Datuk Hattan tells Dennis Chua about his new job as principal of Akademi Fantasia season 11
FANS of Akademi Fantasia (AF) will best remember veteran singer and actor Datuk Hattan as one of the reality talent show’s no-nonsense judges in seasons five and nine.
He was paired with Fauziah Ahmad Daud and while he did not have the “fire” of his co-judge, his criticisms of student-contestants were frank and “biting”. One of his trademark rebukes was that the singing was “flat”, or in a more polite way “like the now defunct City Hall flats in Jalan Tun Razak”.
His two years’ experience as a critic has earned Hattan enough “clout” to be AF principal for the show’s 11th season this year.
“Being a judge has mentally and physically prepared me for the task ahead,” says Hattan. “I’ve been enthusiastically following AF and other reality talent shows that discover new singers and entertainers over the years.”
While Hattan admits that Fauziah would have made a great principal, he says he will do his best to help find “uncut gems” amongst the participants. “I’m happy that every AF principal has, in his or her year, moulded at least one student-contestant into a bankable singing starlet. While most of the champions have carved their niche in showbusiness, non-winners have also done admirably well, by becoming award-winning singers and songwriters,” he says. As principal, he says, his “aim is to not only mould my students into good entertainers but also into talented composers and songwriters”.
TEAM OF SIX
As the chief instructor of a team of six which also comprises Linda Jasmine Hashim (choreography instructor), Siti Hajar Ismail (vocals instructor), Fatimah Abu Bakar (English language and motivational instructor), Datin Marlia Musa (performance instructor) and Acis (music instructor and music director), Hattan vows to live up to his no-nonsense image.
“All of my students have to be serious in acquiring performing arts knowledge and must be ‘hungry’ for victory. Going into the entertainment world is not about having fun,” he says.
“I encourage each of them to excel in his or her genre of choice. At the same time, I will challenge them to move out of their comfort zones and be more versatile.”
While two contestants, Ikhwal Hafiz Ismail, 22, of Teluk Intan, Perak and Walfadhilah Suhaizat, 19, of Banting, Selangor have had experience performing around the country, Hattan does not believe they have an advantage over the others.
“It’s good that they have singing experience, but we want them to be great entertainers with their own identities.”
He says that each student has to brand himself to win over fans effectively.
“There’s no hard and fast rule with regards to branding, originality is a must,” says Hattan, adding that composing and writing one’s own music is a plus point which he hopes to see taking place during the finalists’ last concert. “We hope they will be given a hand in writing the songs for the finals.”
MALAYSIAN SONGS ONLY
Unlike past principals, Hattan is putting a stop to singing Indonesian songs in AF concerts as he wants his students to sing in Bahasa Malaysia, not Bahasa Indonesia.
“We must be proud of Bahasa Malaysia and its pronunciations that are uniquely Malaysian. I’m not against Indonesian music, but Indonesian songs have totally different pronunciations.
“I’ve restricted Indonesian music to spiritual songs as they are universal,” he says.
There will be 12 students divided evenly according to gender. Segregated from the public for 10 weeks to undergo daily training at an undisclosed location, they will perform in two-hour concerts and the person with the lowest number of viewers’ short messaging service (SMS) votes will be out.
The other contestants are Azwan Satar, 31, from Batu Pahat, Johor, Firman Bansir, 25, (Tawau, Sabah), Aman Aziz, 21, (Malacca), Zarif Kamil, 26, (Johor Baru), Farez Adnan, 19, (Kuala Lumpur), Nina Naharuddin, 22, (Subang Jaya), Adeline Masidah, 21, (Kota Kinabalu, Sabah), Nuha Zainordi, 21, (Klang), Ziha Salleh, 20, (Johor Baru) and Muna Munadi, 20, (Kuantan, Pahang.)
The three judges of AF 2014 are Tam of Spider, actress Raja Azura and former AF principal Datuk Ramli MS. Season six champion Stacy Anam and season seven champion Hafiz Suip will also give their assessments of each contestant at every concert, online.
AF 2014 is currently airing on Astro Ria and Maya HD (Astro Ch 135), with the weekly concerts, Konsert AF 2014, at 9pm on Sunday and Diari AF from Mondays to Fridays at 9pm. The 10th concert will be shown live on Astro Prima (Astro Ch 105). The weekly concerts will take place at the Shah Alam City Council.