THANKS to social media, new talents can easily be discovered online. Singers like Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber became famous through social media outlets such as YouTube and Vine.
Last year, Mendes went from regular schoolboy to one of pop music’s hottest properties after uploading a six-second clip of himself singing an acoustic version of Bieber’s As Long As You Love Me on Vine. Overnight, the video hit 10 thousand likes, andhis Vine account instantly garnered a huge following. The rest is history for the Stitches hitmaker.
Meanwhile, the same can be said for local aspiring singers. Take Nik Qistina Hafifah Abdul Rashid for example. She may not be seeing the same success as Mendes, but the 16-year-old has what it takes to become the next big thing.
Between juggling school and spending quality time with her family and friends, she’s busy building a music career after signing up with Universal Music Malaysia early this year.
It all started in 2013 when Nik posted six-second clips of herself singing covers on Vine. Her Vine account eventually garnered 10,000 followers.
“I was surprised by the overwhelming support I received from so many people who told me they like my voice. It encouraged me to put up more videos,” she says.
UPPING THE ANTE
But Nik realised she needed to up the ante by putting up video clips of longer duration so she moved on to Instagram. To date, she has 93,000 Instagram followers.
Perhaps it isn’t just the singing that attracts followers. The videos also show her goofy side, revealing her girl-next-door personality.
One day, she received an email from Universal Music Malaysia, stating its intentions to work with her.
“I thought it was a scam! But then I saw the official logo at the bottom of the email and that convinced me it was legit,” she says with a laugh.
“I met with them and discussed the direction I want to take for my music career. They assured they would help me.”
Nik is inspired by Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato.
She has been on stage with Texas-born singer-songwriter Greyson Chance who was in Malaysia last June to promote his EP, Somewhere Over My Head. The duo performed at Sunway Putra Mall in Kuala Lumpur before heading for Gurney Paragon Mall in Penang.
“He’s a really funny person who is also very down to earth. I still can’t believe I sang a duet with Greyson Chance!” she says.
Last September, Nik released her first single Young Hearts, which she penned. The song reached 100,000 plays on Spotify and charted in the iTunes Top 100 in four countries: Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia. The music video garnered 115,000 views on her YouTube channel.
The track incorporates electronic and pop elements, and is a coming-of-age anthem about looking for love in the wrong places, getting to know yourself and understanding that there are better things out there.
“This song makes one realise that loving yourself first is so important,” she says.
PASSION FOR MUSIC
Meanwhile, local pop punk band An Honest Mistake has been making music since 2008, but it was only early this year that the four-member outfit was signed under Universal Music Malaysia.
Fronted by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Darren Teh, others members include Leonard Chua (lead guitars), Tomas Tam (bass) and Ian Ng (drums).
All have day jobs but their passion for music brings them together for band practice and gigs.
Despite the band’s heavy metal image, much of the songs, which are written by Teh, are about relationships and life. Its new single, We’re Alright, released last September, is a message for those in a relationship.
“I wrote it in view of relationships these days which are often uncertain. Even those in long-term relationships are often unsure of where they are heading,” says Teh.
“When you get too comfortable in a relationship, you sometimes feel that the other person has stopped reciprocating your feelings. This song aims to assure them that everything is alright.
The band has toured Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines.
Chua says it has the most followers in Indonesia and the Philippines. “I think fans in those countries love our music because they (the music) are influenced by American music. We had some 5,000 fans singing every word of our songs when we played in Cebu four years ago. I’d no idea how they knew the lyrics, but it felt good that they did! I almost convinced Darren to pack up and move to the Philippines,” he quips.
Despite the growing number of followers outside the country, the members want to build a bigger fan base here.
“To play pop punk music which doesn’t appeal to the masses is a challenge here. We tackle this by constantly evolving our sound to keep it in line with current music trends but we never stray from our signature rock sound. This keeps our music fresh,” says Teh.
With a Chrismas EP coming out soon, as well as a few other materials on the way, the lads only have one goal — to continuously create good music.
FAST FACTS
NAME: Nik Qistina Hafifah Abdul Rashid
DATE OF BIRTH: Oct 10, 2000 (age 16)
PLACE OF BIRTH: Kuala Lumpur
OCCUPATION: Singer
ZODIAC: Libra
TRIVIA
Nik started singing at 3. She is the only one in her family to venture into music. She has performed with American pop star Greyson Chance. The bubbly teen looks up to Datuk Siti Nurhaliza and hopes to collaborate with her one day.