KUALA LUMPUR: Singer Sophia Liana is set to perform for Malaysia at the Round Festival – Asean-Korea Music Festival 2021 (AKMF2021) on Jan 9 next year.
The event, organised by South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aims to connect Asean countries and Korea through the universal language of music, facilitate an exchange of cultures and foster mutual solidarity.
The 31-year-old artiste whose real name is Sophiatul Liana Mohamed Sobri said that the opportunity was a dream come true.
She is scheduled to perform five songs during the festival and is currently undergoing preparations for it.
"I am very excited to represent Malaysia and this is a very big opportunity for me and my team, Budak Ngam.
"This is the time to feature the talents available in our music industry.
"I received the good news during the middle of the month. My manager gave my profile to the South Korean organisers and two weeks later we received the green light for me to represent Malaysia.
"As far as my preparations go, we are now finalising the music first. Then we will hash out the concept, outfits and technical aspects like lighting, props and others.
"Praise be to God, everything is coming along as we planned," she said in a Harian Metro news report yesterday.
Sophia, who is also a member of the girl group De Fam, added that she would like to highlight the unique traditions of Malaysia in her upcoming performance at AKMF2021.
"I will be showcasing traditional Malaysian heritage elements in the rapping and at the same time feature urban hip hop elements.
"But these traditional touches are what I really want to highlight to the viewers in order for them to understand the type of hip hop that originates from Malaysia.
"I hope my performance will leave an impact. I want to show the uniqueness of my rapping style, musical rhythms and creative arrangements.
"I also hope that the dancers and the Budak Ngam crew will get attention from the viewers as well," she said.
AKMF2021 is the second edition of the festival and will be conducted in the "on-tact" format where viewers around the world can watch it as a virtual event online.
Those in South Korea can catch it live in a concert hall and will adhere to strict SOP.
The festival will feature performances by 10 artistes from the Asean region as well as popular South Korean stars.
Performances by the Asean artistes will be pre-recorded before being screened at the actual festival.
Malaysian female rapper Zamaera was chosen to represent Malaysia for the inaugural AKMF2020 last year.
The live broadcast of the event was streamed on the official YouTube channel of All That Music, while viewers in South Korea watched it via the country's national TV channel, KBS.