When I received a press release recently, I could not stop this lump from welling in my throat. It read:
"ZAIN COMES FULL CIRCLE WITH MALAYSIA’S FIRST ADAPTATION OF JYP HIT SONG"
A pal of mine has made a comeback to the music scene with his solo debut album "Just Zain".
I got to know Zain through another goofball friend of mine, Naz who apparently sang together with Zain many moons back.
Zain was formerly a member of the R&B group Soulstreet back in 1996, Zain’s previous experience in the entertainment world ranged from hosting TV shows like Zoom (Astro Ria), Rice Mice (TV2) and Take A Break (TV3) to a gig as a DJ on the now-defunct WOW FM. However, upon graduating from college, he left the industry to pursue a full-time corporate profession. Zain’s communication skills took him everywhere from journalism to Planning Strategist at Grey Group Malaysia.
His last position was at Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre as Deputy Director of Corporate Communications.
For someone with considerable success in the corporate world, Zain’s decision to return to the world of performing arts could be seen as foolish by some. But he followed his heart, and went with it. When asked why, his answer was heart felt.
“It hit me that life is fragile and I realised I wanted to live my life doing what I am most passionate about. I’ve never stopped loving singing and performing and I voluntarily continued doing so no matter what I was doing at the time; at company functions, during family weddings or simply at home or karaoke-ing with friends.”
Having come full circle, Zain launched his comeback with two singles, Arms Around Me and Semoga Bahagia (Say Goodbye). The former is already charting its way up in the Hitz.fm Malaysian English Top Ten (MET 10), currently ranking at number 5 and the latter’s music video is on rotation on Astro Hitz. Both singles are backed with outstanding music videos – Arms Around Me was directed by DJ Cza of Czakutfilms and Kartel Records and Semoga Bahagia (Say Goodbye) was directed by Ismail Jamaludin, international award winning director of Donna Must Die and produced by Reservoir Production, winners of the BMW Shorties 2011 and Yuna’s upcoming music video, Sparkle.
Fuyoh. Not bad Zain...Not bad.
Zain recently launched his solo debut album under his own label, Numoment Entertainment. Co-produced with prolific hit maker Damian Mikhail fomerly of VE and Soulstreet and Rafik of Rafikoncept, the album features a mix of both English and Malay songs of Asian R&B pop influence, with special appearances by hip hop artist Caprice and rap freestyle champion Kraft.
I wasn't able to make it to the launch, but twitterverse was singing song of praises for ma man Z.
*bangga*
With a very hands-on approach, each song in the album was carefully produced with Zain’s vision of what makes for great entertainment. With his passion for music, Zain shows maturity in his musical styling and seems very clear of his direction.
I mean....look at this dude.
The highlight of the album is Lagu Ini, which is a Malaysian adaptation of a Korean hit ballad Inorae (This Song), composed by Park Jin-Young (JYP), the mastermind behind Wondergirls (South Korea), making Zain the first Malaysian artist to be given the privilege of recording a JYP hit song in a different language. This in itself is an honour and a testimonial to Zain’s capabilities as a talented artist and musician.
“This is the biggest leap of faith I have ever made. My wish is to share my music with the world, regardless of race, religion or country. I want to paint it with my own colours.”
Just Zain is available online at the iTunes store and via zainamri.com, as well as at leading music stores nationwide.
Teramat bangga denganmu wahai saudara. Please let me do my running man in your next video. Please? =)
Ps: Izreen must be smiling from ear to ear dude.
Congrats!
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