WHAT do legendary performers Ramli Sarip, Harvey Malaiholo, Marcell Siahaan, Anuar Zain and Hael Husaini have in common?
They are the few male singers who have recorded duets with 36-year-old vocal powerhouse, Dayang Nurfaizah.
“It’s been quite a while since I recorded a duet. If my memory serves me right, it was with Marcell for the song Sayang, which was released back in 2011,” Dayang tells Groove. So when she was approached by popular singer-songwriter Hael Husaini, she asked him to let her listen to the song first before giving him her okay.
“I was not trying to be difficult or demanding, but doing a duet is not just about two people doing a sing-along,” shares Dayang at the launch of the duet titled Haram at The Gasket Alley in Petaling Jaya recently.
“I needed to see if the tune was suitable for me, and once I found that the melody was something I could work with, I also needed to see if both our vocals would complement each other’s,” says the Kuching-born singer whose single Dia released last year, had been co-written by Hael.
The song, an original soundtrack for the drama series with the same title which premiered on TV3 last October, had been composed and written by Hael with prolific composers Ezra Kong and Omar K.
Back to her new song with Hael, Dayang admits that she is also attracted to its fresh tune. She is also comfortable working with the 30-year-old singer, whose song Jampi won at the Anugerah Juara Lagu 32 in February.
“It only took us three days to wrap up recording of the song. One day for me to record, another for him, and another for the mixing. It’s easy working him as he knows what he wants. Discussing the song with him was a breeze,” says Dayang.
“He understands that sometimes what we plan on paper might not work out when we’re actually recording a song.” But worked out, it did.
When they first performed the pop ballad at the recent Anugerah MeleTOP ERA 2018, fans were delighted. That evening was also the first time the song was aired to the public.
A few days later, the single was finally released on digital platforms such as Raku, Spotify, Joox and Apple Music. It shot up straight to the top of iTunes chart last Friday, which was also the official launch date for it. Its music video was also released after the launch and can be viewed on YouTube Rocketfuel Network.
Happy that the single has become an instant hit, Hael admits that the collaboration means the world to him. “Since becoming a singer, it’s always been my dream to collaborate with Dayang Nurfaizah. So can you imagine when she actually said yes to this project?” shares Hael who was once a protege (together with his friend Erul, they teamed up as the duo EVO) to another vocal powerhouse, Jaclyn Victor, when he took part in TV3’s reality programme Mentor back in 2009.
In 2013, he was one half of the duo Azhael which was the first runner up for Akademi Fantasia Season 10. Local music listeners may have only started to pay attention to him when he first came out with his solo single Jampi last year, but the Negri Sembilan-born has been trying to make it big in the local entertainment industry for almost a decade.
“Alhamdulillah, after AJL 32, my singing career could not be better. Besides being busy performing at shows, I’ve been approached by many fellow artistes asking for me and Ezra to write songs for them,” shares Hael.
He admits that he faces some pressure when making new singles, now that Jampi has become a benchmark. “Jampi was an unexpected success. For that, it will always be a special song to me. No doubt, it is a song which has its own place, at least for me. But of course, I hope Haram would be as well received as Jampi, although both songs are of different genres,” says Hael.
He explains that the lyrics in Haram tells the story of two lovebirds, whose relationship is not accepted by others. “But they secretly carry on loving each other and vow that their love is only for each other, and not for others. That is why it is titled ‘Haram’.”