THE New Year is headed our way, and one of Datin Alyah Abu Hassan’s resolutions is to turn over a new leaf and adopt better time management.
This after laughing off the fact that she was late for this interview.
“I very much want to be a punctual person. I have tried so hard but to this day, I’ve failed. So I’m going to work on that,” said the popular singer with a sheepish smile.
In real life, the Sesal Separuh Nyawa singer is as poised as she appears in her flawless Instagram selfies and photos. She credits that to her trusted make-up artistes for “glamming her up”.
Her photos may be flawless but the comments that fill her Instagram page aren’t exactly filled with rainbows and sparkles.
Alyah has been in and out of the spotlight, no thanks to controversies linked to her marriage with Datuk Ramli MS (Tok Ram).
The most recent one had netizens speculating whether there was trouble in paradise, after Alyah got into a dispute with a woman on social media, who had schooled her on respecting her own husband and claimed that Ramli would be better off finding another wife!
Even after the controversy simmered down, fans continued to discuss her marriage.
Rumours started to build up around the possibility of Alyah filing for divorce from Tok Ram.
To this, Alyah said she was saddened by the rumours.
“I have no intentions of filing for a divorce. In fact, what I want more than anything now is to work on our relationship and for my marriage to be blessed with happiness,” she said.
Dealing with strangers talking about her marriage openly as though they know exactly what goes on behind closed doors can be a little overwhelming for Alyah at times.
“I have my bad days. We all do. Celebrities are human too. We read comments and get affected by them emotionally.
“Most times when I am going through hardship or when I am faced with controversies surrounding my personal life, I let myself be sad and angry for one day. But the next day, I start afresh and move on.
“It’s easier said than done, of course, because sometimes one gets carried away with emotions for days but I have to accept that I can’t control everything, especially words that come out of people’s mouths.
“I have to constantly remind myself that this is what I signed up for when I chose to be a singer.
“It’s natural for people to be intrigued with the personal lives of celebrities and, like it or not, I have to share part of my personal life with the public,” she said.
However, Alyah said that if one day her marriage was fated for a divorce, that was something she would have to accept as well.
Alyah claimed she’s lucky to have an understanding mother who doesn’t hound her with myriad questions when her name gets embroiled in a controversy.
“People can say what they want to me, but as long as my mother knows the truth, that’s all that matters.
“She will never question me about the gossip. Instead, she will just tell me to pray and keep calm,” she said.
ALMOST TWO DECADES
It has been 18 years since Alyah ventured into the music industry as a singer. But despite almost reaching two decades in her career, at 37, Alyah feels she is a newcomer all over again.
There are many things that contribute to this feeling. Firstly, her singing career only started looking up recently after going through a rather uneventful period.
“In recent years, people have been wondering whether I am slowly ‘disappearing’ from the limelight to focus on my marriage.
“It wasn’t like that at all. I just didn’t have any song or shows going on for me,” she said.
It was three months ago that Alyah decided to sign with Warner Music Malaysia and she felt her career was slowly coming back on track.
“My single, Jutaan Purnama, is doing very well at the moment, thanks to the television drama, Seribu Rindu, on TV3.
“The single was released mid-year but it gradually became popular, thanks to the TV drama.
“This is why I feel like a newcomer, because only now people are starting to notice Alyah again,” she jokes.
For Alyah, social media has become her new “best friend” as it allowed her to connect with millennials. She had always felt the challenge to stay relevant, especially among the younger crowd, she added.
NEW YEAR, NEW HOPE
Alyah will be working on a new single titled Meluruh, which she plans to release next month.
“I also hope to work on songs that are more upbeat and catchy but we’ll see how that goes.”
Waving goodbye to the rollercoaster ride in 2018, Alyah concludes the interview by saying that she hopes for the best for her career and marriage in 2019.