WHILE Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza is Malaysia's Queen of Pop and will always have a special place in Malaysians' hearts, her 'successor' has truly arrived.
She is a bubbly, playful and sweet Seremban lass whose soulful voice mesmerises each time she takes the microphone.
Nurul Aina Abdul Ghani is her name, but she is better known as Aina Abdul, and more than eight million fans voted her as the Most Popular Artiste in Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian 36 (ABPBH 36) held at Wisma MBSA in Shah Alam on Oct 11.
DREAM
Aina, 31, who chose a splendid, white dress as her outfit for the evening, was overjoyed upon being announced as the top winner by ABPBH 36's co-hosts — comedienne Didie Alias, actress Riena Diana and radio announcer Haniff Hamzah.
"This is a dream come true! Thank you to all my friends and fans for your love and support," said Aina.
CRITIC
Besides winning Most Popular Artiste, Aina also defended her title of Popular Female Singer.
"I dedicate these two trophies to my mother who has always been my biggest fan and critic.
"I love you mum. You've always been there for me from day one," said Aina, who first found fame in TV3's reality talent show 'Mentor Legend' (2014).
"Dearest fans, I've got three new songs soon, and I hope you'll love them."
INCUMBENTS
Fifteen other trophies for the main categories were presented during the event.
For the first time, former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who now works with Hot FM, took home the Popular Radio Announcer award, while veteran music composer Datuk S. Atan was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Erysha Emyra won the Popular New Female Artiste award, while Anna Jobling defended her Popular TV Actress title and Dolla defended their Popular Artiste Collaboration/Duo/Group.
Shah Radhy won Popular New Male Artiste, while Hun Haqiem took home the Popular TV Actor award.
TROUPE
The Popular Film Actor award went to Aedy Ashraf, while Fasha Sandha bagged the Popular Film Actress award and Uyaina Arshad won the Popular TV Host award.
The Popular Male Singer award was once again clinched by Khai Bahar, while veteran comedy troupe Senario took the Popular Comedian award.
The new Popular Film Supporting Actor, Popular Film Supporting Actress, Popular TV Supporting Actor and Popular TV Supporting Actress winners were Alif Hadi, Raja Ema, Shah Iskandar and Rita Rudaini respectively.
OSMAN ALI
Shah Radhy, who hails from Tanjung Malim, thanked director Osman Ali for guiding him as an actor.
"Abang Osman is cool. He showed me the ropes and motivated me," he said.
Erysha, from Kelantan, said that the competition was stiff, and winning her first award was a great incentive to become a versatile actress.
COMEBACK
Veteran singer-actress Raja Ema said she was delighted to gain a following among young Malaysians.
"It's been four wonderful decades in showbiz. I'm so happy that many young ones are singing my 1980s song 'Angan-Angan' and I plan to re-release it."
Aedy advised young actors and actresses to hold on to their dreams.
"I've been acting for 24 years, and there have been times when I felt like giving up.
"But when the going gets tough, the tough get going," he said, adding that he would be directing his first drama soon.
REMEMBERED
Fasha said that she fully supported the four new categories which rewarded supporting actors and supporting actresses.
"It's good to have these awards as supporting actors and actresses deserve to be remembered too. More often than not they add so much colour to dramas and films."
FAST LEARNER
Khairy said that as a radio announcer, he had to "learn the ropes fast".
"I want to thank all my fellow Hot FM radio announcers for their help, it's a very valuable experience for me," he said.
"Even though I come from another world, I'm happy to have adapted to radio and I love it."
LATE FRIEND
Senario leader Azlee Jaafar said social media helped make his troupe popular with the new generation.
"We've had a few challenges over the last couple of years, not to mention we lost our dear friend and member Hamdan Ramli in January.
"But this has brought us closer together, and we dedicate our win to him."
TV3
The presenters for the awards, broadcast live on TV3 and live-streamed on Tonton, included Anna, Azhar Sulaiman, Datuk Seri Eizlan Yusof, Datuk Adi Putra, Rita, Hannah Delisha, Puteri Sarah Liyana, Adira Suhaimi, Mawar Rashid and Bella Astillah.
BRUNO MARS
The three-hour awards show began at 9pm with De Fam belting out 'Supergirls' and 'Anak Raja', accompanied by their stylish moves.
Haqiem Rusli, donning Bruno Mars' sunglasses, performed 'Sangkar Derita', and was joined by comedian Usop who performed 'Gelora' plus veteran Zamani who sang 'Gerimis Mengundang'.
The best duet was that of Marsha Milan Londoh and Ernie Zakri. They sang their hits 'Hening Rindu' and 'Masing-Masing' beautifully and received a roaring applause.
HARRY STYLES
The duet of 'Hamba Cinta' and 'Diam' by Syamel Fodzly and Hael Husaini was a winner, too.
Both gentlemen looked "sexy" in suits reminiscent of British pop star Harry Styles.
Another great performance was the duet 'Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta' by Shiha Zikir and Hazama Azmi.