SHE is a household name, known for being a strict and no-nonsense “cikgu” to aspiring singers and a harsh judge in singing contests and reality talent searches.
Datuk Syafinaz Selamat, 47, is also celebrated for her superb voice as well as her natural beauty and off-screen friendliness.
Syafinaz excels in ballads, R&B and pop tunes, but few know that the respected music lecturer who hails from Batu Pahat in Johor, has never recorded her own Hari Raya Aidilfitri song throughout her three decades in music.
But now, the former judge of One In A Million on 8TV has finally had her wish come true. She has just recorded her first Raya single, RahmatNya, a duet sung with her proteges from TV3 reality talent search show Mentor — Lazarul Afiezy Zakaria, 29, and Farranisha Shazwany Mohamad Faizul, 19.
“I’d rather have a collaboration with my proteges than perform a solo number this year, since most people know me as a ‘cikgu’ who guides aspiring new talents,” said Syafinaz in a recent interview. “And who best to sing it with but Ranisha and Lazarul, my very first proteges whom I auditioned in a TV show.”
Syafinaz describes her first Raya single as her “comeback” to the recording studio after two decades.
“I was inspired to go back to the studio one fine morning last month. It was a bright and sunny day and I felt exceptionally energetic,” she said. “I quickly contacted Lazarul and Ranisha, inviting them to record a song with me, a Raya song!
“Since they had worked so hard in Mentor 2019, I wanted to reward them with a duet to remember, something nice that would kick-start their musical careers and be remembered.”
Syafinaz said even though she was “contracted” by TV3 to mentor Ranisha and Lazarul for the duration of the 10-week reality show, as a music educationist she believes that her responsibility for their career development “never ends”.
“I always believe in guiding them as much as I can, and I’ve promised them that I will do my best to help them climb up to the next level musically.”
Both Lazarul and Ranisha are music graduates. Lazarul studied in the National Arts, Culture and Heritage Academy (Aswara) where Syafinaz teaches and he was also in the National Symphony Choir which Syafinaz leads. In addition, Lazarul is a member of a four-man quartet called Memento, formed by some members of the national choir.
He is a father of two children aged 2 and 2 months, and his wife is former One In A Million 3 singer, Norhidayu Tekhary.
Ranisha studied at Sekolah Seni Malaysia in Kuching, Sarawak, completing her secondary education two years ago. She is about to pursue a performing arts degree course in Aswara and won teen singing contest Idola Kecil on TV9 in 2012.
RahmatNya will be released after Hari Raya.
Below Syafinaz and her proteges talk about their Raya song.
WHAT IS THE MESSAGE BEHIND YOUR NEW SONG?
Syafinaz: It is composed by Ku Sham and written by Zaira.
Ranisha: RahmatNya is all about humans who forget about God's grace. We don't know that God loves us and always gives us a chance to redeem ourselves from transgressions. It is about the need to be thankful for God's mercy.
TELL US ABOUT THE RECORDING PROCESS. HOW LONG DID IT TAKE AND WHERE WAS IT DONE?
Syafinaz: RahmatNya was recorded a week before Ramadan at One Scream Studio in Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya.
It was completed in two hours. I recorded on the first day and my proteges came on the second day.
DID YOU INITIALLY THINK OF PERFORMING THE SONG BY YOURSELF?
Syafinaz: No, I decided to record a duet with my proteges from the start. It is good to collaborate with them in a Hari Raya song ...and future songs. Singing a song that commemorates a festive occasion makes it evergreen and timeless. It is a good introduction for both of them to fans of good music. Ranisha and Lazarul are extremely talented youngsters. They have great potential to shine.
WILL YOU BE WORKING DURING RAYA? DO YOU GET TO ATTEND FAMILY REUNIONS?
Syafinaz: I will definitely be back in Batu Pahat for Raya, even though I won’t be at my family home for long as I have other events to attend. Raya is always my favourite time of the year, the entire family gathers at my mother’s house and that’s about the only time we catch up.
I’m the youngest of 11 siblings and I have 32 nephews and nieces and 33 grand nephews and grand nieces. My older siblings and I have big age differences, my eldest sister is two decades ahead of me.
DO YOU PLAN TO RETURN TO MENTOR IN FUTURE SEASONS TO HELP DISCOVER NEW SINGING TALENTS?
Syafinaz: That would be a great idea, but I’ve no plans yet.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR COMING PROJECTS.
Syafinaz: I have a new single Persis Salju coming soon.
I also plan to record an album with six songs.
The composers and lyricists involved in it will be Ku Sham, Jenny Chin, Mac Chew, Aubrey Suwito and Hafiz Askiak.
Ku happens to be my junior in UiTM and we are old friends.
I love his songs because they are very melodious, just what I like.
I would love to collaborate with rockers like Indonesia’s Ahmad Dhani in future.
In fact, Ahmad actually told me he enjoyed my 1999 hit single Ingin Bersamamu.
Among our local rock stars, there’s Faizal Tahir whom I “harshly criticised” in One In A Million. He’s really doing well.
Lazarul: I plan to record a duet with Ranisha and if all goes well we will return to the studio in the third quarter of the year.
Ranisha is very gifted in songwriting and she will pen the song’s lyrics.
RANISHA, HOW WAS THE EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH SYAFINAZ IN THE STUDIO?
Ranisha: Cikgu Syafinaz sang all the harmony lines and voice-noted these lines to both of us. After that we sang our lines in the studio in separate sessions, and the producers harmonised our respective parts into a single song.
RANISHA, WHEN DID YOU WRITE YOUR FIRST SONG AND WHO ARE THE LYRICISTS WHO INSPIRED YOU?
Ranisha: I have been writing songs since my teens in Labuan. I’ve always been inspired by Yuna, Nor Fatimah and my fellow Sabahans such as Stacy Anam and Marsha Londoh.
LAZARUL, WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE BEING A STUDENT OF SYAFINAZ.
Lazarul: Cikgu Syafinaz always sets high standards for all of us in college. In one of her classes, she ripped up my assignment because she felt that I had done a sloppy job. Anyway, I deserved it! Later, she became “nicer” to me as I began to “buck up” and be serious with my assignments.
She invited me to join her choir, and I was there from 2010 to 2016. My singing skills were honed performing for weddings around Kuala Lumpur, before and after my secondary schooldays.
HOW WILL YOU BOTH BE SPENDING YOUR HARI RAYA? WiLL YOU BE PERFORMING DURING THE MONTH OF SYAWAL?
Lazarul: I’ll be spending Hari Raya in Kuala Lumpur and later, I’ll visit my wife’s family in Muar. Even though my family hails from Sitiawan, Manjung, Perak, we all moved to the Klang Valley long ago. Raya is my favourite time, where I reunite with my three siblings. I’m the second eldest child in the family.
Ranisha: I’ll be back in Labuan and from there I’ll also visit relatives in Kota Kinabalu. Raya is my favourite time of the year, as it means sharing great moments with my parents and four other siblings. Like Lazarul, I’m the second child too.
While in Labuan, I hope to visit some of my fellow singers from reality talent shows, such as Ekin Rahman of Akademi Fantasia and Reyhana Yunus of One In A Million. And while in Kota Kinabalu, I’d love to visit Stacy Anam and Ayu Damit, two reality talent show graduates whom I greatly admire.
As for performances, we’ll only be singing with our loved ones at home! Perhaps, we might be appearing in a Raya special on TV later this month.
SYAFINAZ’S HIGH NOTES
DATUK Syafinaz Selamat has been singing since she was 9. Excelling in Malay and English songs, the versatile singer also performs Italian, German and Spanish numbers.
The soprano who was born in Pontian, Johor began her singing journey at 7 when she performed in festive events in her hometown Batu Pahat. Two years later, she joined a talent search Senandung Kanak-Kanak produced by Radio Televisyen Malaysia and teamed up with another pre-teen singer, Eliza Basir, as the pop duo Syafinaz & Eliza.
Syafinaz & Elliza lasted for five years, before they both parted ways to further their studies. Eliza, from Kuala Lumpur, is now a pharmacist and still keeps in touch with Syafinaz.
Syafinaz landed her first record deal at 15, and her first self-titled album was launched in 1989. A music degree graduate from Universiti Teknologi Mara in Shah Alam, Syafinaz received classical vocal training from Indonesian music lecturer Siti Chairani Proehoeman. She was also coached by German opera singer Heidrun Maria Hahn.
Syafinaz is a lecturer at UiTM and the National Arts, Culture and Heritage Academy (Aswara), as well as the adviser and vocal master for the National Choir of Malaysia and the Permata Seni Choir.
Her first involvement in reality talent shows began in 2005 when she was the vocals instructor for ntv7's Audition 2. Besides coaching participants of Bintang RTM 2018, she was a guest judge in Astro's Akademi Fantasia and one of two permanent judges in 8TV's One In A Million from 2006 to 2009.
Her career achievements as a pop singer include a Gold Medal in the R&B/Pop/Rock/Contemporary category of the World Championship Of Performing Arts in Los Angeles in 1999.
In 2006, Syafinaz joined fellow singers Resh (formerly Reshmonu), Dayang Nurfaizah, Hazami, Ning Baizura and Vince Chong in a live performance of the national anthem Negaraku with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, KLCC, Kuala Lumpur. The recording of the national anthem was a joint production of the MPO and ntv7.
She has been nominated twice in Anugerah Industri Muzik for Best Female Vocalist for her albums Ingin Bersamamu (1999) and Syyh (2001). She was also nominated in Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian 1998 for Popular Female Artiste.
Her collaboration with fellow judge Paul Moss in One In A Million earned her an 8TV Shout! Award in 2009 for Best On-Screen Chemistry.
Some of her international shows include the closing ceremony of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 2007, the World Expo in Spain in 2008, the opening ceremony of the SEA Games in Laos in 2009, Islamic Fashion Week in Monaco in 2010, and the World Islamic Economic Forum in Kazakhstan in 2011.
Syafinaz also sang alongside Rosnan Rahman, Datuk Zainalabidin and Jaclyn Victor during United States President Barack Obama's official visit to Malaysia in 2014.
In Syyy, which was a tribute to the music of veteran composer Datuk Ahmad Nawab, Syafinaz performed a duet with popular actor Shaheizy Sam and his then pop group MOB, titled Rinduku Rindumu. This song was a cover version of the late Indonesian crooner Broery Marantika's hit song and became a chart-topper in 2001.
Syafinaz was awarded the Panglima Mahkota Wilayah by the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V on Federal Territory Day 2018, which carries the title Datuk.
Syafinaz has three studio albums, and has performed the duet Mahkota with violinist Dennis Lau in 2009, and Terpesona with singer and architect Frank Scott Hew in 2010. She has also appeared in the musicals Rubiah (2005), The Adventures Of Sinbad (2010) and Opera Puteri Saadong (2015).
GUIDE US, MASTER
MENTOR has been screened for 11 seasons on TV3 since 2005, and the reality talent show aims to discover new musical talents with help from established singers.
The first season in 2005 was won by Datuk Zainalabidin and his protege Pija Yasin from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, while the second, the following year, saw rocker Amy of Search and his protege, Fiq Halim of Sandakan, Sabah win.
The show returned in 2009 with dangdut star Mas Idayu and her protege Hanifah Hanafiah or Black of Baling, Kedah emerging the champions, and the following year, pop queen Ziana Zain and her protege Mohamad Izwan Mohamad Noor of Ulu Tiram, Johor won first prize.
In 2011, singer-actress Erra Fazira and her protege Salma Asis from Tawau, Sabah won, and the following year, rock queen Ella and her protege Puteri Caroline Kamel of Tanah Merah, Kelantan emerged the winning team.
The 2014 edition of Mentor was themed Mentor Legend, and featured award-winning artistes as mentors. Dayang Nurfaizah and her protege Azmil Karim of Tawau, Sabah won first prize.
In 2016 and 2017, there was Mentor Milenia which featured relatively new mentors. Hazama Azmi and his protege Fareez Fauzi of Ipoh won in 2016, and Akim Ahmad and his protege Angelica Paujin of Tambunan, Sabah won in 2017.
In 2018, Mentor Otai featured relatively senior and experienced proteges. Misha Omar and her former back-up singer Elvira Arul emerged the winners.
This year's competition, the first plain and simple Mentor in eight years, was won by Siti Nordiana and her protege Zaaim Abdullah of Alor Star, Kedah.
Marks for each protege in the weekly concerts on Sundays, are partly awarded by the show’s permanent judges (50 per cent), a semi-professional jury comprising musicians and music lecturers (20 per cent), and viewers’ votes (30 per cent).
Artistes who have participated in Mentor over the years include Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza, Liza Hanim, Datuk Hattan, Datuk Awie, Ramlah Ram, Fauziah Ahmad Daud, Datuk Afdlin Shauki, Ajai, Jaclyn Victor, Faizal Tahir, Tomok and Siti Sarah Raissuddin.
The show’s famous tagline is “Tunjuk Ajarku, Sifu” (“Guide Us, Master”).