also featured, for the first time, rock queen Ella performing a medley of her greatest hits with her singer-actress niece Kaka Azraff, and a poignant rendition of the late Datuk Sudirman Arshad's last hit song Salam Terakhir by Syamel Fodzly.
RAMLAH IN RED
Other duet and group performances were by Datuk Zainal Abidin, Jay Jay, Anuar Zain, Man Kidal, Fauziah Latiff, Ramlah Ram, Aina Abdul and Azman Naim.
Ramlah was easily the most outstanding of the lot, delivering her mega hits from the 1980s and 1990s, such as Selamat Jalan Romeo, in a red hot dress.
ABPBH 34, sponsored by Xiaomi Malaysia, also saw celebrity couple Awal Ashaari and Scha Alyahya perform the Chinese multinational electronics company's theme song, Xiaomi For Me!
FRONTLINER GUEST
The evening also saw a host of celebrities, including frontliner Dr Malar Santhi, Riena Diana, Nabila Huda Suhaimi, Ahmad Fedtri Yahya, Zara Zya, Fizo Omar and shuttler Cheah Liek Hou presenting awards.
It was refreshing to have Dr Malar deliver the first award, as she represented Malaysia's frontliners who were tirelessly saving lives in the midst of the pandemic.
Dressed in a beautiful white outfit, the good doctor was a picture of radiant elegance and calm, and she shared light banter with the bubbly Sherry on stage.
Trophies were given out for 14 main and six online categories, where the winners were identified based on the highest number of online votes by Berita Harian readers between Oct 4 and Nov 7.
WORKING WITH THE BEST
Organised to honour Malaysian artistes and provide an opportunity for fans to choose the most popular among them, ABPBH 34 saw singer and actress Siti Nordiana bagged Popular Versatile Artiste and Xiaomi Malaysia Popular Female Singer awards again, while Haqiem Rusli won the Xiaomi Malaysia Popular Male Singer award.
Khai Bahar and Aina Abdul won the Popular Artiste Collaboration/Duo/Group title, while newcomer Asif Suhaimi took home the Popular Comedic Artiste title.
"We're great friends who believe in working with the best, and while we enjoy teaming up with our peers, we're always open to doing more duets with our seniors," said Khai.
"And better still, we believe in creating our own music, as this is a plus point for any new artiste," added Aina.
On another note, Aina had perhaps the most scene-stealing outfit for the evening — a large, black dress with an oversized rose-shaped headdress.
"That is specially to highlight the black rose, which plays a major part in the lyrics of my next single. Watch out for it, folks!" she explained.
INCUMBENTS REIGN
Dinie Rashid walked away with Popular New Male Artiste and Dolla won Popular New Female Artiste, while DJ Lin took home the Popular Radio Announcer award.
Ben Amir defended the Popular TV Actor title and Siti Saleha Baharom, the Popular TV Actress title.
"There's no fixed formula to keep winning. All that I've been doing is maintaining a good performance and giving fans what they want," said Siti Saleha.
"It's great to win once again. My next step is to win Popular Film Actor," said Ben.
CROWD FAVOURITE
The Popular Film Actor award went to Fattah Amin, while the Popular Film Actress award and Popular TV Host award went to Janna Nick.
The winners for the other categories were Kamal Adli and Uqasha Senrose (Perempuan Tanpa Dosa) for Popular Drama Duo, PU Riz and Wanna Ali (Ada Apa Dengan Dosa) for Popular Film Duo and Liza Abdullah (7 Hari Mencintaiku 2) for Popular Antagonist.
Crowd favourite Liza said that she was happy to win despite having juniors as her fellow nominees.
"It's been a tough fight, but I guess I've made my character Mak Leha a synonym for cruel stepmother," she said, adding that her contenders were equally good.
HONOURING A SONGWRITER
Aqil Zulkefli took home the Popular YouTuber title, Khai the Popular TikTok Artiste and Siti Nordiana's Fan Club defended its Popular FANtastik award.
The night also saw veteran songwriter Datuk Habsah Hassan honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Thankful for the recognition, she said: "I would like to share this award with all the brilliant lyricists who have been the unsung heroes of the music industry. May the new generation strive and thrive to take Malaysian music higher."
JANNA WINS BIG
ABPBH 34 came to a close with the announcement of the Most Popular Artiste title, which went to actress, singer and television host Janna for the first time.
The 26-year-old Kedah-born artiste said: "It is my most unforgettable moment. I feel very happy and touched. It is truly a gift for my loyal fans and friends."
Janna, who also drove home a brand new Nissan Navara, added that she was grateful to her close friends and relatives who had helped her garner a whopping 86,374,777 votes to secure her win for the top award.
Besides becoming the top winner, Janna also walked the red carpet in a memorable outfit, which bore an uncanny resemblance to that worn by Kim Kardashian at the Met Gala 2021 in September.
Janna wore a a fully-sequinned silver outfit that completely wrapped herself from head to toe. The only notable difference between her costume and Kardashian's was that the American came to the gala dressed entirely in black.
'CARTOON' GRAPHICS
While the show went smoothly from start to finish, some viewers felt that the graphics on the big screen behind the performers were rather "cartoon-like".
For instance, when Fauziah and Wani were performing together, colourful bubbles emerged on the screen, reminding viewers of local animated children's programme Didi & Friends.
And when crooners Syamel, Jay Jay and Anuar Zain took to the stage, they were "greeted" by caricatures of sea creatures such as shellfish, crabs and whales.
Netizens suggested that more futuristic graphics ought to accompany the stars as it was indeed a "night of stars".