KUALA LUMPUR: Pop king Anuar Zain gave some 900 fans a two-hour mini concert at Jiospace, Section 19, Petaling Jaya today.
The popular crooner serenaded them with 11 songs including medleys in Anuar Zain 40 Exclusive Up Close And Personal, which was a "spin-off" of his Anuar Zain 40th Anniversary Concert held at Stadium Malawati in Shah Alam last year.
The songs included Lelaki Ini, Sesuci Cintamu, Ketulusan Hati, Keabadian Cinta and Sedetik Lebih.
Anuar also sang cover versions of Hello by Lionel Richie and Hujan by Datuk Sudirman Arshad.
"It's my birthday treat to fans, as I just turned 54 on Thursday. I'm always thankful to my fans for making me the star that I am, and there's no better way to treat them than to give them a special intimate showcase," said Anuar at his 3pm concert.
Singer Dina Nadzir was Anuar's guest artiste and they had several fans come on stage to participate in a quiz to determine how similar their food, travel and fashion tastes matched that of their idol.
Anuar's elder sister Ziana Zain was another guest artiste who sang Whitney Houston's Saving All My Love For You as a duet with him.
All guests to the concert were given a special Anuar Zain 40th Anniversary Concert teddy bear, and
Anuar himself also gave some additional teddy bears out between performances.
Anuar also mingled with his guests, got them to complete lines of his songs and took selfies with them.
The concert's organiser JioBuddy's chief executive officer Sean Ng said that Anuar wanted to start 2024 with a concert that was "more intimate than usual" and Jiospace was just the right venue for it.
"As one of the country's top male singers, Anuar is certainly a crowd-puller and fans can never get enough of him," he said.
He added that the best birthday party Anuar could have with fans was an intimate, informal and relaxed concert.
Anuar's 40th anniversary concert took place on Oct 28 last year and was attended by some 8,000 guests who included Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Norashikin as well as artistes Ziana, Ellina Razak, Misha Omar, Elvira Arul, Syamel Fodzly, Ernie Zakri (his niece), Datuk Sheila Majid and Datuk Syafinaz Selamat.
Anuar, who hails from Merlimau in Jasin, Melaka, first found fame as a teenage pop star in the duo Anuar & Ellina with Ellina in the 1980s.
The duo's best known songs are Kain Pelikat and Suasana Hari Raya.
Anuar later became an air steward with Malaysia Airlines before returning to music in 1988.
The multiple-award-winner has five studio albums to his credit.
Anuar is also a concert producer, and his first major project at 8.30pm on May 25 is Ziana's 33rd Anniversary Concert held at the 5,000-seat Mega Star Arena, Sungei Wang Plaza, Jalan Sultan Ismail.