KUALA LUMPUR: The recent CIMB Rising Start Asean singing competition has just unearthed a promising new Malaysian talent.
She is Nuril or Sharifah Nurilmuhayati Syed Hussain, 26, who was crowned the inaugural CIMB Rising Start Asean champion after winning the competition in Jakarta, Indonesia recently.
Nuril, from Gombak, Selangor was one of two Malaysians in the pan-Asean competition and beat stiff competition from Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines to win.
According to Harian Metro, Nuril, who got married the day before the competition, said that it "felt like a dream" and actually submitted her audition video to the organisers at the last minute.
"I was surprised by everything that happened to me. To be honest, when I first submitted the audition video, it was a last-minute submission and didn't expect to make it that far.
"When I was in Jakarta, I didn't have any high expectations. At that time, my only focus was to do my best for the country and prove to everyone that Malaysia has great talent," she said.
On the day of the competition, Nuril was suffering from a sore throat.
"In fact, before it was my turn, I cried because I felt unable to give my best performance and would ultimately disappoint the country.
"Throughout the competition, I always felt that the participants from other countries were better, especially the participants from Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand," she said.
However, she focused on having fun and most importantly do her best regardless of winning or losing.
"Thankfully, my spirit of not giving up made me go through the whole experience in this competition," she said.
Indonesians Jesica Theresia Koloay, 27, and Annisa Anastasia Ayu Jamaluddin, 20, finished second and third respectively, while Marvin Restituto Ilagan, 33, from the Philippines was the People's Favourite.
In addition to receiving a cash prize, Nuril will also star in the music video for Kejar Mimpimu, a new single by Dee Lestari and will perform Make It Happen with Indonesian singers at the Kejar Mimpi Indonesia concert which will take place in Surakarta on Aug 24.
CIMB group chief branding and marketing officer Toni Darusman said: "In line with CIMB Malaysia's 100th anniversary and CIMB Group's slogan Moving Forward Together, I am happy that CIMB became a catalyst in turning Sharifah Nurilmuhayati's dream into reality.
"Since its introduction in 2014, the CIMB Rising Start singing competition has always been at the forefront of the search for hidden talents for the growth of the creative arts industry."