SHAH ALAM: Amir Masdi, 20, of Cheras, Selangor is the champion of reality talent show Akademi Fantasia 2016 (AF 2016).
One of the crowd favourites, hailed as a consistent performer by principal Dato Shake, sang two songs in the final concert broadcast live on Astro Ria from Wisma MBSA on Sunday.
The songs were Pemilik Cinta written by Akim Ahmad and composed by Srikandi and Romantis made popular by Spring.
The two-hour concert at 9pm was co-hosted by comedian Zizan Razak and singer-actor Alif Satar.
The five finalists were judged by musician and composer Datuk Ramli MS, singer, actor and television host Datuk AC Mizal, and Datuk M Nasir.
The champion won RM50,000, while the second, third, fourth and fifth-placed contestants won RM20,000, RM15,000, RM10,000 and RM5,000 respectively.
Amal Osman of Kuala Kangsar, Kareshma Martin Patrick of Shah Alam, Farrah Johari of Kuala Pilah and Hafizah Thomas of Sandakan finished second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.
A total of eight male and seven female contestants participated in AF 2016, and they underwent eight weeks of intensive training in preparation for weekly elimination concerts at Wisma MBSA.
Shake headed a team of instructors comprising music director Edry Abdul Halim, performance instructor Ellie Suriaty Omar, vocals instructors Mas Idayu and Sahrol Bahri Shaarani, and dance instructor Linda Jasmine Hashim.